Wakefield BioChar is the latest company to join the US Endowment’s ForesTrust blockchain network as a founding member.
GREENSVILLE, SC | VALDOSTA, GA | HOUSTON, TX 08/DEC/2022 — The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) and Chainparency are pleased to announce that Wakefield BioChar (Wakefield) has joined the Endowment’s ForesTrust blockchain network as a new founding member. Wakefield will play a key role, alongside founding member Domtar Corporation, in helping to develop and further advance the ForesTrust blockchain network’s industry wide efforts to realize greater trust, transparency, and accountability within forest product value chains.
Wakefield is the developer of biochar soil fertilizer and compost products that are sustainably made from wood waste in a process designed to optimize the natural benefits of carbon and improve soil health organically. Pure organic bio-matter is pyrolyzed into biochar particles to breathe new life into soil by holding on to water, nutrients and giving a solid home to beneficial microorganisms. Wakefield’s premium biochar products are made from biomass waste that is sourced via the Company’s innovative and environmentally-friendly beneficial reuse program. Wakefield works with select mill partners to collect their biomass waste and mill byproducts, typically destined for landfills, to be reused in the development of biochar. The program not only helps partners to manage their waste better, mitigate against environmental concerns, and lower operating costs but also helps to accelerate collective efforts to achieve sustainability goals given the circular nature of the program and the ultimate carbon sequestration benefits of biochar.
What is biochar?
Biochar is a black carbon material that is produced from the pyrolysis of biomass sources such as wood chips, plant residues, manure or other agricultural waste products. The International Biochar Initiative defines biochar as “the solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment”. In essence, pyrolysis technologies result in the thermal decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen. Historically, biochar has ancient origins and is speculated to have been originally used by indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin as a soil supplement. Today, it is associated with various potential benefits ranging from improved soil fertility and crop production, erosion control and pollutant filtration to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Due to its pyrogenic carbon properties, biochar can be stably sequestered in soil as a carbon sink for thousands of years, giving it tremendous potential to stem global warming. It has increasingly become a popular topic in the scientific community as researchers are estimating the mass adoption of biochar could significantly reduce global carbon emissions.
Wakefield will join other founding members to contribute to the development and growth of the ForesTrust network, which utilizes blockchain technology solutions developed by Chainparency, a developer of innovative blockchain-based applications and risk management tools. Blockchain technology is expected to provide a variety of potential benefits to ForesTrust members. These benefits include the real-time collection of supply chain data that is irreversibly recorded on a distributed ledger, operational efficiencies such as streamlined forestry certification processes, improved economic outcomes for forestry communities, and enhanced methodologies for the accounting of carbon emissions in forestry value chains.
“We are proud to partner and develop the mission of ForesTrust and Chainparency,” said Tom Marrero, President of Wakefield BioChar. “The benefits of reusing wood waste from our timber industry to reduce a significant environmental liability, to create beneficial soil health amendments and provide transparency and credibility to the process is critical in our world. The undeniable value of creating better soil for agriculture and improving the health of our society for generations to come energizes the Wakefield team to reach its massive potential. We are thankful for ForestTrust to champion this story.”
Over the next twelve months, Wakefield plans to work closely with the Endowment, Chainparency, and other ForesTrust members and stakeholders to pilot blockchain technology in select Wakefield supply chains. Key objectives will be to advance circularity claims and ensure the provenance of the biomass waste used in the pyrolysis process to develop Wakefield’s biochar products, to track and trace finished goods and products, and demonstrate the use of QR code scanning and blockchain technology to enable end users and retail customers to discover and verify key details and claims related to Wakefield’s biochar products.
About Wakefield BioChar
Based in Valdosta, GA, Wakefield knows that all plants benefit from a better, healthier soil. Too many treatments and chemicals deplete nutrients and degrade soil quality over time. And sadly, many traditional treatments have unintended consequences for our planet. That’s why so many of us water and fertilize so much, but still don’t get the results they want. With Wakefield soil conditioners you will increase microbial activity and absorb water and nitrogen to improve your soil health. And, biochar returns carbon to the earth, reducing greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere! Better Soil. Better World.
About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.
About Chainparency
Chainparency is a global technology solutions company focused on the issues of trust and authenticity. The company develops turnkey and modular applications and digital risk management tools to help companies and organizations to validate claims and ensure transparent and accountable global supply chains. Industry agnostic, Chainparency is especially well-suited for helping its customers to validate product and provenance claims, advancing sustainability and certifications processes, driving operational efficiencies, and modernizing and digitally transforming global supply chains. Chainparency currently offers a full suite of digital applications ranging from its flagship GoTrace traceability application, blockchain-as-a-service integrations, asset tokenization and digital ownership, to the company’s QR code-based aftermarket product discovery solution. For more information, please visit www.chainparency.com.
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