WEF Blockchain Initiative Aims Towards ‘Building Trust’ In The Industry

Last week, the blockchain news showed that the World Economic Forum (WEF) teamed up with seven major cryptocurrency mining firms as well as metals firms to develop a new sourcing and sustainability practice using blockchain. The WEF Blockchain initiative is called “Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative” and is designed to include building an inclusive blockchain platform which will help to increase the “transparency, efficiency or improve reporting of carbon emissions” across the entire industry.

The big question that everyone is asking themselves now is – is blockchain a nice fit for mined resources?

As we presented before, the WEF Blockchain initiative seems well designed, given the fact that the organization has focused on technology in its reports through the past couple of years. In April 2018, the WEF published the “Blockchain Beyond the Hype” paper where it noted that deployment of the distributed ledger technology should not be a goal in and of itself.

A couple of months later, we can see that the organization highlighted blockchain and its significance to the mining and metals industry in particular. They said that the technology could cut down the amount of paperwork involved, boost the transactions, bring better compliance and sustainability as one of the primary reasons.

In July this year, the WEF Blockchain initiative also issued The Blockchain Value Framework guide, which was seen as a more concrete framework for the “business leaders that have figured out blockchain is the right solution for a specific problem, but don’t know what to do next.” This is how the WEF initiative was explained by Sheila Warren, the Head of Blockchain at the World Economic Forum. This document listed six recommendations for companies, prompting them to take time and understand the technology, set realistic expectations and align to strategic priorities.

According to the CEO at Minespider, which is a blockchain protocol for responsible mineral sourcing, blockchain is a good fit for mining. He agrees with the WEF Blockchain initiative and its principles, stating:

“Supply chain data is very sensitive, and before blockchain there was no solution that could enable traceability without companies sacrificing their sensitive supply chain data. The only real alternative to using blockchain right now is to be content with not knowing the origins of our products.”

When it comes to tracking the origins of mined resources, blockchain could play a vital role and prevent problems in the future.