Using blockchain technology to keep track of palm oil origin

Unilever is using a blockchain technology, GreenToken, to keep track of its palm oil crops and ensure that only verifiably sustainable palm oil is being used in its products.

Developed by SAP, GreenToken allows Unilever to monitor its supply chain through end-to-end tracking, which means that palm oil from unsustainable sources cannot be accidentally mixed in.

The technology was first trialled by Unilever in Indonesia but with the success of this trial its use is being expanded. The proof-of-concept trial sourced almost 190,000 tonnes of palm oil fruit. It enabled Golden Agri-Resources and other suppliers from whom Unilever sources to create tokens that mirror the material flow of the palm oil throughout the supply chain and capture the unique attributes linked to the oil’s origin.

“Unilever is committed to achieving a deforestation-free supply chain by 2023, and blockchain technology has the potential to help companies, like ours, track their supply chains to ensure the commodities we source respect people and the planet,” said Dave Ingram, Chief Procurement Officer, Unilever.

“We are encouraged by the promising results of our pilot with GreenToken by SAP, the latest building block in our tech-enabled approach to ensure a more traceable and transparent supply chain.”

Since GreenToken uses the blockchain as a way of handshaking at each step of the supply chain, it offers near real-time tracing to keep track of where a product has originated or where it is on its journey. Tokens are created in the system that collect and share this information, with the tokens reporting into the system as though the palm oil was checking in with a QR code as it makes its way along the supply chain. This means that only palm oil that has checked in would be recognised.

“With GreenToken, we want to bring the same traceability and supply chain transparency to bulk raw materials that you get from scanning a bar or QR code on any consumer product,” said Nitin Jain, Co-founder and General Manager of the GreenToken by SAP solution, SAP.

“Our solution allows companies to tell what percentage of palm oil products they purchased from a sustainable origin and track it to the end consumer product.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/denisismagilov