The technology behind Blockchain is being touted as the second coming of the internet. It is expected to change and revolutionize how people connect to the internet and pass important data between one another. This is also the reason why governments and companies are trying to tap into the technology’s potential. The U.S. State Department and Coca-Cola Company recently announced their plans to use Blockchain technology in the hopes to stop forced labor.
Addressing the Issue Globally
The issue of forced labor is a very serious one as nearly 25 million people worldwide are working under such conditions, according to the International Labor Organization. In fact, it was also reported that nearly 47 percent of these people are in the Asia-Pacific region. Because of this, the food and beverage industry is being pressured to ensure that their supply chain is free from forced labor as a majority of the exploited workers come from countries where they get their sugarcane supply.
Most food and beverage companies lack the exact means to solve or address this problem according to a study released by the KnowTheChain (KTC). In line with this, Coca-Cola will be using Blockchain technologies to address the issue of forced labor by focusing on the workers that they employ in their supply chain.
They are looking to ensure that their workers are protected by law and are properly compensated for their work. They also plan to make the hiring process more transparent which is one of the specialties of the Blockchain technology.
The company plans to create a secure registry of their workers and their corresponding contracts. Since it will use Blockchain tech, the data will have to go through the validation and digital notary procedures to ensure that it can’t be tampered by anyone. The Bitfury Group is a US-based tech company and will be the ones responsible for building the platform while Emercoin will be providing the actual Blockchain services.
Blockchain to Revolutionize the Supply Chain
Bitcoin is the most popular application of the Blockchain technology but the tech behind it actually holds a lot more potential than just mining cryptocurrency. At its core, Blockchain is a distributed database that records digital data and rendering it tamper-proof. Since it is tamper-proof and transparent, it lends itself well to industries that need such transparency and ease of tracking.
Several industries have already tried utilizing the tech such as energy and transportation. Its biggest potential use is in the supply chain as it is capable of recording, tracking, assigning, linking, and sharing a vast amount of information with zero data loss or corruption as it is impossible to tamper with the data.
This technology allows for enhanced transparency in data, allows for easier scaling, and provides better security. Companies are looking at ways to capitalize on this strength especially now that data theft is one of the biggest security issues around the world. Coca-Cola’s initiative in using this technology to keep track of their work force and show greater transparency is a great step forward and may further encourage other companies to follow suit.
