Mass Balance with Blockchain Technology: Innovation and Transparency in the Supply Chain

In an economy moving toward sustainability, it is no longer enough to simply use recycled or renewable raw materials. Companies must be able to demonstrate, with verifiable data, how and when These materials have been used. In this context, the concept of chain of custody becomes essential. It is the system that documents and verifies the journey of a material from its origin to the final product, ensuring its integrity, traceability, and attribution.

There are several internationally recognized chain of custody models: physical segregation, preserved identity, book & claim, and the one we are dealing with in this article, the mass balance. Unlike models that require physically separating sustainable materials, mass balance allows inputs from different sources—fossil and sustainable—to be mixed, and then proportionally attributed positive environmental characteristics to the final products. This makes it a practical method for complex industries that work with large volumes and interconnected production flows.

The rule ISO 22095, published in 2020, establishes the technical foundations for chain of custody systems. It defines common criteria, traceability requirements, attribute transfer mechanisms, and guidelines for independent audits. Within this standard, the mass balance model is fully recognized, provided it complies with verifiable accounting principles and avoids double attribution of sustainable credits.

In practice, mass balance—when implemented under a chain of custody system compliant with ISO 22095—allows companies to legitimately certify that they have replaced a portion of their fossil fuel inputs with circular materials, even if they are not physically distinguishable. Without this regulatory and methodological framework, any sustainability claim would lack technical support.

This system not only facilitates the transition towards a circular economy, but, combined with emerging technologies such as blockchain and the digital product passport, brings the level of transparency and automation that the new market demands. Throughout this article, you will discover how mass balancing, framed within a robust chain of custody and supported by international standards, is becoming the key method for certifying and scaling sustainability in industrial processes.

What is Mass Balance?

Mass balance is an accounting method applied in industrial processes to assign sustainable attributes to products generated from a mix of inputs. Through this methodology, companies can introduce recycled, renewable, or low-environmental-impact raw materials into a mixed production chain, and then distribute this "sustainability" among the final products in a proportional and verifiable manner.

This approach does not require a physical separation between fossil and sustainable materials. It is therefore ideal for processes where such segregation is not feasible, such as in the production of polymers, fuels, or chemical compounds. In these cases, the important thing is not to isolate the sustainable material in the product, but to ensure, through accurate records, that it has been incorporated into the overall production.

Mass balance It works under a principle of equivalence: If 100 units of circular material are introduced into a plant, it is possible to certify that 100 units of product can attribute that sustainable content, even if it cannot be physically identified in each unit.

However, the success of this model depends on the credibility of records and audits. This is where the emerging concept of digital product passport. This passport acts as a digital document that accompanies each product throughout its lifecycle, collecting data on its materials, processes, origin, and traceability. By integrating it with the mass balance, it can record in real time how much sustainable raw material has been used, in what part of the process, and to which product it has been assigned.

In this context, the digital product passport not only improves traceability but also becomes a tool for transparency for consumers and regulatory bodies. It allows a product to be demonstrated that, although physically indistinguishable, has a documented sustainable footprint, tracked and validated throughout the entire value chain.

Mass balance, powered by technologies like blockchain and tools like the digital product passport, is redefining how sustainability is certified in complex industrial environments, without compromising efficiency or scalability.

Problems of Traditional Mass Balance

Although mass balance represents an important step towards more sustainable production, it is not without its critics. The main problem lies in the lack of visible traceability. Dado que los materiales se mezclan durante el proceso y los productos resultantes son físicamente idénticos, no siempre es evidente para el consumidor —ni siquiera para algunos eslabones de la cadena— si un artículo contiene realmente material sostenible o si solo se le ha atribuido virtualmente.

This opacity can generate skepticism. Companies run the risk of being accused of greenwashing if they do not support their claims with verifiable data. In addition, the traditional audit system is usually based on PDF documents and internal spreadsheets, reviewed once a year. This leaves room for human error, accidental manipulations and, in the worst cases, deliberate fraud.

Faced with this situation, it becomes crucial to reinforce trust through digital tools that provide transparency, integrity and real-time verification. This is where it comes into play blockchain technology, and along with it, the concept of digital product passport.

These digital passports allow a product's entire history to be recorded in a structured and accessible way: from the raw materials used, how much of each was certified, to the processes it went through before reaching the final consumer. When this information is stored on a blockchain network, it is guaranteed to be unaltered or erased, strengthening the credibility of sustainability claims.

