Lin, X.; Li, X.; Kulkarni, S.; Zhao, F. The Application of Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment on an Industrial Supply Chain. Sustainability2021, 13, 13332.
Lin, X.; Li, X.; Kulkarni, S.; Zhao, F. The Application of Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment on an Industrial Supply Chain. Sustainability 2021, 13, 13332.
Lin, X.; Li, X.; Kulkarni, S.; Zhao, F. The Application of Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment on an Industrial Supply Chain. Sustainability2021, 13, 13332.
Lin, X.; Li, X.; Kulkarni, S.; Zhao, F. The Application of Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment on an Industrial Supply Chain. Sustainability 2021, 13, 13332.
Abstract
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely recognized tool used to evaluate environmental impacts of a product or process, based on the environmental inventory database and bills of material. Data quality is one of the most significant factors affecting the analysis results. However, currently most datasets in inventory databases are generic i.e., they may represent material and energy flow of a process at market average, instead of a specific process used by a manufacturer. As a result, stockholders are unable to track their supply chain to find out the actual environmental impact from each supplier and to compare the environmental performance of alternative options. In this paper, we developed a new framework i.e., blockchain based LCA (BC-LCA), where block-chain technology is adapted to secure and transmit inventory data from upstream suppliers to downstream manufacturers. With BC-LCA, more specific data can be acquired along the supply chain in a real-time manner. Moreover, the availability, accuracy, privacy, and automatic update of inventory data can be improved. A case study is provided based on an industrial supply chain, to demonstrate the utilization of BC-LCA.
Keywords
Life Cycle Assessment; Blockchain; Supply Chain
Subject
Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
