Balancing of environmental attributes within a product ecosystem

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of reducing the environmental impact of industrial manufacturing, in particular to using environmental characteristics of a product to reduce the environmental impact of a further product downstream production. The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses and computer elements for monitoring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product, for producing a product associated with a digital asset, and for monitoring a digital asset associated with a product and / or input materials used to produce the product. The present disclosure further relates to digital assets associated with a product and uses of these digital assets. The present disclosure further relates to methods, apparatuses and computer elements for generating at least one authorization rule and a digital credential associated with such authorization rule.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to areas of reducing the environmental impact of industrial manufacturing, and in particular to using the environmental characteristics of products to reduce the environmental impact of other products produced downstream. This disclosure relates to methods, apparatus, and computer elements for monitoring environmental characteristics associated with the production of products, for producing products associated with digital assets, and for monitoring digital assets associated with products and / or input materials used to produce those products. This disclosure further relates to digital assets associated with products and the uses of these digital assets. This disclosure further relates to methods, apparatus, and computer elements for generating at least one authorization rule and digital credentials associated with such authorization rule. Background Technology

[0002] In the supply chain, the environmental impact of each participant is a major concern. Transparency regarding the environmental attributes associated with the products produced can help collectively reduce environmental impact in response to climate change. Summary of the Invention

[0003] On one hand, a method is disclosed for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, particularly a computer-implemented method, wherein optionally, the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic that can be assigned to the product, the method comprising:

[0004] • The product is produced from one or more input materials and the produced product is provided, wherein the product is associated with at least one digital product identifier, and optionally, the product is further associated with a digital asset, the digital asset including the at least one digital product identifier and at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the one or more downstream nodes.

[0005] • Link at least one of the digital product identifiers to at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule including instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node is determined by at least one assignment rule based on environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein the instructions include instructions for collecting the transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for processing the collected transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for triggering the transfer of the transferable environmental characteristic requested by one or more of the downstream nodes, instructions for authenticating the downstream node and / or downstream participants, or any combination thereof, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule further includes instructions for triggering the determination of the transferable environmental characteristic at an upstream node associated with an input material producer used to produce the product, and determining the transferable environmental characteristic based on the transferable environmental characteristics of the input material received from the upstream node, optionally wherein the digital asset is linked to the at least one authorization rule via one or more authorization rule identifiers.

[0006] • Specifically, via a distributed network, the at least one authorization rule is provided to one or more of the downstream nodes for execution based on a digital product identifier associated with the product, wherein, optionally, the allocation of at least one of these environmental characteristics is triggered by the execution of the at least one authorization rule by the one or more downstream nodes to adapt to the environmental impact of the product.

[0007] On the other hand, a system is disclosed for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, optionally wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic that can be assigned to the product, the system comprising:

[0008] • Production, configured to produce the product from one or more input materials and provide the produced product, wherein the product is associated with at least one digital product identifier, and optionally, wherein the product is further associated with a digital asset, the digital asset including the at least one digital product identifier and at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the one or more downstream nodes.

[0009] • A linking unit configured to link at least one of the digital product identifiers to at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule including instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant from a producer node associated with the production to the downstream node, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node is determined via at least one assignment rule based on environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein the instructions include instructions for collecting the transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for processing the collected transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for triggering the transfer of the transferable environmental characteristic requested by one or more of the downstream nodes, instructions for authenticating the downstream node and / or downstream participant, or any combination thereof, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule further includes instructions for triggering the determination of the transferable environmental characteristic at an upstream node associated with an input material producer used to produce the product, and determining the transferable environmental characteristic based on the transferable environmental characteristics of the input material received from the upstream node, optionally wherein the digital asset is linked to the at least one authorization rule via one or more authorization rule identifiers.

[0010] • A data provision interface configured, particularly via a distributed network, to provide at least one authorization rule to one or more of the downstream nodes for execution based on a digital product identifier associated with the product, optionally wherein the execution of the at least one authorization rule by the one or more downstream nodes triggers the allocation of at least one of these environmental characteristics to suit the environmental impact of the product.

[0011] On another aspect, a method is disclosed for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, particularly a computer-implemented method, wherein optionally, the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic assignable to the product, the method comprising:

[0012] • Generate at least one authorization rule associated with a digital product identifier for the product, wherein the at least one authorization includes instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node from a producer node associated with the production to the downstream node, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node is determined by at least one assignment rule based on environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein the instructions include instructions for collecting the transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for processing the collected transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for triggering the transfer of the transferable environmental characteristic requested by one or more of the downstream nodes, instructions for authenticating the downstream node and / or downstream participants, or any combination thereof, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule further includes instructions for triggering the determination of transferable environmental characteristics at an upstream node associated with an input material producer for producing the input material for the production of the product, and determining the transferable environmental characteristics based on the transferable environmental characteristics of the input material received from the upstream node.

[0013] • Provide at least one authorization rule for execution based on a digital product identifier associated with the product, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule is provided to one or more of the downstream nodes for execution, optionally wherein the allocation of at least one of these environmental characteristics is triggered by the execution of the at least one authorization rule by the one or more downstream nodes to adapt to the environmental impact of the product.

