Search for Value Creation through Blockchain
Sanjeev Tewari, Seema Tewari · 2024
Blockchain technology and sustainability are the two topics of recent years about which there is a discussion: “What are the values which the blockchain generates and of them which all can support sustainability efforts?”. Blockchain technology is a revolutionary new protocol for sharing and updating information. As a technology blockchain has the potential to be used in many applications that could contribute to sustainable development in numerous ways. Its impact goes beyond the economy, as it can transform social interaction, public institutions, and our relationship with the environment. On the other hand, we have sustainable development, which primarily focuses on the needs and interests of humans and is concerned with values like securing global equity for future generations and redistribution of resources to encourage economic growth to enable all human beings to achieve their basic needs. This chapter critically reviews blockchain technology’s current and potential contribution to the concept of sustainability and sustainable development and tries to articulate conceptual resources for understanding what blockchain is and what it could be, its potential impact, advantages, and drawbacks, and the new opportunities it provides to value creation, through the specs of sustainability having Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as their lens. To encourage wider use of this technology, which till now is restricted to the domain of a privileged few, the concept behind the technology has to be demystified. The emphases facilitate its application to a broader horizon and avoid the “Buyers Fatigue” syndrome, the aim is to present a more functional view of blockchain and not delve into the highly complicated technical aspects.