As part of its overall sustainability plan, Japanese chemical giant DIC Corporation announced that it will be deploying a pilot version of GreenToken by SAP. The initiative intends to encourage the company’s consumers to support the circular economy by giving them an easier way to visualize the amount of recycled material contained within their products.
GreenToken by SAP is a solution that aims to make the supply chain process more transparent by utilizing private blockchain technology. It also tracks the flow of plastic material production throughout the entire resource lifecycle. First built in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region in collaboration with the SAP.iO Venture Studio, the system is able to track plastics from raw resources through the manufacturing process, sale, and use of products, as well as through selection and pulverization on the way to recovery and recycling.
Highlighting yet another remarkable move in establishing stronger, sustainable, and intelligent manufacturing and supply chains through collective action, DIC Corporation, a leading chemicals company in Japan, is now using the SAP blockchain solution. The project’s goal is to significantly boost sustainable outcomes and increase circularity in the chemicals sector by effectively recovering plastic wastes.
A food packaging recycling program was launched by DIC Corporation and its partner firm in November 2020, combining new technology and collection methods to recover more products like polystyrene that are generally ineligible for material recycling. Utilizing GreenToken by SAP, DIC Corporation’s pilot program aims to trace raw resources along the supply chain from the first phase of material generation to production, inspection, and quality assurance.
Yuji Morinaga, Executive Officer and General Manager of the Packaging Materials Product Division of DIC Corporation, said that the demand for sustainable packaging has increased in response to growing levels of consumer awareness regarding the circular economy. Commenting on the project involving SAP’s cutting-edge technologies, Morinaga added:
“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.”
After the completion of the pilot, DIC and GreenToken plan to continue working together to assist the former company’s focus on increasingly pressing social implications and the creation of a sustainable future.
Expediting Shift to Circular Economy with GreenToken by SAP
GreenToken by SAP Co-Founder James Veale, GreenToken by SAP’s co-founder, explained that chemical recycling is an essential component in accelerating the transition to a circular economy; yet, plastic made from chemically recovered plastic waste material is indistinguishable from plastic made from traditional sources. Sharing more about the SAP blockchain technology solution, he said:
“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.”
At the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which took place in November 2021 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, Veale earlier remarked that the audience’s reaction to the SAP solution was an “instantaneous hit.” The local team for the organization advertised the technology to specialists and leaders from various fields, such as the industrial machinery and components sector, consumer products industry, as well as the energy and natural resources segment.
Moreover, SAP APJ Chief Operating Officer Cathy Ward stated that SAP has made sustainability a central focus of its operations, and because the company believes it cannot solve this problem alone, it is collaborating with customers and partners to find solutions. She further shared in a LinkedIn post:
“Creating the future we want starts today and it’s fortunate that we have partners as forward-looking as James Veale, who co-founded and developed GreenToken by SAP with us. Being future ready is increasingly about building sustainable business processes, and companies who invest in sustainability are driving operating margins 3.7x higher on average, than those who don’t.”
Recently, GreenToken by SAP has also been recognized as the recipient of the innovation award in the 2022 Financial Review Sustainability Leaders competition in the field of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications. The organization achieves transparency throughout the supply chain by utilizing digital twin tokens that are stored on a blockchain.