[0014] On another aspect, a system is disclosed for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, particularly an operating system for the production of one or more products, optionally wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic that can be assigned to the product, the method comprising:

[0015] • An authorization rule generator configured to generate at least one authorization rule associated with a digital product identifier of the product, wherein the at least one authorization includes instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node from a producer node associated with the production to the downstream node, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node is determined by at least one assignment rule based on environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein the instructions include instructions for collecting the transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for processing the collected transferable environmental characteristic, instructions for triggering the transfer of the transferable environmental characteristic requested by one or more of the downstream nodes, instructions for authenticating the downstream node and / or downstream participants, or any combination thereof, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule further includes instructions for triggering the determination of transferable environmental characteristics at an upstream node associated with an input material producer for producing the input material for the production of the product, and determining the transferable environmental characteristics based on the transferable environmental characteristics of the input material received from the upstream node.

[0016] • A data providing interface configured to provide at least one authorization rule for execution based on a digital product identifier associated with the product, optionally wherein the at least one authorization rule is provided to one or more of the downstream nodes for execution, optionally wherein the allocation of at least one of these environmental characteristics is triggered by the execution of the at least one authorization rule by the one or more downstream nodes to adapt to the environmental impact of the product.

[0017] On another front, a method for producing an output associated with a digital asset is disclosed, particularly a computer-implemented method, the digital asset comprising at least one environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the output, optionally wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic assignable to the output, optionally wherein assigning at least one of these environmental characteristics results in an environmental impact adapted to the output, the method comprising:

[0018] • This production process generates the product from one or more input materials and provides the produced product.

[0019] • Based on the production of the product, determine at least one environmental characteristic associated with the product and transferable to the one or more downstream nodes.

[0020] • Generate digital assets, which include a product identifier associated with the product and at least one determined environmental characteristic that can be transferred to the one or more downstream participant nodes.

[0021] • Link the digital asset to at least one authorization rule, which includes instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic that is transferable to downstream nodes and included in the digital asset, optionally wherein the at least one identified environmental characteristic can be transferred from the producer node associated with the production to one or more of the downstream nodes.

[0022] • Provide the generated digital assets to a storage structure so that the one or more downstream participant nodes can access the at least one transferable environment feature via at least one linked authorization rule, wherein the storage structure is a distributed ledger of a distributed ledger network or a dedicated data storage device associated with or controlled by the producer of the product.

[0023] On another front, a system for producing products associated with digital assets is disclosed, the digital assets including at least one environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, optionally wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more of the downstream nodes includes at least one environmental characteristic assignable to the product, optionally wherein assigning at least one of these environmental characteristics results in an environmental impact adapted to the product, the system comprising:

[0024] • Production, which is configured to produce the product from one or more input materials and provide the produced product.

[0025] • An environmental characteristic determination unit, configured to determine at least one environmental characteristic associated with the product and transferable to the one or more downstream participant nodes based on the production of the product.

[0026] • A digital asset generator configured to generate digital assets, which include an asset identifier associated with the asset and at least one determined environmental characteristic transferable to the one or more downstream participant nodes.

[0027] • A linking unit configured to link the digital asset to at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule including instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic that is transferable to downstream nodes and included in the digital asset, optionally wherein the at least one determined environmental characteristic can be transferred from a producer node associated with the production to one or more of the downstream nodes.

[0028] • A data output interface configured to provide the generated digital assets to a storage location for access by one or more downstream participant nodes via at least one linked authorization rule, wherein the storage structure is a distributed ledger of a distributed ledger network or a dedicated data storage device associated with or controlled by the producer of the product.

[0029] In another aspect, a method for monitoring at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product is disclosed, particularly a computer-implemented method, wherein the product is associated with at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule being related to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, the method comprising:

[0030] • Provide at least one digital storage structure for storing available environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein these available environmental characteristics are assigned to the digital storage structure via at least one assignment rule based on the environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product, optionally wherein the assignment to the digital storage structure results in the decoupling of one or more environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product from the physical flow of the input materials within the production of the product.

[0031] • A confirmation rule trigger is received by at least one of these downstream nodes, the confirmation rule trigger including at least one product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream node.

[0032] • At least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger is confirmed by at least one confirmation rule, the at least one confirmation rule including instructions for comparing the at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger with these available environmental characteristics, optionally wherein the at least one requested environmental characteristic is confirmed using first-in-first-out logic by processing the received confirmation rule triggers in ascending order of the time they were received, optionally wherein the requested environmental characteristic is confirmed if it at least partially matches the available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure.

[0033] • By generating a dataset associated with the product and including at least one of these product identifiers and data related to the assigned environmental characteristics, at least a portion of these identified environmental characteristics are assigned to the product.

[0034] • Provide the dataset based on the downstream participant identifier to transfer it to at least one downstream node.

[0035] • Based on the assigned environmental characteristics, generate updated data, which includes remaining environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule, and provide the generated updated data to update at least one of the environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node and are related to the at least one authorization rule.

[0036] On the other hand, an apparatus for monitoring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product is disclosed, particularly an operating system for the production of one or more products, wherein the product is associated with at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule being related to at least one environmental characteristic transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the product, the apparatus comprising:

[0037] • A digital storage system configured to provide at least one digital storage structure that stores environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and at least one assignment rule for assigning environmental attributes to the produced product. Optionally, these available environmental characteristics are assigned to the digital storage structure via at least one assignment rule based on the environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product. Optionally, the assignment to the digital storage structure results in the decoupling of one or more environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product from the physical flow of the input materials within the production process of the product.

