Blockchain technology could prove to be a "game changer" for water sector

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Blockchain technology could be a game changer for the water sector in its bids to address environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity according to a report from consultancy PwC.

The report - Building block(chain)s for a better planet - says game changing possibilities in blockchain include:

“potentially unavoidable transparency in supply chains,” arising from:

• full traceability of products from source to store;

• underpinning a transition to decentralised utility systems at scale through platforms collating distributed data on resources such as household water and energy data from smart sensors enabling more informed and decentralised decision-making regarding system design and management of resources; and

• raising new sources of sustainable finance for new investors in projects that address environmental challenges.

On a broader level, PwC said there was potential for blockchain to “facilitate a system shift from shareholder to stakeholder value” and to expand traditional financial capital accounting to capture social and environmental capital.

"Collectively, the changes could help raise the trillions of dollars required to finance a shift to low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economies", said PwC.

Blockchain, according to PwC, could address six critical environmental challenges over coming decades:

• biodiversity and conservation;

• clean air;

• climate change;

• healthy oceans;

• water security; and

• weather and disaster resilience.