GM folks. ImpactScope has been busy building underground throughout the bear, and we are now ready to come out of the basement. We have spent a long while considering what ecosystem would be the best for us to deploy our project on, and we have come to the exciting decision that we would love to make Polkadot our home. “But who are you?” you might ask, and to that, we would say, “Great question!”. Below you will find a briefish outline of who we are and what our goals are in the space.
TLDR;
- We love Polkadot
- We are launching two complimentary projects in the space
- We’ve won awards for our work already
- We have a decentralized funding round coming up
- We want to answer your questions
Introduction
From local & global inequalities in education, health care, and housing, to challenges in making the planet cleaner, and the jeopardization of biodiversity and rising plastic pollution on land and in our oceans. These are just a few of the ever-evolving and interconnected challenges the world has been facing for years. Responding to these challenges has been attempted in many different ways, growing into a sector of its own called the “impact” sector. It can be well argued that the world has seen moderately successful (and unsuccessful) attempts, but the impact of such ventures has faced a broader issue revolving around inadequate measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV). ImpactScope is striving to change this in a truly innovative way, through the strategic utilization of emerging technologies such as blockchain powered by Polkadot and AI technologies built in conjunction with our publicly traded AI partner.
At the heart of ImpactScope is our mission to revolutionize the impact sector. To tackle the challenge of inadequate MRV, ImpactScope is taking a dynamic approach by bringing verified impact outcomes on-chain. This is through our Greenwashing Identifier (GWI), an AI and Blockchain-powered tool designed to identify instances of greenwashing, and also through DIOM, the Decentralized Impact Outcomes Marketplace, a platform for the tokenization and verification of social and environmental interventions.
Our goal is to seamlessly integrate ImpactScope into the Polkadot ecosystem, beginning with deploying on Astar and launching our utility token through Polimec, followed by building and launching our marketplace. Fundraising through Polimec will position ImpactScope favorably to advance our GWI and the DIOM. We are committed to bringing more transparency to global green claims and actualizing a Web3 model that decentralizes and incentivizes the creation of verified impact outcomes.
The ImpactScope Thesis
At ImpactScope, we believe that the next ten years will witness a significant transformation in the ways impact is financed, generated, and authenticated. We believe that the merging of Blockchain Technology (BCT), Web3 primitives, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will give rise to innovative tools for validating impact and novel economic frameworks that will convert impact results into easily tradable digital assets.
By utilizing the blockchain’s inherent characteristics of transparency, traceability, and trustworthiness, DIOM, our Decentralized Impact Outcomes Marketplace, enables accurate, real-time, and transparent MRV processes, addressing the critical issue of inadequate MRV in the impact sector. This strategy not only tackles this problem but also paves the way for a new era where verified impact outcomes become a recognized asset class.
Our other service offering, the Greenwashing Identifier (GWI) – an AI and Blockchain-powered tool to identify greenwashing instances, is built on top of a machine learning model capable of detecting inconsistencies in “green" claims made in corporate ESG reports and product descriptions with statements on social media and entries in carbon offset registries. Our algorithms can quickly identify potential instances of greenwashing and automatically log them onchain, while also alerting the relevant financial regulator.
Accolades
Siemens
ImpactScope was one of three global finalists in the Siemens Tokenize the Energy Transition Challenge. The objective was to develop a web3 solution to help Siemens “represent, monitor and validate sustainable assets". Our proposal was a web3 application designed to optimize and future-proof ESG reporting for Siemens’ Energy Performance Contracting clients while helping Siemens’ clients reduce their data management costs.
ImpactScope developed and designed a series of dynamic NFTs that captured and verified energy metadata through oracles connected to smart meters. This metadata is then transmitted on-chain to a platform that can be tailored to display specific metrics in line with various ESG reporting standards.
Fig 2. The architecture and UI of the solution developed for Siemens
World Bank, GFiN
ImpactScope’s AI and blockchain-powered Greenwashing Identifier application (GWI) won the Eureka Prize for the most innovative solution during the 2023 GFiN TechSprint. The Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) is an umbrella association of 65 international financial regulators dedicated to promoting financial innovation for the benefit of consumers. ImpactScope, along with Ernst & Young, Sony Laboratories, and King’s College London, was invited to participate in the inaugural GFiN Greenwashing TechSprint, a three-month digital sandbox program aimed at creating solutions to “address or reduce the risks of greenwashing in financial services.” During the TechSprint ImpactScope collaborated with the World Bank, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and other regulators to design and build a machine learning model capable of detecting inconsistencies in “green" claims made by listed companies.
Why Polkadot?
We’ve recognized an incredible opportunity to launch on Polkadot because of the following:
Interoperability: Polkadot’s unique architecture enables interoperability between different blockchains. This would allow ImpactScope to easily connect and interact with multiple blockchain networks, enhancing its ability to track and verify impact outcomes across a wider range of digital assets and platforms.
Scalability: Polkadot’s sharded design can provide higher scalability than traditional single-chain architectures. This means that ImpactScope can handle a larger volume of transactions and data analysis without compromising on speed or efficiency.
Security: Polkadot’s bank-like security is crucial for maintaining trust among ImpactScope’s clients, many of whom are supervisory authorities and highly regulated entities.
Governance: Polkadot’s on-chain governance model provides a blueprint and inspires a culture that aligns with our values, ensuring IMPACT governance token holders feel like they are part of a community that values their voice and works together toward a common good.
Collaborations: ImpactScope has established relationships with the following organizations:
→ Polimec: a decentralized community-driven funding protocol deployed on Polkadot to accelerate the Web3 ecosystem
→ Astar Network: a scalable network powering a global Web3 vision
- We’ve deployed a version of GWI on Astar’s Shibuya testnet.
- The upcoming live version of GWI will be deployed on Astar.
→ Hashed Network: a protocol that enables the full business lifecycle for digitally-native organizations and web3-curious businesses seeking the benefits of decentralized digital economies.
- In collaboration with Hashed Network, ImpactScope is applying for Web3 Foundation grants to develop additional GWI and DIOM modules on Substrate.
Looking Forward
The aim of this forum post is to introduce ImpactScope to the community. The team is truly excited about joining the Polkadot ecosystem. We are a grassroots movement, which is why building a strong early community through a decentralized fundraising mechanism is really important to us. This community will be crucial in launching our DIOM, actualizing a web3 model that will decentralize and incentivize the creation of verified impact outcomes. The team at ImpactScope is genuinely thrilled about embarking on this journey in Polkadot, and we welcome any questions that you have. We are also open to coming to speak to your communities through AMAs, podcasts, etc. Reply below or better yet, come and join us on Discord.