[0038] • An input receiving interface configured to be triggered by at least one of these downstream nodes using a receiving acknowledgment rule trigger, the acknowledgment rule trigger including at least one product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream node.

[0039] • An acknowledgment engine configured to acknowledge at least one requested environmental characteristic included in an acknowledgment rule trigger via at least one acknowledgment rule, the at least one acknowledgment rule including instructions for comparing the at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the acknowledgment rule trigger with available environmental characteristics, optionally wherein the at least one requested environmental characteristic is acknowledged using first-in-first-out logic by processing received acknowledgment rule triggers in ascending order of the time they were received, optionally wherein the requested environmental characteristic is acknowledged if it at least partially matches available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure.

[0040] • Outbound distributor, which is configured as

[0041] By generating a dataset associated with the product and including at least one of the product identifiers and data related to the assigned environmental characteristics, at least a portion of these identified environmental characteristics are assigned to the product.

[0042] ○ Provide the dataset based on the downstream participant identifier to transfer it to at least one downstream participant node.

[0043] • An update data generator is configured to generate update data based on the assigned requested environmental characteristics, the update data including any remaining environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the authorization rule, and to provide the generated update data for updating the environmental characteristics associated with the at least one authorization rule.

[0044] In another aspect, a method for monitoring digital assets associated with a product is disclosed, particularly a computer-implemented method, the digital assets including a product identifier associated with the product and transferable environmental characteristic data associated with the production of the product, wherein the transferable environmental characteristic data represents at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more downstream participant nodes associated with one or more downstream participants using the product, the method comprising:

[0045] • A request to transfer at least one transferable environmental characteristic to at least one downstream participant node is received by at least one of these downstream participant nodes. The request includes a product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the authorization rules associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream participant node.

[0046] • Generate a request to update the digital assets associated with the input materials used to produce the product, the request including data related to at least one requested environmental characteristic, an input material identifier associated with the input material, and a participant identifier associated with the participant node that generated the request.

[0047] • Provide this request to at least one upstream participant node associated with the upstream participant that produced the input material.

[0048] • Receive updated data from this upstream participant node, which includes input material identifiers and updated transferable environmental property data.

[0049] • Update the transferable environmental characteristics data included in the digital assets associated with the product based on the received updated data.

[0050] • Generate a dataset associated with the product and including the product identifier and data related to the updated transferable environmental characteristics data, and provide the generated dataset to the at least one downstream participant node based on the downstream participant identifier.

[0051] In another aspect, an apparatus for monitoring digital assets associated with a product is disclosed, particularly an operating system for the production of one or more products, the digital assets including a product identifier associated with the product and transferable environmental characteristic data associated with the production of the product, wherein the transferable environmental characteristic data represents at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more downstream participant nodes associated with one or more downstream participants using the product, the apparatus comprising:

[0052] • A data input interface configured to receive, by at least one of the downstream participant nodes, a request to transfer at least one transferable environmental characteristic to the at least one downstream participant node, the request including a product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics transferable to the downstream node according to the licensing rules associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream participant node.

[0053] • A request generator configured to generate a request for updating digital assets associated with input materials used to produce the product, the request including data related to at least one requested environmental characteristic, an input material identifier associated with the input material, and a participant identifier associated with the participant node providing the request.

[0054] • A data output interface configured to provide the request to at least one upstream participant node associated with the upstream participant that produced the input material.

[0055] • Data input interface, configured to receive updated data from the upstream participant node, including input material identifiers and updated transferable environmental property data.

[0056] • An update unit configured to update the transferable environmental characteristics data included in the digital assets associated with the product based on the received update data.

[0057] • A dataset generator configured to generate a dataset associated with the product and including the product identifier and data related to the updated transferable environmental characteristics data.

[0058] • Data output interface, which is configured to provide the updated digital asset based on the downstream participant identifier for transfer to the at least one downstream participant node.

[0059] In another aspect, a method for monitoring digital assets associated with input materials used in the production of a product is disclosed, particularly a computer-implemented method, wherein the digital assets include an input material identifier associated with the input material and transferable environmental characteristic data associated with the production of the input material, wherein the transferable environmental characteristic data represents at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more downstream participant nodes associated with one or more downstream participants using the input material, the method comprising:

[0060] • A request to transfer at least one transferable environmental characteristic to at least one downstream participant node is received by at least one of these downstream participant nodes. The request includes a product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the authorization rules associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream participant node.

[0061] • Based on this product identifier, determine the upstream participant identifier associated with the upstream participant that produced the input material.

[0062] • Generate a request to update the digital assets associated with the input material, the request including data related to at least one requested environmental characteristic, an input material identifier associated with the input material, and a participant identifier associated with the participant node that generated the request.

[0063] • Provide the upstream participant node associated with the identified upstream participant identifier with a request to update the digital assets associated with the input material.

