Blockchain: An Assessment of its Potential and Challenges in Addressing Sustainability Issues

Blockchain, the technology behind the worldwide-known cryptocurrency Bitcoin, offers a new set of potential advantages and opportunities that various industries and institutions could use to enhance their processes. Although most research and development on blockchain has focused on applications for cryptocurrencies and the finance industry, relatively few analyses and assessments have been conducted on how it could provide tools to address social and environmental issues. This research, using interviews, literature review and examples of blockchain applications, explores how this technology can be employed to address sustainability issues under the framework of three UN Sustainable Development Goals: 2. Zero Hunger, 7. Affordable and Clean Energy, and 14. Life Below Water. The analysis shows that blockchain has the potential to support solutions to sustainability problems that need efficient traceability, trust, a unique ID, transparency, or a highly secure payment system. However, the technology should not be mistaken for a panacea for addressing sustainability issues in its current state because it is not yet mature and has not been sufficiently tested. Expansion of blockchain as an effective tool for helping solve sustainability challenges will require a greater understanding of the governance of blockchain, its scalability and its potential unintended consequences for the technology to become properly integrated into the decision-making progress.