Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment System for Climate-Related Disclosures

As the global community acknowledges the impact of climate change and the need to transition to a low-carbon economy, climate-related disclosures have become a critical aspect of corporate reporting. Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are vital components of climate risk metrics but are challenging to estimate due to the lack of proper estimation methods and the difficulty in collecting data throughout the entire value chain. To overcome this challenge, we propose a system incorporating the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to enhance climate-related reporting with a focus on Scope 3 GHG emissions. IoT and blockchain enable reliable data collection from various sources, and LCA contributes to the comprehensive evaluation of a product’s environmental impact and the estimation of Scope 3 GHG emissions. We demonstrate the system applications using real data on Tesla’s electric vehicles. The system automatically verifies the user identity, reports the firm’s overall climate-related performance including Scope 3 GHG emissions, and validates the metrics disclosed by the company in the chain. Our results shed light on utilizing emerging technologies to enable reliable, complete, and accurate climate-related disclosures