[0064] In another aspect, an apparatus for monitoring digital assets associated with input materials used to produce a product is disclosed, particularly an operating system for the production of one or more products, wherein the digital assets include an input material identifier associated with the input material and transferable environmental characteristic data associated with the production of the input material, wherein the transferable environmental characteristic data represents at least one environmental characteristic transferable to one or more downstream participant nodes associated with one or more downstream participants using the input material, the apparatus comprising:

[0065] • A data input interface configured to receive, by at least one of the downstream participant nodes, a request to transfer at least one transferable environmental characteristic to the at least one downstream participant node, the request including a product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics transferable to the downstream node according to the licensing rules associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream participant node.

[0066] • Identifier determination unit, configured to determine an upstream participant identifier associated with the upstream participant producing the input material based on the product identifier.

[0067] • A request generator configured to generate a request for updating the digital asset associated with the input material, the request including data related to at least one requested environmental characteristic, an input material identifier associated with the input material, and a participant identifier associated with the participant node that generated the request.

[0068] • A data output interface configured to provide a request to the upstream participant node associated with the identified upstream participant identifier for updating the digital assets associated with the input material.

[0069] In another aspect, an output associated with at least one authorization rule is disclosed, wherein the at least one authorization rule is generated by the method disclosed herein or by the apparatus disclosed herein.

[0070] In another aspect, a digital asset associated with the product is disclosed, generated by the method or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0071] In another aspect, the use of digital assets generated by the methods or apparatus disclosed herein for adjusting the environmental impact associated with other products produced using the product is disclosed.

[0072] In another aspect, at least one licensing rule is disclosed that is linked to the product and generated by the method or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0073] In another aspect, a digital credential is disclosed that is associated with at least one authorization rule and authenticates the conformity of the at least one authorization rule with at least a portion of a predefined set of rules, wherein the at least one authorization rule is generated by the method or apparatus disclosed herein.

[0074] In another aspect, at least one licensing rule, generated by the methods or apparatus disclosed herein, is disclosed for use in regulating the environmental impact associated with other products produced using the product.

[0075] In another aspect, this disclosure relates to a computer element having instructions that, when executed on one or more computing nodes, are configured to perform the steps of the methods of this disclosure or are configured to be performed by means of this disclosure.

[0076] Any disclosures, embodiments, and examples described herein relate to the methods, apparatuses, products, digital assets, uses, and computer elements listed above and below. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any embodiment and example also apply to all other embodiments and examples. Example

[0077] Embodiments of this disclosure will be outlined below through examples and / or embodiments. It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and / or examples described.

[0078] However, at present, the benefits of environmental attributes to the environmental impact of output products can only be provided in a one-to-one relationship between the output product producer and downstream participants in the product ecosystem. Therefore, the final product producer can only claim such environmental attributes after they have been passed down through all previous participants in the product ecosystem. This makes producing final products with reduced environmental impact and tracking environmental attributes along the production chain difficult, as these attributes may be lost along the chain, thus hindering transparency regarding the environmental impact of products produced by the product ecosystem. To reduce the environmental impact associated with the produced output products, transparency of environmental attributes related to such environmental impact along the production chain of the product ecosystem is crucial.

[0079] By generating and providing at least one authorization rule related to environmental characteristics (which are associated with the production of a product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product), such environmental characteristics can be made transparent to downstream participants. This allows downstream participants to flexibly adapt the environmental impact of their products as needed by triggering the transfer of transferable environmental attributes via at least one authorization rule. The at least one authorization rule can be associated with environmental characteristics generated by one or more production steps required to produce the product; for example, the at least one authorization rule can accumulate environmental characteristics generated by multiple production steps performed for the production of the product. This allows downstream participants to obtain transparency regarding the total environmental characteristics transferable for a given product via the authorization rule, in order to adjust the environmental impact of products produced by such downstream participants, without being limited by environmental characteristics associated with that product (e.g., those already transferred to upstream participants involved in the production of the product, or those already claimed by them). Thus, at least one authorization rule can provide downstream participants with the option to claim or transfer environmental characteristics associated with such authorization rule. This improved flexibility in transferring environmental characteristics to downstream participants can allow for improvements in the environmental impact of product ecosystems, as downstream participants can request the transfer of environmental characteristics as needed. In addition, auditing bodies or governments can use transparency regarding residual transferable environmental characteristics to guide product ecosystems toward reduced overall environmental impact, for example by providing incentives to request the transfer of residual transferable environmental characteristics.

[0080] By linking at least one authorization rule to a digital credential that authenticates at least a portion of the authorization rule's conformity to a predefined set of rules (e.g., for determining transferable environment characteristics and / or for a certified or audited allocation model of the rule, such as an identity retention model, segregation model, quality balance model, or book and claim model), transparency can be created and downstream participants' trust in the correct determination of transferable environment characteristics can be enhanced. Linking at least one authorization rule to a digital credential that authenticates the authorization rule from a trusted source and is audited according to given criteria helps increase trust in such rules and ensures the secure execution of instructions included in the authorization rule on the downstream participants' computing systems.

