Special Issue "Blockchain Fostering Sustainability: Challenges and Perspectives"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Caterina Tricase
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Interests: study and application of the LCA methodology; study and application of carbon and water footprint; assessment of the environmental sustainability of commodities and production processes; blockchain and bitcoin
Prof. Dr. Angela Tarabella
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Management, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: blockchain and bitcoin; agrifood sector; precision agriculture; sustainability management systems
Prof. Dr. Roberto Leonardo Rana
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Interests: effects of the innovations on the quality of the processes; environmental assessment by life cycle assessment methodology and carbon footprint; EU energy policy in terms of reduction in CO2 emissions; blockchain
Prof. Dr. Pasquale Giungato
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Taranto Branch, 74100 Taranto, Italy
Interests: life cycle assessment; industrial ecology; blockchain; environmental chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Starting from Bitcoin, a digital currency based on a peer-to-peer payment system managed by an open source software and characterized by low transaction costs and no need of a central bank, the underlying blockchain technology is attracting the interest of the scientific community as it represents the basis for a distributed and democratically sustained public ledger of transactions in numerous fields.

Never before has such a massive effort been made to boost the use of blockchain in institutional policy and business, despite criticisms about illegal uses and social consequences of cryptocurrencies. Among its numerous applications, in our opinion blockchain could foster new and challenging opportunities in sustainability issues. Sharing medical data, energy generation and distribution in microgrids at citizen level, new state-minted cheaper cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts may benefit from the widespread blockchain, and sustainability issues may benefit from the adoption of this technology at a worldwide level. From this point of view, blockchain may become a driver of social change.

Our intention is to make this Special Issue of Sustainability a discussion forum where various experiences and points of view can be presented. We invite authors to exchange results of research on relations between blockchain and sustainability and the role in the circular economy of the newly, public distributed ledger of transactions. Together, we can reach solutions to the numerous problems encountered in the application of blockchain in sustainability issues.

  • Smart contracts
  • Blockchain-based supply chain process for the agricultural sector
  • Fundamentals and proof of work alternatives
  • Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain
  • Energy demand for cryptocurrencies mining
  • Bill management using blockchain technology

Prof. Dr. Caterina Tricase
Prof. Dr. Angela Tarabella
Prof. Dr. Roberto Leonardo Rana
Prof. Dr. Pasquale Giungato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • blockchain
  • sustainability
  • innovation
  • challenges
  • supply chain
  • management
  • food
  • security
  • safety
  • precision agriculture
  • distributed-ledger
  • public organizations
  • GDO
  • retail
  • smart contracts
  • banking
  • finance
  • networking
  • energy
  • privacy
  • legal security
  • blockchain in health system

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

Article
Vpassport: A Digital Architecture to Support Social Restart during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3945; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073945 - 02 Apr 2021
Viewed by 533
Abstract
As a consequence of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, the causative agent of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the world is currently witnessing profound changes in everyday life. The infection and the resulting death number forecasts generate an increasing threat to the lives of people and the [...] Read more.
As a consequence of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, the causative agent of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the world is currently witnessing profound changes in everyday life. The infection and the resulting death number forecasts generate an increasing threat to the lives of people and the economics of countries. As the acute phase of the pandemic ends, the greatest challenge that most governments are currently undergoing is the lack of tools to certify the immunity status of citizens and the related infection risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. To mitigate this challenge, this study proposes an innovative approach to implement a set of IT tools, here named VPassport, that assist large-scale test execution/result management in a distributed way and store the results of all tests made through all channels in a blockchain under country authority control. The proposed approach aims to produce an effective system able to support governments, health authorities, and citizens to take informed decisions on which services and social activities can be accessed respecting policies and rules set by the authorities. This aims to allow a controlled restart of the activities of the country, giving to all citizens the possibility to manage their immunity tests while allowing the authorities to manage the reopening of services and social activities. The proposed model helps in managing this phase and, therefore, the resulting outcome can be used to authorize possible behaviors (e.g., going to the office, production plants, public transportation, theaters, cinemas, etc.). The knowledge of being infected or not in a secure and not modifiable way that can be shown in a simple way, accessible to all, will be the real change in managing the coexistence with the virus until a vaccine will be available for all people. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Blockchain Fostering Sustainability: Challenges and Perspectives)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

Review
Distributed Ledger Technology Applications in Food Supply Chains: A Review of Challenges and Future Research Directions
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4206; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084206 - 09 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 933
Abstract
The lack of transparency and traceability in food supply chains (FSCs) is raising concerns among consumers and stakeholders about food information credibility, food quality, and safety. Insufficient records, a lack of digitalization and standardization of processes, and information exchange are some of the [...] Read more.
The lack of transparency and traceability in food supply chains (FSCs) is raising concerns among consumers and stakeholders about food information credibility, food quality, and safety. Insufficient records, a lack of digitalization and standardization of processes, and information exchange are some of the most critical challenges, which can be tackled with disruptive technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). Studies provide evidence that novel technological and sustainable practices in FSCs are necessary. This paper aims to describe current practical applications of DLTs and IoT in FSCs, investigating the challenges of implementation, and potentials for future research directions, thus contributing to achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within a systematic literature review, the content of 69 academic publications was analyzed, describing aspects of implementation and measures to address the challenges of scalability, security, and privacy of DLT, and IoT solutions. The challenges of high costs, standardization, regulation, interoperability, and energy consumption of DLT solutions were also classified as highly relevant, but were not widely addressed in literature. The application of DLTs in FSCs can potentially contribute to 6 strategic SDGs, providing synergies and possibilities for more sustainable, traceable, and transparent FSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Blockchain Fostering Sustainability: Challenges and Perspectives)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop