UK University Creates Blockchain Certificate to Shield Consumers from COVID-19 Threats

UK university is testing a new blockchain-powered certificate aimed at mitigating COVID-19 risks across supply chains.

In an announcement from April 21, Professor Nassim Belbaly, director of Birmingham City Business School, stated that “coronavirus represents a crisis of trust because we cannot any longer automatically trust goods or suppliers.”

New, secure and automated solutions are thus being looked for to help reassure consumers and suppliers that goods across the value chain do not pose health risks to themselves or to others.

To resolve these post-pandemic issues, a newly-launched “4th Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies Centre” is testing a blockchain-based Coronavirus Clearance Certificate (CCC), issued by The Transnational Transparent Procurement Foundation (TTPF) in the U.K.

The center is also called “BCU-CCEG 4IR,” which stands for the two cooperating founders behind it, Birmingham City University (BCU) and the non-profit Centre for Citizenship, Enterprise and Governance (CCEG).

Since its founding in 2013, the CCEG has worked as a global think tank, with 165,000 members contributing to its research and development of social value tools which use nascent technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and 5G.

What the certificate offers

The CCC certificate can reportedly be granted to organizations, products and even individuals to confirm that they have taken appropriate steps to reduce risks from COVID-19.

The challenges brought about by the current public health crisis are connected with wider concerns about compliance and ethical practices in modern logistics and value chains. As Olinga Taeed, a visiting professor of blockchain at Birmingham City University, states:

“[The certificate] confirms that a supplier adheres to highest standards of public health, sustainability, anti-bribery and even modern slavery. And in this case, we can verify the level of supply risk due to the coronavirus. It represents the future of supply chain management.”

As a means for tracking the life cycle of any specified product, hand sanitizer for instance, the certificate will initially be tested in the U.K. Midlands, a region which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leveraging blockchain to solve public health issues

The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications recently disclosed a partnership with the European Commission and University College London to coordinate the efforts of different blockchain solution providers that are tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Blockchain experts and IoT companies have also joined in to adjust their solutions to COVID-19-focused data management and sharing.