4th Sep 2019 – Kristen Le Mesurier – Portfolio Manager – Multi Asset Group Sydney, Australia

Blockchain – or distributed ledger technology (DLT) – is beginning to be employed by businesses to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations.

Its potential applications in the ESG space include tracking provenance in supply chains, and improving transparency and data security.

Most commonly associated with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, blockchain describes the ledger that sits behind the currency’s transactions. It differs from traditional ledgers by eliminating the role of a central party in tracking and recording transactions.

Instead, the decentralised nature of blockchain means that everyone in the transaction ecosystem has access to a real-time copy of all the records on the chain. This means if there is a dispute, everyone can see all the transactions on the ledger and results in a more collaborative, transparent, secure, accurate, consistent and timely transaction environment.

Speaking at the AMP Amplify conference, Shuonan Chen, Founding Partner and CEO of venture capital firms IOVC and Agile VC outlined some of the ways blockchain is already being used to bolster ESG commitments and credentials.