ESG: blockchain technology’s impact

The increasing interest and popularity of blockchain and digital assets has brought their various impacts to light. They have the potential to assist both a green transition and address Environmental Social and corporate Governance (ESG) concerns. ESG measurements aim to establish an evaluation of companies’ social and environmental responsibilities and credentials and this renders it very useful in assisting socially responsible investors to make their choice as to where to invest. The importance of ESG in determining the value of a company is becoming increasingly evident. Recently, the value of global ESG assets was estimated to exceed $53 trillion by 2025. Firms involved in ESG ratings provide corporate social credit scores which rank companies’ negative effects on the world - for instance, pollution and modern slavery.

Blockchain technology is helping to improve ESG credentials, in part given its ability to maintain a decentralised database of records which are tamper-resistant in…