Furthermore, the digital product passport facilitates interoperability between platforms and actors in the value chain, allowing everyone—from producer to retailer—to access the same verifiable information, without having to blindly trust the previous provider.

The real challenge, therefore, is not just to have a mass balance system, but to turn it into a model transparent, traceable and reliable, capable of demonstrating its impact on each product using advanced technological tools.

Blockchain and Digital Product Passport: The Future of Mass Balance

Blockchain has emerged as a key technology for transforming traceability in supply chains. Its ability to record information in a immutable and decentralized It eliminates doubts about the origin, quantity and sustainability of the materials used.

Applied to mass balance, blockchain acts as a shared digital ledger. Every transaction—from the receipt of raw materials to final allocation to the product—is stored securely and verifiably. This strengthens trust in the data and reduces the risk of fraud or accounting errors.

The use of digital product passports further enhances this approach. Associated with a batch or item, they allow you to know in real time what proportion of certified materials it contains, where they come from, and how they were processed.

In addition, the Smart Contracts They automate data validation, avoiding double counting of sustainable credits and ensuring transparency throughout the value chain.

In short, blockchain does not replace mass balance: it strengthens it, digitizes it and makes it unquestionable.

How Does Blockchain + Mass Balance Integration Work?

Integrating blockchain into the balance sheet transforms a traditional accounting system into a structure digital, traceable and automated. The logic remains the same: how much sustainable raw material enters the system is recorded and allocated proportionally to the final products. However, with blockchain, every step is validated and documented in real time.

The process begins with the entry of certified materials. These are tokenized, that is, they are assigned a unique digital asset representing their volume, type, and origin. As they move through the production chain, these tokens are automatically transferred and updated through Smart Contracts, reflecting its transformation without losing history.

When a final product is manufactured, it is linked to a digital product passport, which consolidates all traceable data: from the percentage of recycled or renewable content to the processing location and date. All this information is stored on the blockchain, where it cannot be altered, falsified, or lost.

This model has several practical advantages:

Ensures that no more sustainable products are sold than are actually produced.
Ensures transparency between multiple actors without the need to blindly trust any of them.
Reduce audit costs and times thanks to the automated verification.

In essence, blockchain doesn't change the mass balance; it makes it visible, reliable and auditable without friction. It is the infrastructure that gives digital life to a system that until now relied on internal documents and tacit trust.

Advantages of combining Blockchain with Mass Balance

The integration of blockchain and mass balance not only improves traceability; it completely redefines the way we manage, audit, and communicate sustainability in industrial products. Below are its main advantages:

Transparency and Traceability
Immutable record: Each transaction or movement of materials is recorded in an immutable ledger. This ensures that all information about the use of materials is accurate and verifiable at any time.
Distributed access: All participants in the supply chain have access to the same information, eliminating discrepancies and improving trust between parties.

Security and Reliability
Protection against manipulations: The decentralized nature of the blockchain makes it extremely difficult to alter the records, guaranteeing the integrity of the data.
Simplified audits: With immutable and accessible records, audits can be performed more efficiently and with greater confidence in the veracity of the data.

Efficiency and Cost Reduction
The evolution of mass balance no longer depends solely on internal accounting or isolated certificates. With digitalization and regulatory pressure, the model is moving toward a more dynamic, collaborative, and transparent environment. digital mass balance, powered by blockchain and the digital product passports, will set the standard in industrial traceability.

In the coming years, we will see a structural change: production systems will no longer be measured solely by efficiency or volume, but also by the ability to demonstrate positive environmental impact with verifiable evidence. Supply chains will be audited in real time, and consumers will be able to scan a product and see its entire material history with a click.

In addition, the digital passports will be mandatory in many industries under new European directives, requiring companies not only to act sustainably, but also test it with accessible, standardized, and secure data.

This new paradigm will require multi-sector cooperation, investment in technology, and integration with other tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and digital twins. But it will also open doors: new business models, tax incentives, consumer confidence, and real differentiation in global markets.

Ultimately, the future of mass balance is not just a technical evolution, but an opportunity to redefine responsible production from the ground up: with transparency, traceability, and technology at the service of the planet.

From Blue Room Innovation, We help companies looking to implement real traceability, sustainability, and digital transformation solutions. We combine our expertise in technologies such as blockchain, IoT, and digital product passports with a deep understanding of the business model. mass balance to offer customized, auditable, and ready-to-scale solutions.

If your organization wants to lead the shift toward a more transparent, circular economy, prepared for new European regulations, we're here to support you. Contact us and discover how we can transform your value chain with technology, innovation, and sustainability.