With the growing population and the technology side-by-side, data tracking has been incrementally effortless only with the inception of blockchain.
The way blockchain stores the data, it cannot be altered, and or hacked. Thus, this single-handedly deals with the fact that blockchain has seen an enormous boom in the last decade where digital security always copes with the security loops. And we have experienced many greater breaches of data occurring on servers which you can skip using blockchain technology.
How can features of Blockchain support sustainability efforts? to be spoken out because not everyone can dwell on how important and beneficial this technology could work for them in the long run, right?
It is time to make a sustainable switch, and we believe this newly-emerged technology will have an adverse impact on transforming the world’s problems.
How can Features of Blockchain Support Sustainability Efforts?
We will cover this aspect in detail for you but as a matter of fact, blockchain technology will bring ease of committing to the processes at any level.
Introduction to Blockchain Technology and its Potential to Support Sustainability Efforts
The Blockchain is typically a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that feeds the data in the form of blocks. They are then enticed together using cryptography, the hard digital security protocol impossible to decode.
And the reason is, the communication that occurs in normal language/letters will be replaced with characters for safety purposes. Thus, decoding the communication will require extensive cryptography knowledge and experience.
Blockchain was first introduced by David Chaum in 1982. But it was not the final look of the blockchain technology which we see today but it was close to being a blockchain-like protocol.
The blocks were first introduced by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta back in 1991 to establish security as when the data feeds into the system, the timestamp would not alter.
Over time, Satoshi Nakamoto took a turn in 2008 for the better and introduced the first decentralized blockchain by inducting hash cash into timestamp blocks with no signing required from the parties to initiate the data processing on the system.
It was just an introduction to Blockchain technology to look back into its history and how it evolved.
In terms of potential, the blockchain offers guaranteed transparency, accountability, traceability as well as cyber-resiliency in this time of risky era when digital privacy and digital protection are two major concerns.
Those switching to blockchain technology will eventually thrive in the future. The investment could be high at the moment to call a switch but it would be worth it in the long run.
Real sustainability backed by blockchain technology is observing the rise in the last 5 years and almost no one in the world wouldn’t have heard its name (blockchain) once in their life.
And this was the specific technology that recorded the immersive boom after going public more than any other type of technology in the world.
How Blockchain Technology can Secure and Track Data
Security is the utmost guarantee Blockchain offers, and there is no second opinion to that.
Whereas the Blockchain-enabled platforms assess the various formats of data to best track them at all levels, in real-time.
Suppose, a food business is in a direct contract with a fruit farm; when was the fruit grown up and plucked out, when was the fruit shipped from the farm, arrival, who’s bringing it, how long it took to deliver, when entered the store, expiry date, stock going out, and everything related to worth recording.
The efficient data tracking makes the food business run viably. And the business owners can get to audit the entire inventory in real-time without calling in the accountants.
This is just one example of tracking the data using Blockchain technology. You can witness the inclusion of the same technology in various industries that are now enjoying hassle-free operations.
Don’t forget to know How Can Edge Computing Be Used to Improve Sustainability?
5 Benefits of Using Blockchain Technology That Eventually Supports Sustainability Efforts
How can blockchain be used to support sustainable business practices?
Blockchain technology brings transparency and ease in doing complex tasks continually.
Whether we use the public blockchain network or the private one, the benefits of using blockchain technology would not change.
We believe these will be enough for the blockchain benefits to make the best out of using the technology;
1- Decentralized Structure
Although, real-life events demand a specific character to win the trust (or lose it eventually) blockchain technology does not have any actor place which can disturb the trust level.
In blockchain technology, the scenario is completely different — having no entity in charge means the data is shared through the specific ecosystem within the business publicizing every level of movement under the chain without any disruption.
This is the reason blockchain holds a decentralized structure where anyone can call off the data without seeking anyone’s permission.
2- Security and Privacy
When there is no security, there is no privacy. This statement acts as a haunted fact for many digital security providers. Even the most sophisticated security systems can encounter breaches over time.
Thanks to blockchain technology, the data stored will not hold on to just one computer (servers) but on a network of computers which is enough to validate the fact, the system will be practically impossible to hack.
Additionally, the security system put on one computer from the network will be different from others, thus no one would be able to find out the way blockchain technology works on the entire network.
Once the data is stored with utmost security, the next phase of keeping privacy in check is rather simple — it anonymizes the private data while setting the limit to lock the permission to who can access and who cannot.
3- Largely Reducing the Cost
Once your organization/business introduces full-fledged blockchain technology, they will record the drastic cut in operation costs.
Some core phases where blockchain would help to cut down the time and cost;
- No manual entry of data.
- No more keeping the records on the papers.
- Audit at one click.
- Real-time data storing with the ability to monitor and trace the activity whenever required.
All in all, there will be no middlemen when the blockchain is fully operational throughout the organization.
4- Speed
The word ‘real-time’ is enough to differentiate how speedily you can assess the data.
As blockchain swiftly proceeds with data assessment, no intermediaries mean no manual tasks at all, resulting in seconds or even less than that to make the data reach its destination.
Somehow, the notable factors that can largely impact data storage cause considerably unnoticed delays.
The network speed and the size of the block of data may determine the process completion time. Still, you may expect the data to be processed if not in seconds, then in minutes but not days of punching the data manually, and if any intermediary was slacking it, would rather take days for the data to reach its final destination.
5- Transparency
Tracking, monitoring, and evaluation are the three core sustainable problems blockchain technology will solve.
In traditional systems, the parties in the organization might not have access to all the data such as products, inventory, and all. With blockchain technology’s openness, all and any sort of data will be present to all the parties hence providing immense transparency on all fronts.
The Challenges Associated with Using Blockchain Technology
After the benefits, the blockchain strikes back with the challenges as well as being the newest and most widely-adopted technology;
1- Consumes Excess Energy
The operation of the blockchain network requires a continuous and uninterrupted supply of power.
They also need to stay cool to avoid degrading performance. Proper ventilation and air conditions will be needed putting constraints on energy consumption.
2- Unregulated
Blockchain technology does not stand the legal status, thus any crime committed using it may not take up the legal course dealt with.
3- Lack of Workforce
Despite the boom, the developers and programmers are still lucky to find owning high-level experience to support the blockchain technology an organization has.
The Potential Impact of Blockchain Technology on Sustainability Efforts
The one potential impact of blockchain technology in improvising sustainability efforts is lowering the operational costs to drastic levels, plus reducing the workforce to manage the organizational processes and financing tasks.
The Future of Blockchain Technology and its Long-Lasting Impact on Supporting Sustainability Efforts
How can features of blockchain support sustainability effects in the future? Blockchain technology has a bright future that we expect governments, private sectors, organizations, and even small businesses will adopt it.
When the technology is adopted at this larger scale, we are expected to experience the move will be environment-friendly by reducing carbon emissions, cost-efficient to perform various tasks using one single platform, and bringing efficiency to operations.
Conclusion!
The foremost beneficial use of the blockchain is the secured and tamper-proof data registry.
This one feature alone carries a high level of trust in this technology because everyone can view it knowing the data cannot go altered in any way.
A large or small business, if they have put this technology to work, will be a cost-efficient move for them in many ways.
How can features of blockchain support sustainability efforts are well defined, thus it can efficiently document the relief works in disasters, environmental changes, and wherever tracking and monitoring are required.
