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WEF unveils self-service blockchain track & trace platform

04
Feb '20

Pic: World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum in Davos recently announced the first neutral and public traceability platform capable of visualising blockchain-based supply chain data from multiple companies and sources. It was created in collaboration with a dedicated group of champions comprised by Everledger, the Lenzing Group, TextileGenesis and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Blockchain technology offers a way to showcase sustainability and environment-friendly practices, but private blockchains do not address rising customer transparency demands.

The new platform aims to help businesses across industries respond to consumer demands for ethical and environment-friendly products. To date, companies have self-published such data or relied on blockchain solution providers to do so.

The pilot platform resulting from this initiative, however, can ingest blockchain-based data from multiple sources and visualise it on a neutral site, according to an official press release.

ITC, a United Nations entity with universal membership by mandate, has hosted it via its Sustainability Map. In this way, the ITC assures all parties that their data will not be shared externally, and that sensitive data can be hosted at UN data centres to benefit from UN neutrality, immunities and privileges.

The partnerships, combined with the forum’s ability to accelerate and amplify public-private cooperation, enables the platform to be neutral and safe place, encouraging cross-industry collaboration and using public and private sector inputs to shape the future of supply chain traceability, transparency and sustainability.

Consumers and companies alike have an interest in making supply chains more transparent, but they have lacked a trusted and neutral aggregating platform where companies could publicly visualize supply chain data captured in distributed ledgers.

These visualizations will soon be overlaid with the ITC’s other databases, allowing users to have a comprehensive picture of the flow of goods and other key environmental and social indicators and certifications of supply chain partners.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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