Asahi Kasei Europe joins blockchain technology pilot
In addition to Asahi Kasei, other tyre and rubber industry suppliers such as Trinseo plus conglomerates with interests in rubber, tyres and tyre retail – such as Itochu and Marubeni – were involved in the project. (Image: Circularise; Asahi Kasei Europe)
In September 2022 Asahi Kasei Europe joined a joint project on blockchain technology relating to ISCC PLUS certification. Led by the Dutch software provider Circularise and the Japanese trading company Marubeni, this project aims at enhancing the efficiency of the certification process and the integrity of the certified data.
As part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, Asahi Kasei Group is working on the utilization of bio-based and recyclable materials, as well as renewable energy sources. To ensure full reliability and transparency, the company is accelerating the certification of its more sustainable materials. The ISCC PLUS certification is a leading global certification scheme that links the supply chain from raw materials such as biomass feedstock and recycled materials to finished products through mass balance management. This helps to guarantee full transparency of the final products to the end user.
Akira Nishizawa, managing director of Asahi Kasei Europe, comments: “We aim to contribute to a sustainable society through our business. As a supplier of plastics, fibres, and synthetic rubber, the ISCC PLUS mass balance certification is becoming more important for us to advance this strategy.”
Test results support blockchain technology
10 companies across the entire supply chain participated in the Circularise project. In addition to Asahi Kasei, other tyre and rubber industry suppliers such as Trinseo plus conglomerates with interests in rubber, tyres and tyre retail – such as Itochu and Marubeni – were involved in the project.
As part of a trial run, the mass balance management of ISCC PLUS certification was operated on Circularise’s software system. The companies’ report that the system is efficient and “the utilization of blockchain technology ensures full confidentiality in the data transmission process across the entire supply chain…and full data reliability”.
Nishizawa concluded: “Many of our products are currently in the process of obtaining the ISCC PLUS certification. This still takes much effort and time. A more efficient certification process is needed to achieve a sustainable society and we have found that digital technology can play a major role in this process.”
Glen Carstens-Peters; Unsplas
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