Blockchain-Enabled Carbon Credit Trading Platforms: Analyzing Their Impact On Corporate Sustainability And Environmental Accountability

Abstract

Blockchain-based carbon credit exchanges are a revolutionary development that enables change in the way organizations gauge and accrue exchange and compliance of environmental performance. Due to the distributed ledger technology (DLT) of these platforms, transaction records will be permanently saved, transaction compliance will be automated using smart contracts, and the associated verification costs will be reduced, increasing trust in voluntary and compliance-based carbon markets. This paper examines the technical mechanics and market dynamics of blockchain-based carbon credit mechanism on sustainability and environmental responsibility of corporations. The study investigates how much such platform provide transparency, reduce double-counting and encourage emission reductions using a mixed-method approach that includes the analysis of secondary data of transaction data and corporate sustainability reporting and network analysis of blockchain transaction flows. Findings show that the integration of the blockchain improves the traceability of the carbon credit, quality of the disclosures by the corporate, and the confidence of the stakeholders in the climate stories. Moreover, such platforms create the possibilities of international carbon trade to enhance the global climate governance based on the Paris Agreement by controlling the number of intermediaries and minimizing transaction costs. The results demonstrate that the blockchain-enabled carbon market may become a catalyst in the implementation of sustainable corporate policies as a verifiable and scalable high-trust method of achieving net-zero targets.