The Blockchain@X Research Center at École Polytechnique, financially supported by Capgemini, Nomadic Labs and Caisse des Dépôts, is supporting the Blockchain for Good association, which is actively contributing to a global mapping of impactful blockchain projects and will soon publish a report on the subject.

A de facto association since 2018, Blockchain for Good is a 1901 law whose purpose is to value, promote, support and contribute to fundamental and applied research in digital innovations that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations.

The Blockchain@X Research and Teaching Center a pioneer in its field, is well aware of the challenges that blockchains must meet in terms of sustainability. While the emergence of technologies such as zero disclosure proof or the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism promise a positive impact in terms of ecology, the sustainability of blockchain must be addressed at other scales. Supporting the association in the realization of this mapping of impact blockchain actors is a first step towards a more responsible technology.

The activity of the Blockchain for Good association is based on three means of action: collecting and publishing open data, writing an analysis report, and fostering public debate and meetings between actors.

Blockchain for Good is actively contributing to the global mapping of blockchain projects related to the pursuit of one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This data collection work, carried out in partnership with the association PositiveBlockchain.io, aims to make available to the public for free:

A user-friendly web interface, accessible as a directory/search engine to explore the data collected in a collaborative manner.
An open data set, updated every year, reusable by all, multidisciplinary researchers, policy makers and regulators, companies and startups, Non Governmental Organizations and International Organizations as well as by the general public.
The mapping is then the subject of an analysis report whose problematic is the following: “How do initiatives based on blockchains contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals? Which ones and in which areas? Which decentralized projects work and under what governance?

The objective of the report is first and foremost to establish a link between sustainable development stakeholders and the blockchain ecosystem, two audiences that currently speak very little to each other. The report will be based on indicators extracted from the mapping in the form of, among other things, data visualization and graphs understandable by all. It will focus on concrete cases of use and real experiences, and some projects will be deciphered by questioning their stakes, particularly with regard to the ecological transition.

The Blockchain for Good Association, coordinated by Jacques-André Fines Schlumberger, relies on the advice of a scientific committee made up of academics and practitioners, experts in fields related to the association’s purpose. Dr. Daniel Augot, Director of Research at INRIA, part-time lecturer at the École Polytechnique; Dr. Louis Bertucci. Researcher at the Louis Bachelier Institute; Damien de Chillaz, President and co-founder of KatalX; Noémie Dié, PhD student at Télécom Paris at Bpifrance Le Lab; Dr. Patrice Geoffron, Professor of Economics at the University of Paris-Dauphine; Dr. Pascal Lafourcade, Senior Lecturer at the University of Paris-Dauphine. Pascal Lafourcade, Lecturer at the University of Clermont Auvergne, specialist in cryptography and data security; Pierre Noro, Lecturer “Blockchain for Public Good, Governance and Regulation” at Sciences Po Paris, COO of Pebble ; Anne-Cécile Ragot, expert in sustainable development; Analia Ramos, Co-founder of Positive Blockchain, Product Owner, at Palm; Stéphane Voisin, Coordinator of the “Climate Chain” research program, Institut Louis Bachelier; Sajida Zouarhi, Blockchain Engineer, co-founder of the Kidner Project.

About the Blockchain@X Research Center

The Blockchain@X Research Center at École Polytechnique aims to combine academic excellence with institutional and scientific prestige in order to foster innovation in blockchain. A pioneer in its field and supported by Capgemini, Nomadic Labs and Caisse des Dépôts, it brings together scientists in computer science and economics whose research focuses on blockchains and related technologies. The chair also offers a wide range of courses to students at École Polytechnique who wish to learn about this constantly evolving field, and contributes to the organization of international academic conferences such as Tokenomics.

PRESS CONTACTS

Blockchain@X Research Center at École Polytechnique
Julien Prat
juien.prat@polytechnique.edu
5 rue le Chatelier (CREST)
91120 Palaiseau, France