Project BLOFEN - Verified Data. Seamless Reporting.

AI Quick Summary

BLOFEN addresses the growing challenge of scaling lifecycle assessment (LCA) data collection in response to increasing regulatory demands. Current methods are manual, inefficient, and unable to meet the growing volume of required LCAs. This results in poor-quality data that undermines regulatory efforts. BLOFEN solves this by providing an automated, scalable solution that ensures high-quality, real-time, traceable data through IoT, ERP, and blockchain technologies, making sustainability reporting more efficient, reliable, and aligned with regulations. What challenge in the circular building and construction industry does your idea address? (max. 50 words) LCA data collection in construction is slow, inconsistent, and hard to scale, with static data, repetitive processes, and low-quality inputs often based on assumptions. Current methods struggle to meet increasing regulatory demands due to inefficiency, limited capacity, and trust issues, leading to outdated assessments and compromised decision-making in sustainability efforts.What is your vision for solving this challenge, and why is your approach innovative? Who will benefit from a solution to this problem? (max. 200 words) Projekt BLOFEN provides an innovative solution to the challenges of traditional LCA data collection in the construction sector. By integrating IoT sensors, ERP system APIs, and blockchain technology, BLOFEN creates a scalable, high-quality infrastructure for real-time, precise, and trustworthy data collection. The system captures dynamic, time-stamped data, enabling companies to track and demonstrate their progress toward sustainability goals while ensuring precise lifecycle assessments. Data is standardized and reusable across multiple projects, eliminating redundant collection and improving efficiency. Automated data capture through IoT sensors, ERP APIs, and blockchain reduces human error, ensuring the accuracy and validation of the data. BLOFEN’s decentralized design allows it to handle large volumes of data across stakeholders, making it capable of scaling to meet increasing LCA demands without sacrificing quality. Furthermore, blockchain ensures the traceability and immutability of data, providing tamper-proof, auditable records of material and energy flows. BLOFEN bridges the gap between LCA reporting, construction, and digital technologies, addressing the challenges of cross-sector implementation. It also tracks multiple life cycles of products, enabling documentation of how products are intended to be circular. Through the end-of-life use block, BLOFEN ensures an immutable commitment to how materials will be utilized sustainably, reinforcing circular economy principles.How could your idea positively impact the planet, people, or economy in the future? (e.g., circularity, reducing waste, improving health, creating opportunities) (max. 100 words) BLOFEN enables scalable, traceable, and immutable environmental data across the construction supply chain. By aligning with fundamental principles like mass and energy conservation, it reduces barriers for companies to comply with evolving regulations and document environmental impacts. As more stakeholders join, the system increases coverage and transparency, making it easier to track emissions, resource use, and circularity across projects and life cycles. This fosters smarter decision-making, reduces waste, and encourages circular design. BLOFEN supports a shift from one-off assessments to continuous, verifiable data flows—creating long-term value for the planet, businesses, and future-proof regulatory compliance.What assumptions or ideas do you want to test? What do you plan to work on during the booster program, and what is your goal to deliver at the end? (e.g., feasibility testing, prototype development, testing desirability) (max. 200 words) During the booster program, we aim to test the assumption that construction material suppliers and LCA consultants—the primary users of BLOFEN—are ready to adopt a decentralised, automated data system for life cycle reporting. Specifically, we want to explore their willingness to move away from manual processes and accept token-based compensation as a mechanism to incentivise data sharing. These assumptions are critical for ensuring that BLOFEN can function as a scalable, trusted infrastructure across the industry.We plan to conduct interviews and workshops with key stakeholders to understand their workflows, needs, and constraints. This includes identifying what data is currently collected, where friction exists, and how BLOFEN’s system design can align with real-world use cases. We also want to validate our structured data approach against LCA and regulatory requirements, and test how stakeholders respond to immutable records and traceability via blockchain. In particular, we want to explore how the “end-of-life” block could help stakeholders document circularity intentions and commitments transparently.Our outcome will be a white paper synthesising these insights into a set of design principles and market entry strategies, ensuring BLOFEN’s development is grounded in actual user needs and industry readiness.Has your idea been tested before? If yes, what were the results, and what remains to be tested? (max. 100 words) Blockchain has been implemented in industries like food, mining, and manufacturing, primarily to verify CO₂ values and prove product origin. These systems act as verifiers. BLOFEN takes a different role by supplying the underlying, traceable, high-quality data to those verifiers. It doesn’t store CO₂ data itself but provides the structured information required to generate it. Research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195925524003901) shows that blockchain is highly suited to improving the efficiency and reliability of LCAs. What remains to be tested is market readiness, stakeholder alignment, and how BLOFEN integrates with existing data infrastructures and sustainability reporting tools.Who is in your team, and what expertise or roles do they bring? (max. 150 words) Our team is composed of four experts with complementary skills. Florian Robineck, Founder & CEO of conspark GmbH, brings extensive experience in LCA for construction products, carbon credits, and circular value chains, with a strong background in consulting for leading manufacturers. Charles Gerike-Roberts, Founder of Kohlenkraft, has firsthand experience with the complexities of conducting LCAs across supply chains, particularly in biochar, and has developed renewable energy models using Python optimization algorithms. Dr. Michael Lustenberger, a blockchain and supply chain expert at ZHAW, offers 25 years of experience, focusing on the application of blockchain in supply chains and providing crucial insights into the feasibility of our system. Franz Schnyder, CEO of zirkulit, serves as our implementation partner, committed to circular construction principles and providing valuable industry connections for testing BLOFEN’s desirability, alongside the potential for pilot projects. Together, we offer a strong foundation for BLOFEN’s success.How do you plan to secure the 10% third-party funding required? (max. 100 words)We plan to secure the 10% third-party funding by applying for blockchain use case development grants, such as those offered by VeChain. Through discussions with industry experts, we've learned that several blockchain companies hold millions in tokens but lack clear use cases. We aim to leverage this untapped funding by demonstrating BLOFEN’s potential in the construction market and showcasing our strong network and expertise in connecting these companies with the right partners. These partnerships will be crucial for validating the technological feasibility and functionality of BLOFEN.

