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Background
Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulations were proposed by the European Commission as part of its wider Circular Economy Action Plan. The DPP is envisioned as a tool to provide essential information on a product's sustainability and environmental impact throughout its lifecycle.
The DPP aims to create a standardized digital format containing crucial details about a product's environmental performance, such as its carbon footprint, materials used, recycling instructions, and more. This passport is meant to help consumers, businesses, and regulators make informed decisions regarding a product's sustainability.
According to the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the deadline for implementing digital product passports (DPPs) for the first set of products is 2026. This includes:
- Apparel: The DPP should include information on the materials used, the environmental impact of the production process, and the instructions for proper care and maintenance
- Batteries: The DPP should include information on the type of battery, the materials used, the recycling instructions, and the environmental impact of the battery's disposal
- Consumer electronics: The DPP should include information on the product's performance, the energy consumption, the materials used, the recycling instructions, and the environmental impact of the product's disposal
Inspiration
This project starts with a discussion about the sustainability issues of the fashion industry and its environmental impact all over the globe. We discussed that the transparency and traceability of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies could be a great way to solve these problems.
A member of a respected entity for the environment suggested we look for the European Union's call for Digital Product Passports link and we fell in love with the idea of DPP, but we didn't have the resources and connections to make the call at the time During a meeting between different members of Blockchain Ireland´s Tech WG, we decided that we would join forces to turn the idea into a reality.
What is GreenPassport
GreenPassport leverages Blockchain technology to store, track, and trace key on-chain data on a product's lifecycle and its environmental impact in an immutable manner.
GreenPassport aims to improve decision-making for consumers, businesses, and policymakers. Its many benefits are:
Consumer Empowerment:
- Informed Choices: GreenPassport allows consumers to access detailed information about a product's environmental impact. With this data, consumers can make informed purchasing decisions, choosing products aligned with their sustainability preferences.
- Transparency and Trust: Increased transparency builds trust between consumers and businesses. When consumers have access to a product's lifecycle information, they are more likely to trust companies that prioritize sustainability.
Business Strategies:
- Supply Chain Optimization: Businesses can utilize GreenPassport's data to assess and optimize their supply chains. Understanding the environmental impact of materials, manufacturing processes, and distribution channels allows for more sustainable decision-making within the company.
- Product Innovation: Access to detailed environmental information can drive innovation. Companies can use this data to create more eco-friendly products, enhancing their competitiveness and meeting consumer demand for sustainable options.
Policy Development and Regulation:
- Setting Standards: GreenPassport can aid policymakers in setting standardized environmental regulations. This data can inform policies aimed at reducing environmental impact across industries.
- Monitoring and Compliance: Governments can monitor products' environmental performances more effectively by leveraging GreenPassport's data, ensuring compliance with environmental standards and regulations.
Environmental Impact Awareness:
- Education and Awareness: GreenPassport can serve as an educational tool, increasing awareness among consumers about the environmental impact of products. This awareness can drive behavioral changes and encourage more sustainable consumption patterns.
Global Impact:
- International Trade: GreenPassport's implementation can influence international trade by promoting sustainability standards. Products with transparent environmental credentials might gain a competitive edge in global markets, influencing trade dynamics.
Technological Advancements:
- Digital Integration: The implementation of GreenPassport involves digital integration. This can spur technological advancements and innovation in data management, creating new opportunities for tech companies.
Our main use cases
While GreenPassport can enable all of the above benefits, our initial use case focuses on Consumer Empowerment. This empowerment can catalyze several significant changes in consumer behavior and decision-making:
Informed Purchasing Decisions: GreenPassport empowers consumers by providing comprehensive information about a product's environmental impact across its lifecycle. It enables easy comparisons between products, helping consumers choose those aligned with their values.
Driving Sustainable Demand: Access to detailed environmental data encourages consumers to prefer brands prioritizing sustainability. This demand shift motivates businesses to adapt, fostering a market for eco-friendly products.
Behavioral Change: Armed with environmental insights, consumers may alter their habits and lifestyles, opting for more sustainable choices and reducing waste.
Accountability and Transparency: Consumers expect companies to be transparent about environmental impacts. Brands sharing detailed GreenPassport information may gain trust and loyalty.
Advocacy and Social Impact: Empowered consumers may advocate for broader sustainability changes, influencing both industry practices and societal norms.
Consumer empowerment through GreenPassport leads to informed choices, drives sustainable preferences, encourages behavioral shifts, fosters transparency, and fuels advocacy for a more eco-conscious society.
Why Chainlink?
We utilize Chainlink Functions to seamlessly integrate with external APIs or policy systems. This integration ensures that the Digital Product Passports consistently monitor their compliance status.
For instance, a key application of this functionality involves the Digital Product Passport being assigned a batch (accomplished through NFT minting). In response, our Chainlink function performs a query to determine the specific regulations applicable to that product. Example: If a product's batch changes its location to Italy, our Smart contract will call the Chainlink function integration and verify the requirements for regulatory compliance in such jurisdiction.
GreenPassport also aims to work cross-chain by integrating with other protocols, however, we were unable to implement a sample use case by the hackathon's deadline
Implementation
We used Smart Contracts in Solidity that create an NFT with JSON on IPFS with all the metadata of the product. It sets a product batch as a mint function. So if the product has a new batch it creates a new mint.
After that, we set up the Chainlink functions where we can call APIs from regulatory bodies. In our MVP, this is a mock API that checks the Geolocation of the batch. Every time that a batch updates its location the Chainlink function will validate if the product complies with the local authority.
We decided to implement it using a public blockchain. Leveraging the chains with low fees and on networks that are already live and proved to be safe.
Challenges, Lessons Learnt and Accomplishments
The European Commission is still working on developing common standards for DPPs to ensure that they are compatible and easy to use, therefore it was challenging to research best practices and to come up with the best idea for our project's MVP.
From a technical point of view, none of the team members were familiar with the implementation of Chainlink functions before engaging in this hackathon. This proved challenging initially, although it has given us invaluable knowledge about their possibilities and how powerful they can be in leveraging off-chain data securely and cost-effectively for use within decentralised applications
Overall, we designed a new use case for NFTs and a real-world use case for Chainlink on the supply chain.
We are proud of our achievement of submitting a viable MVP within the short time we had to complete it.
What's next for GreenPassport
While our primary focus is on ensuring the robustness (e.g. moving JSON files to a DB), scalability, and stability of the existing MVP, there are some milestones in our pipeline:
Management Console: Creating a management console enabling producers to input/upload their product data. Additionally, we aim to integrate GreenPassport with external systems across the supply chain, automating the entire process.
Brand Loyalty: through the issuance of NFTs to prove the ownership of an item, brands can offer their customers new kinds of experiences both in the real world or inthe metaverse. These experiences offer exclusivity in terms of releases, product offerings, etc., the pinnacle of desired experiences for many brands. In addition to this, there is an opportunity for brands to cross-sell their products between the physical and the digital worlds, allowing them to reach new communities that would otherwise feel disconnected (e.g.: Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Crypto and Metaverse early adopters)
Multichain NFT: Cross-chain utility will be created for GreenPassport's NFTs to integrate with other protocols and increase the value of implementing GreenPassport for brands and all other stakeholders. This will be possible by leveraging Chainlink's technology.
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