April 18, 2018

BASF in collaboration to use blockchain technology for livestock sustainability

BASF Corporation and arc-net are collaborating to use blockchain technology to capture and analyse sustainability parameters in livestock production along the value chain.

arc-net is a technology company utilising blockchain technology to provide transparency in the agri-food industry. As part of this collaboration, BASF will use its tailored calculation tool, AgBalance™ Livestock to provide science-based information on environmental impacts along the animal production value chain.

With global pressure to reduce emissions from the agricultural and livestock sectors, consumers and regulators worldwide are becoming more focused on setting defined sustainability criteria. BASF and arc-net are collaborating to support the animal production value chain in meeting these demands. BASF's calculation tool AgBalance Livestock considers the life cycle impact of all inputs and outputs of animal protein production, i.e. from feedstuffs and feed production, to animal farming and manure management, to slaughter. By combining this tool with arc-net's blockchain technology, valuable sustainability information and verifiable data on provenance of meat, milk and egg can be generated.

The preliminary phase of the pilot project will focus on collecting data for evaluating sustainability measures within a controlled setting at the farm level. In parallel, automated farm-level data capture and environmental output calculation will be combined via blockchain technology. This information will provide environmental footprint along with full transparency and traceability along the entire value chain. In the future, this project will enable consumers to make informed choices about the meat they eat via an on-pack unique scannable code, providing information on the product's provenance and environmental footprint.