Covalent is a company of NewLight Technologies which operates in the fashion sector (eyewear, wallets, bags) and which focuses heavily on corporate sustainability. Its products are made with a biomaterial consisting of microorganisms, AirCarbon: can be used as an alternative to plastic, leather and natural fibers and is made using only renewable energy. AirCarbon is certified as negative carbon by the Carbon Trust and consequently reduces the amount of carbon in the air, instead of increasing it as happens with the production of alternative materials.

Covalent has set itself the goal of measuring the environmental impact on the entire production chain and to achieve the goal it has relied on blockchain solutions from IBM .

The IBM blockchain to measure ‘environmental impact of Covalent

More and more people base their purchasing choices on aspects such as environmental sustainability of products: an IBM study suggests that 75% of people are more likely to change their habits by choosing products with a low environmental impact. It is important for companies to show their ecological commitment and, above all, to offer transparent measurements. Covalent has chosen to rely on IBM’s blockchain to effectively communicate these data: through the technology of the IT giant, the fashion industry can certify the quantity of carbon emitted at each stage of the supply chain, from the creation of the model to the realization of the finished product, including the transfer to the warehouses. The verification of this information is entrusted to an independent body , so as to ensure greater transparency.

For the end user, this translates to a code a 12 numbers, the Carbon Date , printed on all Covalent products : by inserting it on the Covalent website, it will be possible to obtain detailed information on the environmental impact of each step of the supply chain.

The blockchain is managed by a server IBM LinuxOne , a server designed to manage loads of work critical and equipped with a FIPS certified hardware security module (HSM) 140 – 2 level 4

“ Our goal is to provide people with the information they need to know the environmental impact of our products “- explains Mark Herrema, CEO by NewLight – “ Thanks to the IBM blockchain and the LinuxONE technology, we can give visibility not only to the production steps, but also to the carbon impact that each individual product has on the environment. For us it is very important because it helps us to make tangible the unique path that leads to the creation of different products “.