DIC Group is launching a pilot of GreenToken by SAP, using blockchain technology to boost sustainable outcomes and increase circularity in the chemicals industry by better recovering waste plastics.
DIC is a Japanese fine chemicals company that produces and sells polystyrene. As part of its sustainability strategy, the company launched a recycling initiative for food packaging in November 2020, bringing together new technologies and collection systems with its partner company to recycle more products like polystyrene that are normally not suitable for material recycling.
The pilot project with DIC will use GreenToken by SAP to track raw materials along the supply chain, from the initial stage of material generation. The process aims to visualize the manufacturing process, inspection process, physical properties, and quality information of the recycled materials. This helps customers understand how much recycled material is contained in their products when they use recycled plastic materials.
Founded and developed in Asia Pacific and Japan as part of the SAP.io intrapreneurship start-up program, GreenToken by SAP is a system that uses private blockchain technology to make the supply chain transparent and track the process of plastic materials throughout the resource lifecycle.
James Veale, GreenToken by SAP’s co-founder, said: “Chemical recycling is key to accelerating the shift to a circular economy. However, plastic from chemically recycled plastic waste is indistinguishable from plastic from conventional sources. Our solution proves that it really is circular plastic and provides complete, auditable supply chain transparency. That means more trust in recycling from customers and ultimately less waste in the environment.”
Yuji Morinaga, executive officer and general manager of the packaging materials product division of DIC, said: “Strong consumer awareness about circular economy has increased the demand for sustainable packaging. The work with GreenToken helps substantiate environmental claims and supports our mission to advance the recycling of plastics and build a completely circular process with chemical recycling.”
