Track-and-trace blockchain pioneer Everledger is using its technology to help the diamond industry offset its carbon footprint.
The firm's new platform, being launched with India and U.S.-based Shairu & Atit Diamonds, allows diamond industry participants the option to purchase credits in carbon reduction projects. These work to counter greenhouse gas emissions by planting new trees, reducing deforestation, providing clean water access and investing in renewable energy.
Fred Meyer and Littman Jewelers in the U.S. will be the first retailers to make use of Everledger’s carbon offsetting feature.
Everledger, which started out back in 2015 tracing the provenance of diamonds using a permissioned blockchain, is making sustainable supply the governing theme across the range of goods it tracks, combining what Everledger CEO Leanne Kemp calls “value and values.”
Platform clients including Shairu & Atit Diamonds will also be able to provide consumers with data about the carbon footprint arising from their manufacturing processes in real time, with sustainability reports publicly available on the Everledger platform.
“Earth Day is the right day to launch this new solution, as it has the aims of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals at its core,” Kemp said Wednesday on Earth Day's 50th anniversary. “This is the first time consumers will be able to access diamond carbon footprint information on the blockchain, via the Everledger platform. It’s also the first time carbon offsetting will be possible on a blockchain platform for jewelry.”
Looking beyond gemstones, Everledger is also involved in sustainable supply chain tracking of rare earth minerals such as cobalt and lithium used in batteries, and plans to collaborate with Hyperledger blockchain stablemate Circulor.
Carrie George, VP and head of sustainability for Everledger, said the new platform will provide blockchain certificates to verify energy efficiency and renewable sourcing efforts. “We can connect stakeholders faster and more directly than ever to get their time and money focused directly on the impact they want to achieve,” she said.