Project Idea Metadata

Project Idea Name: Project BLOFEN - Verified Data. Seamless Reporting.
Date: 4/7/2025 2:37:14 PM
Administrators:
- Florian Robineck

Project Idea Description

What challenge in the circular building and construction industry does your idea address? (max. 50 words)

LCA data collection in construction is slow, inconsistent, and hard to scale, with static data, repetitive processes, and low-quality inputs often based on assumptions. Current methods struggle to meet increasing regulatory demands due to inefficiency, limited capacity, and trust issues, leading to outdated assessments and compromised decision-making in sustainability efforts.

What is your vision for solving this challenge, and why is your approach innovative? Who will benefit from a solution to this problem? (max. 200 words)

Projekt BLOFEN provides an innovative solution to the challenges of traditional LCA data collection in the construction sector. By integrating IoT sensors, ERP system APIs, and blockchain technology, BLOFEN creates a scalable, high-quality infrastructure for real-time, precise, and trustworthy data collection. The system captures dynamic, time-stamped data, enabling companies to track and demonstrate their progress toward sustainability goals while ensuring precise lifecycle assessments. Data is standardized and reusable across multiple projects, eliminating redundant collection and improving efficiency. Automated data capture through IoT sensors, ERP APIs, and blockchain reduces human error, ensuring the accuracy and validation of the data. BLOFEN’s decentralized design allows it to handle large volumes of data across stakeholders, making it capable of scaling to meet increasing LCA demands without sacrificing quality. Furthermore, blockchain ensures the traceability and immutability of data, providing tamper-proof, auditable records of material and energy flows. BLOFEN bridges the gap between LCA reporting, construction, and digital technologies, addressing the challenges of cross-sector implementation. It also tracks multiple life cycles of products, enabling documentation of how products are intended to be circular. Through the end-of-life use block, BLOFEN ensures an immutable commitment to how materials will be utilized sustainably, reinforcing circular economy principles.