[0081] By linking a product to at least one authorization rule associated with environmental characteristics (which are linked to the production of the product and are transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product), such environmental characteristics can be made transparent to downstream participants. This allows downstream participants to flexibly adapt the environmental impact of their products as needed by triggering the transfer of transferable environmental attributes via at least one authorization rule. The at least one authorization rule can be associated with environmental characteristics generated by one or more production steps required to produce the product; for example, the at least one authorization rule can accumulate environmental characteristics generated by multiple production steps performed for the production of the product. This allows downstream participants to gain transparency about the total environmental characteristics transferable for a given product via authorization rules, enabling them to adjust the environmental impact of products produced by such downstream participants without being limited by environmental characteristics associated with that product (e.g., those already transferred to upstream participants involved in the production of the product, or those claimed by them). Thus, at least one authorization rule can provide downstream participants with the option to claim or transfer environmental characteristics associated with such authorization rule. This improved flexibility in transferring environmental characteristics to downstream participants can allow for improvements in the environmental impact of product ecosystems, as downstream participants can request the transfer of environmental characteristics as needed. In addition, auditing bodies or governments can use transparency regarding residual transferable environmental characteristics to guide product ecosystems toward reduced overall environmental impact, for example by providing incentives to request the transfer of residual transferable environmental characteristics.

[0082] By generating digital assets associated with a product and linking the generated digital assets to at least one authorization rule, environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product (e.g., environmental characteristics that can be assigned to or allocated to the product based on the environmental characteristics of the input materials used to produce the product, and / or environmental characteristics of the production process used to produce the product) can be transferred to downstream nodes via at least one authorization rule. Therefore, digital assets can provide environmental characteristics that can be assigned to or allocated to the product based on the production of the product and one or more assignment rules, and thus can be requested by downstream participants, for example, these environmental characteristics can be transferred to downstream nodes via at least one authorization rule. Assignable or assignable environmental characteristics can be determined using assignment rules associated with input materials and / or the production process, thereby allowing the assignment mechanism to be adjusted according to the physical setup of the product production. Digital assets can allow the storage of assignable / assignable environmental characteristics and provide access to such assignable / assignable environmental characteristics as transferable environmental characteristics via at least one authorization rule.

[0083] By verifying environmental characteristics requested by downstream nodes, the difference between transferable environmental characteristics associated with at least one authorization rule and available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure associated with the product producer at the time a transfer request is received from the downstream node can be considered. Using the digital storage structure storing available environmental characteristics allows for the accounting of such environmental characteristics and their allocation to products based on requests received from downstream nodes. This difference may arise from the time delay between the determination of transferable environmental characteristics and the receipt of transfer requests, particularly if the transferable environmental characteristics can be transferred to multiple produced products and therefore can be requested for transfer by multiple downstream participant nodes. Verification can be performed using First-In-First-Out (FIFO) logic (also referred to as FIFO logic or method), where environmental characteristic transfer requests received from downstream participant nodes are processed according to the time these requests are received, starting with the oldest request or the first received request that has not yet been verified (e.g., requests are processed in their order of receipt, starting with the oldest unprocessed request). Verification according to FIFO logic may result in a requested environmental characteristic no longer being available in the digital storage structure, such that requests received at later points in time may not be verified or may only be partially verified (e.g., not all requested environmental attributes are available for transfer). The use of FIFO logic in confirmation allows for the resolution of discrepancies between transferable environmental characteristics associated with authorization rules and available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure, while ensuring that only available environmental characteristics (e.g., environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and not yet deducted from the digital storage structure storing such available environmental characteristics) are transferred to downstream participant nodes. This ensures that when a request is received from a downstream node, no more environmental characteristics than are available for transfer are transferred, thus preventing double accounting.

[0084] By deducting such environmental characteristics (e.g., available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure that match those requested by downstream nodes) from the digital storage structure when allocating confirmed available environmental characteristics, double accounting can be avoided. This ensures that environmental characteristics are reliably and trustworthyly allocated to the product based on requests from downstream participant nodes and based on available environmental characteristics provided by the input materials and / or production process used to produce the product.

[0085] Downstream participants can gain transparency regarding remaining transferable environmental characteristics by updating at least one of the transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product and the authorization rules related to it, based on environmental characteristics transferred to downstream nodes in response to received environmental characteristic transfer requests. By using digital assets to store transferable environmental characteristics to downstream nodes and updating such digital assets (e.g., the included transferable environmental characteristics), the transferred and remaining environmental characteristics (e.g., transferable environmental characteristics) of a given product can be tracked. This avoids double accounting resulting from transferring more environmental characteristics to downstream nodes than can be assigned to the product according to the assignment rules.

[0086] By cascading environmental characteristic transfer requests up the chain of command or through upstream participants, it can be ensured that environmental characteristics associated with input materials and / or the production processes used to produce such input materials can be transferred to the product independently of environmental characteristics associated with the product. Therefore, at least one authorization rule can address both environmental characteristics associated with the product and those associated with the input materials used to produce the product. This allows for the accumulation of transferable environmental characteristics during the production of the product, unaffected by any transfer or claim of environmental characteristics during such production.

[0087] By updating the transferable environment properties included in digital assets in response to requests from downstream nodes to transfer transferable environment properties, digital assets can reflect their transferable environment attributes at any point in the product's lifecycle. This allows for transparency regarding transferable and transferred environment properties even when multiple downstream nodes request the transfer of various transferable environment properties at different times in the product's lifecycle.

