An open ecosystem for the exchange of trusted product footprints along supply chains

Session
TU.2.C || The Role of Industry in Sustainable Supply Chains

Authors
Hohlweck, Jonas; Beitinger, Gunter; Albrecht, Florian; Kind, Andreas; Dietz, Martin; Müller, Katrin; Jaeger, Florian Ansgar

Abstract
The transition to a low-carbon economy accelerates globally. Most companies measure their energy related emissions and a growing number of them is implementing mitigation measures. However, major parts of Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) originate in the upstream supply chain. Today, gathering trustworthy and accurate data across supply chain partners requires significant efforts. Alternative solutions, using data base values or 3rd party providers, are averaged on common technological processes or are expensive to gather and expose strategic supply chain information. None of these solutions is suited to respond to customers requesting PCFs at scale. Siemens is developing an ecosystem-based approach for the exchange of trusted PCF. As recommended by leading NGOs (WRI, GHG Protocol, GIZ) it’s based on a decentralized architecture. In contrast to existing solutions, data is not stored centrally by one company or institution but exchanged directly along customer-supplier relationships. Cryptographic certificates are created and shared via a distributed ledger to verify the data provided. This enables the trustworthy aggregation of an overall product footprint across the entire supply chain without the companies involved having to disclose their supply chains. The ecosystem makes existing standards (e.g. ISO, GHG Protocol) interoperable and connects companies, certifiers and (non-) governmental organizations. The open source architecture provides interfaces for footprint management solutions, from Siemens and other providers, and allows for integration with existing infrastructure, such as ERP or energy metering systems. Thereby, requesting, calculating, and sharing PCF data becomes more efficient and more reliable. Enabling targeted improvement measures and a reliable reporting on carbon emissions and further ESG related information. After successful prototyping and sparring the approach with stakeholders, Siemens engaged with first partners for piloting the solution.