How could your idea positively impact the planet, people, or economy in the future? (e.g., circularity, reducing waste, improving health, creating opportunities) (max. 100 words)

BLOFEN enables scalable, traceable, and immutable environmental data across the construction supply chain. By aligning with fundamental principles like mass and energy conservation, it reduces barriers for companies to comply with evolving regulations and document environmental impacts. As more stakeholders join, the system increases coverage and transparency, making it easier to track emissions, resource use, and circularity across projects and life cycles. This fosters smarter decision-making, reduces waste, and encourages circular design. BLOFEN supports a shift from one-off assessments to continuous, verifiable data flows—creating long-term value for the planet, businesses, and future-proof regulatory compliance.

What assumptions or ideas do you want to test? What do you plan to work on during the booster program, and what is your goal to deliver at the end? (e.g., feasibility testing, prototype development, testing desirability) (max. 200 words)

During the booster program, we aim to test the assumption that construction material suppliers and LCA consultants—the primary users of BLOFEN—are ready to adopt a decentralised, automated data system for life cycle reporting. Specifically, we want to explore their willingness to move away from manual processes and accept token-based compensation as a mechanism to incentivise data sharing. These assumptions are critical for ensuring that BLOFEN can function as a scalable, trusted infrastructure across the industry.

We plan to conduct interviews and workshops with key stakeholders to understand their workflows, needs, and constraints. This includes identifying what data is currently collected, where friction exists, and how BLOFEN’s system design can align with real-world use cases. We also want to validate our structured data approach against LCA and regulatory requirements, and test how stakeholders respond to immutable records and traceability via blockchain. In particular, we want to explore how the “end-of-life” block could help stakeholders document circularity intentions and commitments transparently.

Our outcome will be a white paper synthesising these insights into a set of design principles and market entry strategies, ensuring BLOFEN’s development is grounded in actual user needs and industry readiness.

Has your idea been tested before? If yes, what were the results, and what remains to be tested? (max. 100 words)

Blockchain has been implemented in industries like food, mining, and manufacturing, primarily to verify CO₂ values and prove product origin. These systems act as verifiers. BLOFEN takes a different role by supplying the underlying, traceable, high-quality data to those verifiers. It doesn’t store CO₂ data itself but provides the structured information required to generate it. Research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195925524003901) shows that blockchain is highly suited to improving the efficiency and reliability of LCAs. What remains to be tested is market readiness, stakeholder alignment, and how BLOFEN integrates with existing data infrastructures and sustainability reporting tools.

Who is in your team, and what expertise or roles do they bring? (max. 150 words)

Our team is composed of four experts with complementary skills. Florian Robineck, Founder & CEO of conspark GmbH, brings extensive experience in LCA for construction products, carbon credits, and circular value chains, with a strong background in consulting for leading manufacturers. Charles Gerike-Roberts, Founder of Kohlenkraft, has firsthand experience with the complexities of conducting LCAs across supply chains, particularly in biochar, and has developed renewable energy models using Python optimization algorithms. Dr. Michael Lustenberger, a blockchain and supply chain expert at ZHAW, offers 25 years of experience, focusing on the application of blockchain in supply chains and providing crucial insights into the feasibility of our system. Franz Schnyder, CEO of zirkulit, serves as our implementation partner, committed to circular construction principles and providing valuable industry connections for testing BLOFEN’s desirability, alongside the potential for pilot projects. Together, we offer a strong foundation for BLOFEN’s success.

How do you plan to secure the 10% third-party funding required? (max. 100 words)

We plan to secure the 10% third-party funding by applying for blockchain use case development grants, such as those offered by VeChain. Through discussions with industry experts, we've learned that several blockchain companies hold millions in tokens but lack clear use cases. We aim to leverage this untapped funding by demonstrating BLOFEN’s potential in the construction market and showcasing our strong network and expertise in connecting these companies with the right partners. These partnerships will be crucial for validating the technological feasibility and functionality of BLOFEN.