In a press release issued on Dec. 12, Glencore confirmed it had joined the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN), a joint partnership between various major corporations leveraging the technology to improve supply chain transparency.
British-Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore will use an IBM-developed blockchain solution to track cobalt.
Glencore: blockchain aids good practice
RSBN is the brainchild of global sourcing audit and advisory RCS Global Group. It uses the IBM Blockchain platform and is powered by Hyperledger Fabric.
“RSBN plays a key role in advancing the sustainable partnership between the producers of commodities that will enable the transition to a low-carbon economy and key consumers around the world”, Nico Paraskevas, Glencore head of marketing for copper and cobalt, commented in the press release.
Blockchain becomes metals industry favorite
Glencore has shown interest in blockchain before. As Cointelegraph reported, in October the firm was one of seven metals giants to form the Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative, aiming to collaborate on proof-of-concept solutions going forward.
More broadly, the metals industry is keen on promoting blockchain to boost its supply chain efficiency. In March, the London Metals Exchange (LME) reportedly backed a similar international initiative focusing on the technology.
“You know where your metal is, you have proof of your metal, but nobody can see what your metal is and where your metal is”, LME chief executive, Matt Chamberlain, said at the time.
Blockchain Startup Tracks Property Liens in Energy-Efficient Loan Market
Blockchain company Spring Labs will be developing a national property lien registry for four financing providers in the United States.
Combat fraud and enhance identity validation
In an Oct. 1 press release, Spring Labs announced that it was selected by the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing providers to create a property lien registry to track liens in $5.6 billion energy-efficient loan market.
The Spring Protocol, which is being developed by Spring Labs, will reportedly make it possible for financial institutions to exchange identity, fraud and risk information amongst themselves, without revealing additional consumer data in order to provide loans to finance upgrades to the energy efficiency of buildings and the installation of renewable energy sources.
Ygrene Energy Fund California, Renovate America, Energy Efficient Equity and PACE Funding Group are the four financing providers who will use the Spring labs blockchain-based platform to track the registry in real-time. Ygrene COO Stephen Tich said:
«Having the ability to query a registry of PACE financing applications and assessments in real time represents an enhancement for the industry. This registry will further enable the PACE industry to offer the most comprehensive and flexible clean energy financing solutions, benefiting our contractors and customers.»
Spring Labs CEO Adam Jiwan said that they announced several partnerships with industry leaders to develop products to combat consumer lending and small business fraud and to enhance identity validation, adding:
«We are pleased to announce our latest product utilizing the Spring Protocol, a lien registry for the PACE industry. We believe that this technology can form the foundations of a blockchain-based national mortgage registry.»
European shipping on the blockchain
Cointelegraph previously reported that two firms are joining forces to build a blockchain-based solution for European shipping. Vakt, a blockchain post-trade platform for commodities, signed a memorandum of understanding with essDOCS, a firm that develops paperless trade solutions, which intends to put European shipping on the blockchain.