[0088] Various units, entities, nodes, or other computing components can be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. "Configured to" should be interpreted as meaning "having a circuit system that performs one or more tasks during operation." Units, circuits, entities, nodes, or other computing components can be configured to perform tasks even when the unit / circuit / component is not operational. Units, circuits, entities, nodes, or other computing components forming the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry and / or memory storing executable program instructions to perform the operation. For convenience in the description, units, circuits, entities, nodes, or other computing components can be described as performing one or more tasks. This description should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to."

[0089] Generally, the methods, apparatuses, systems, computer elements, nodes, or other computing components described herein may include memory, software components, and hardware components. Memory may include volatile memory (such as static or dynamic random access memory) and / or non-volatile memory (such as optical or magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory, programmable read-only memory, etc.). Hardware components may include any combination of the following: combinational logic circuit systems, clock storage devices (such as flip-flops, registers, latches, etc.), finite state machines, memory (such as static random access memory or embedded dynamic random access memory), custom-designed circuit systems, programmable logic arrays, etc.

[0090] Input materials can refer to any physical goods purchased from a supplier and brought into the production of the product. Input materials can include starting materials used in the production process at a plant producing the product. Input materials can include any input material that enters production (e.g., is provided at any entry point into production). Input materials can be any material that enters the system boundary of production. Input materials can be located at any step in the value chain. This means that the product of one production plant can be used as an input material for another production plant. Input materials can also include very basic goods such as air, water, natural gas, or energy. Input materials can refer to chemical input materials and / or discrete input materials. Chemical input materials can include chemical compounds or mixtures of chemical compounds. Chemical compounds can include petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha, crude oil, and natural gas, or chemical compounds produced from such feedstocks. Discrete input materials can include components, parts, and / or component assemblies. Input materials can be associated with input material data. Input material data can include environmental properties associated with the input materials. Input material data can be collected before, during, or after the input materials are provided to production.

[0091] Products can include any product produced using at least one input material. Products can include any chemical product produced by chemical production and provided at any exit point of chemical production. Products can be produced from input materials entering the production. Products can include any product leaving the system boundary of the production. Products can be intermediate or final products. Products can be chemical products or discrete products. Chemical products can be chemical intermediates or chemical products. Chemical intermediates can include chemical products used as input materials to produce additional chemical products. Chemical products can include any chemical product obtained from a chemical process. Chemical products can be obtained by mixing, separating, chemically reacting, or naturally occurring chemical substances. Chemical products can be obtained from chemical reactions and natural chemical products. Natural chemical products can encompass any naturally occurring chemical substance, i.e., any unprocessed chemical substance found in nature (such as chemicals from plants, microorganisms, animals, soil, and the ocean), or any chemical substance found in nature and extracted using processes that do not alter its chemical composition. Natural chemical products can include biological products such as enzymes, as well as naturally occurring inorganic or organic chemical products. Natural chemical products can be separated and purified before use, or they can be used in an unseparated and / or unpurified form. The chemical product obtained through a chemical reaction can be any inorganic or organic chemical product obtained by reacting inorganic and / or organic chemical reactants. The inorganic and organic chemical reactants can be naturally occurring chemical products or chemical products obtained through a chemical reaction. The chemical reaction can include any chemical reaction known in the art, in which reactants are transformed into one or more different chemical products. The chemical reaction can involve the use of catalysts, enzymes, bacteria, etc., to achieve the chemical reaction between reactants.

[0092] Input materials and products can be part of a product ecosystem. A product ecosystem can include chemical products. A product ecosystem can include a production chain that produces products. Products can be chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, component assemblies, final products, or recycled materials. A product ecosystem can include a processing chain that handles used products generated from the use of the produced products. A processing chain can include a recycling chain that recycles at least a portion of used products or their components. A processing chain can include a reuse chain that reuses used products. A product ecosystem can include various participants, such as producers of original input materials, producers of chemical products, users or consumers of chemical products, producers of final products, users of final products, collectors of end-of-life products, and recyclers. A product ecosystem can allow the production of new products, such as chemical products, using recycled materials generated from the recycling of end-of-life products or their components. A product ecosystem can be associated with the production and / or reuse and / or recycling of physical products.

[0093] Participants in a product ecosystem can connect via a decentralized network. The decentralized network can include one or more decentralized network nodes configured to perform data transactions. Decentralized network nodes can be associated with participants in the product ecosystem. Data transactions can be based on transaction protocols that include authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, a peer-to-peer network can be established between decentralized network nodes in the decentralized network. A product producer can be associated with one or more producer nodes (e.g., decentralized network nodes associated with the product producer). Producer nodes can be controlled by the product producer or can operate on behalf of the product producer. Producer nodes can be configured to provide datasets to downstream participant nodes requesting the transfer of environmental characteristics. These datasets include a digital product identifier associated with the product and data related to the assigned, verified environmental characteristics. Downstream participants relative to the product producer (e.g., participants using the product to produce another product) can be associated with downstream participant nodes. Downstream participant nodes can be controlled by the downstream participant or operate on behalf of the downstream participant.

