Philippine-based non-profit plastic offset program Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX), the first global non-profit plastic offset program, recently partnered with Microsoft to develop a blockchain-protected credit registry.
The revamped credit registry will ensure the public and relevant stakeholders that all transactions within the Exchange are secure, transparent, and reliable.
Established in 2019, PCX partners with sustainably conscious businesses worldwide to responsibly offset their plastic footprints. PCX has built a wide ecosystem of partners to facilitate the recovery, transport, and processing of post-consumer plastic waste, seeking out the most environmentally sound solutions. Company pledges undergo verification via a third-party audit and are made transparent through the PCX public registry.
“It is important that the credit registry is trustworthy and available to the public. By using blockchain technology to not only protect the ledger, but provide transparency around additionality and protect against double counting, stakeholders will know where and how they positively impact the environment,” said Nanette Medved-Po, founder and chair of PCX.
Blockchain technology has the potential to extend digital transformation beyond any organization’s boundaries and into the processes it shares with suppliers, customers, and partners. At its core it is a shared, distributed, secured, immutable ledger which is connected in a peer-to-peer network.
PCX sought Microsoft as a global technology partner for a Microsoft Azure-based blockchain solution. Microsoft prototyped a blockchain-protected ledger through its Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) to provide confidence, traceability and transparency within the PCX ecosystem.
To lay the foundation for the solution, MTC configured PCX’s existing credit registry and infrastructure with Quorum Blockchain deployment on Azure by setting up permissions and providing identified user access to ledger through secure API. Improving upon PCX’s existing workflow, MTC iterated blockchain-based solution scenarios. This prototype incorporates PCX’s current processes via web application enabling the blockchain to integrate into their operations. Because the app is API-enabled, PCX can seamlessly extend their credit registry to more partners in the future.
MTCs are designed to help drive business transformation by providing customers with a personalized and hands-on approach to innovation. Through MTC, customers, like PCX, are empowered to co-develop and envision solutions through proof-of-concept workshops, architectural design sessions, and exclusive access to partner technologies, among others.
To date, PCX has enabled the removal of more than 18 million kilograms of plastic waste from the environment. Companies such as PepsiCo Snacks, Wyeth Nutrition, Century Pacific Food, Colgate-Palmolive and NutriAsia have pursued Plastic Neutrality in the Philippines, while Nestle Philippines, PepsiCo Vietnam, Unilever Philippines, and Mayora Vuono Trade and Marketing Services Corp. have purchased plastic offsets from PCX.
