The New Era of Sustainable Supply Chains

To improve sustainability, materials manufacturers are welcoming new digital technologies and process innovations into their global supply chains From palm oil to plastics, the global supply chains of many critical raw materials are evolving as consumers and manufacturers increasingly seek sustainable and renewable options. Digital technologies, including blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and modeling tools, are facilitating these supply-chain transitions by enabling unprecedented data visibility and analyses. At the same time, chemical manufacturers are turning toward process and chemistry innovations to improve the sustainability of their raw materials.   Blockchain delivers accountability Blockchain, in particular, provides many specific capabilities that are helping manufacturers realize more sustainable sourcing practices. In the plastics sector, for instance, DOMO Chemicals (Ghent-Zwijnaarde, Belgium; www.domochemicals.com) and Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com), along with the Circularise initiative (www.circularise.com/plastics), are partnering to implement blockchain technology to improve traceability and transparency in plastics manufacturing. “Blockchain can be applied to many challenges…