[0094] Downstream nodes can be associated with or related to corresponding downstream participant identifiers. Downstream nodes can be associated with or related to downstream participants. Downstream nodes can be accessible to downstream participants. Downstream participants can be associated with corresponding downstream participant identifiers. Downstream participant identifiers can include one or more identifiers associated with downstream participants using the product. Downstream participant identifiers can be identifiers that uniquely identify downstream participants within the product ecosystem. Downstream participant identifiers can include cryptographic credentials, such as the public key in a public-private key pair. Downstream participant identifiers can include letters and / or numbers. Downstream participant identifiers can include one or more Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) and / or one or more Distributed Identifiers (DIDs). Downstream participant identifiers can include data associated with associated downstream nodes, such as pointers or locators to associated downstream nodes. Downstream participant identifiers can be associated with or include verifiable claims or credentials. Verifiable claims can be issued by a centralized or decentralized identity issuing authority that makes one or more claims to a subject, such as a consumer entity being a trusted participant in the product ecosystem. For example, an issuing authority can make claims to downstream participants associated with downstream participant identifiers. Verifiable claims can include the claims themselves and a proof instruction demonstrating that the claims have not been tampered with and were indeed issued by the claim issuing authority. Verifiable claims may also include duration information metadata, which defines the valid period of use of the verifiable claim or the specific number of times the verifiable claim is authorized for use. Verifiable claims may also include the DID of the claim issuing authority and / or entity (such as a consumer entity). Verifiable claims may be signed by the claim issuing authority. The claim issuing authority may provide verifiable claims to claim holders (such as consumers) to present them to any dependent parties that rely on the authenticity of these claims, such as decentralized data providers. The signature of the verifiable claim can be verified using the public key associated with the claim issuing authority to determine that the customer entity is a trusted entity within the product ecosystem.

[0095] A product may be associated with at least one environmental characteristic. At least one environmental characteristic may be associated with the production of a product from one or more input materials. This at least one environmental characteristic may involve one or more environmental characteristics. An environmental characteristic can refer to any characteristic or feature related to environmental impact. Such a characteristic may be a characteristic or feature of the input materials and / or the product. An environmental characteristic may indicate the environmental performance of the input materials, production process, and / or product. An environmental characteristic can be derived from the characteristics of the input materials, production process, and / or product. An environmental characteristic may be associated with the environmental impact of one or more input materials and / or products at any stage of their life cycle. These stages may include: providing raw materials, producing a product (such as an intermediate or final product), using the product, processing end-of-life products, recycling end-of-life products, disposing of end-of-life products, reusing components of end-of-life products, or any subset of such stages. An environmental characteristic can be tracked through any activity of one or more entities involved in any stage of the life cycle of one or more input materials or products. Environmental characteristics associated with any activity of one or more entities involved in any stage of the life cycle of one or more input materials or products can be accumulated or aggregated. An environmental characteristic may include one or more features that can impart environmental or sustainability impacts to the input materials, production process, and / or product. Environmental characteristics may include environmental, technical, recyclability, or circularity features associated with the environmental impact of input materials, production processes, and / or products.

[0096] Environmental characteristics can specify or quantify ecological criteria associated with the environmental impacts of input materials, production processes, and / or products. Environmental characteristics can be derived from or arise from measurements taken during the life cycle of the input materials and / or products and / or during the production process. Environmental characteristics can include, for example, impact categories such as carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential, primary energy demand, cumulative energy demand, consumption of biological and non-biological resources, air emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion potential, ozone formation, terrestrial and / or marine acidification, water consumption, water loss, water availability, water pollution, noise pollution, freshwater and / or marine eutrophication potential, human carcinogenic and / or non-carcinogenic toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial, freshwater and / or marine ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation, agricultural and / or urban land occupation, land conversion, land use, indirect land use, deforestation, biodiversity, mineral resource consumption, and / or fossil resource consumption. Environmental characteristics can be calculated through a combination of one or more environmental characteristics. Environmental characteristics may include, for example, material or product characteristics related to the production of input materials and / or products, such as recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, vegan, halal, kosher, palm oil-free, natural, and the amount of green energy used. The amount of green energy used may refer to the amount of green energy (e.g., energy generated from natural resources such as solar, wind, and water) used during the production of input materials and / or products.

[0097] Technical characteristics can specify or quantify the properties of input materials or products that are at least indirectly related to environmental impact. Technical characteristics can be, or can be generated from, measurements taken during the life cycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Technical characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product life cycle and can characterize the performance of the input material or product during or up to that stage. Technical characteristics may include, for example, composition data, inputs in the production process, bills of materials, specification data, component data, safety data, application characteristic data, application instructions, and / or quality data. Technical characteristics may include, for example, the physical, chemical, or other properties of the input material or product.

[0098] Recycling characteristics can specify or quantify the lifecycle features of input materials and / or products associated with recycling. Recycling characteristics can be, or can be generated from, measurements taken during the lifecycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Recycling characteristics can be, or can be generated from recycling data recorded in one or more previous lifecycles (including reuse). Recycling characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product lifecycle and can characterize reuse or recycling performance within or up to that stage. Recycling characteristics can be related to technical, mechanical, chemical, and / or biological recycling. Recycling characteristics can include, for example, recycling data, reuse rate, recovery rate, recycling cycles, performance of reused products, quality of reused input materials, etc. Additional recycling material characteristics can be obtained by combining recycling characteristics.

