The blockchain team for Anglo American’s Marketing business has been engaging with companies in very different sectors, from banking to oil and gas, to learn how they are approaching the digitalisation process and the different uses of blockchain technology within large and established companies. As part of this engagement, came the opportunity to meet with Shell's global blockchain team.
"We are not competing, but we are very interesting to each other, facing very similar problems," Vikram Seth, Head of Blockchain and Web3 at Shell, said at the beginning of the meeting.
The session held at Anglo American’s London office started with the Tracr™ team talking about the development of Tracr™, the world’s first fully distributed diamond traceability platform that starts at the source and operates at scale, bringing the ability to explore the provenance and authenticity of a diamond, as well as its unique journey along the diamond value chain.
Traceability and provenance were two words mentioned by all teams since they are related to a significant change in consumers' expectations. "It is a very different consumer that is buying diamonds today. They are more concerned about the footprint of what they are consuming. They are willing to ask more questions about what they are purchasing and the potential impact on climate, for example, of these products", said Wes Tucker, CEO of Tracr.
The Shell team related to the change in societal expectations, defined by them as a mindset change that encompasses not only consumers, but also media outlets, governments and regulators. The teams agreed that technology will be essential when searching for the solutions needed as such expectations evolve.
To meet such expectations, Anglo American recently launched Valutrax™. As a global provider of many of the future-enabling metals and minerals needed for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world, Anglo American is committed to meeting the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers.
Built on blockchain, Valutrax™ provides customers with a single point of access for core information on a product's provenance and sustainability credentials – in a secure, accurate and auditable way. This innovative solution offers full visibility and reassurance to customers that their purchase is sourced or produced in accordance with Anglo American’s sustainability standards.
After listening about Tracr™ and Valutrax™, the Shell team shared the experience of building Avelia – a solution that aims to connect airlines and businesses globally to share the environmental benefits of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Built on blockchain, Avelia is a tool designed to promote the decarbonisation of air travel via the book-and-claim chain of custody model.
"Sometimes the technology is the easy part. The challenge resides in changing the way companies have operated so far and highlighting to people across the organisations how important these new tools are going to be for the future of the business," said Steve Woodward, Head of Blockchain Strategy, Anglo American.
"It was a very engaging and energising session and showed us we are not alone in the journey we are taking to innovate in our individual industries," reflected Vikram Seth from Shell.
Anglo American and Shell have agreed to continue the immersive learning experience and the teams are now co-ordinating a reciprocal visit to Shell’s London office.