[0099] Recyclability characteristics can specify or quantify the lifecycle characteristics of input materials and / or products associated with recycling. Recyclability characteristics may include the composition of the input materials and / or products, containing components specifically tailored to make the input materials and / or products suitable for recycling. Recyclability characteristics can be or can be generated from measurements taken during the lifecycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Recyclability characteristics can be or can be generated from recycling data recorded in one or more previous lifecycles. Recyclability characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product lifecycle and can characterize recycling performance within or up to that stage. Recyclability characteristics may include, for example, recycling data, recyclability data, recycling efficiency, etc.

[0100] The environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product can be measured or calculated based on energy consumption, water consumption, crude oil consumption, labor force (e.g., working hours associated with the product), social burden (e.g., injuries and / or accidents associated with the product), and other characteristics of the production process that can be measured and calculated.

[0101] Environmental characteristics can numerically specify the environmental impacts of input materials, processes, and / or products. Environmental characteristics can include qualitative data points related to the type of impact, for example, taking into account the input materials, processes, and / or products. Qualitative data points can be converted into quantitative measures, such as balance units. Environmental characteristics can also include quantitative data points related to the type of impact, for example, taking into account ecological criteria associated with the input materials, processes, and / or products.

[0102] The term "sustainability" can refer to input materials, production processes, and / or products associated with improved ecological principles. For example, sustainable input materials may include recycled, renewable, and / or bio-based content, a reduced carbon footprint of products, or products that can be produced using green energy. Similarly, sustainable products may include recycled, renewable, and / or bio-based content, a reduced carbon footprint, or products that can be produced using green energy. Likewise, sustainable production processes can be associated with the use of green energy or a reduced carbon footprint.

[0103] Digital product identifiers may include one or more digital identifiers associated with a product. These identifiers may be associated with a product category, a specific product, and / or product characteristics (such as environmental characteristics). These identifiers may include unique numbers uniquely associated with a product category, a specific product, and / or product characteristic. These identifiers may include one or more specific identifiers, such as product category identifiers, specific product identifiers, and / or product characteristic identifiers. Such specific identifiers can be uniquely linked to a product. For example, one or more characteristic identifiers can be uniquely linked to a product identifier. A product identifier can be uniquely linked to a specific product. Thus, a product can be uniquely linked to a digital twin of a product specifying a particular characteristic of that product. Identifiers associated with a product may include one or more identifiers associated with one or more environmental attributes. These identifiers may include environmental attribute identifiers associated with transferable environmental attributes, such as unique environmental attribute identifiers. Environmental attribute identifiers may be associated with a product category or a specific product. For example, environmental attribute identifiers may be associated with environmental attributes such as recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, biodegradable content, and / or percentage of green energy use, each with its own unique identifier. Specific environmental attributes or specific combinations of environmental attributes may be associated with unique environmental attribute identifiers. This identifier may include or be linked to a batch number and / or order number (such as a unique batch number and / or order number) or associated with them. A batch number may be linked to the physical entity of the batch of product produced. An order number may be linked to the transaction that specifies the shipment of the batch of product from the producer to the consumer.

[0104] A digital product identifier can be linked to at least one authorization rule. A product can be linked to at least one authorization rule. This at least one authorization rule can relate to one or more authorization rules. These one or more authorization rules can be associated with the digital product identifier. Authorization rules can relate to environmental characteristics (also referred to as transferable environmental characteristics) that are transferable to downstream nodes. Authorization rules can relate to access to, and / or confirmation of, and / or transfer of confirmed environmental characteristics associated with a product. Authorization rules can include instructions configured to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node. Authorization rules can include data transaction instructions, data transaction protocols, or executable instructions, such as data usage policies, applications, smart contracts, or other data processing instructions associated with product producer network nodes and / or downstream nodes. Authorization rules allow for secure control over access to and use of transferable environmental characteristics. Furthermore, authorization rules allow for controlled and secure access to and use of transferable environmental characteristics from various data sources. At least one authorization rule may include instructions to collect and process the collected environment characteristics specified by the authorization rule. At least one authorization rule may relate to or include at least one event trigger associated with transferring an environment characteristic to a downstream node. The event trigger specified by the authorization rule may be a user interaction that indicates a desired transfer of an environment characteristic selected from the transferable environment characteristics. The authorization rule may relate to or include instructions based on at least one event trigger. The event trigger may trigger or initialize instructions to transfer at least one environment characteristic requested from environment characteristics that can be transferred to a downstream node according to the authorization rule associated with the artifact.

[0105] Environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes (hereinafter also referred to as transferable or accessible environmental characteristics) can include environmental characteristics that can be assigned or allocated to a product via an assignment rule but have not yet been transferred to downstream nodes (e.g., transferable or transferable upon successful confirmation). Transferring such environmental characteristics to one or more downstream nodes when an authorization rule is executed by such a downstream node can result in the allocation or assignment of one or more of such environmental characteristics to a product. Downstream nodes can trigger the allocation of environmental characteristics to a product to accommodate the product's environmental impact. Therefore, by default, environmental characteristics may not be allocated by the product producer. For example, transferring a given amount of recovery content as a transferable environmental characteristic to one or more downstream nodes can result in the allocation of recovery content to a product based on the amount of recovery content requested to be transferred by the downstream node. In this way, based on the environmental characteristics available for allocation, the environmental characteristics of a product can be added and / or can be added to the product characteristics, thereby allowing for a reduction in the overall environmental impact of the product. Environmental characteristics available for allocation can be made transparent by at least one authorization rule. Transferable environmental characteristics can be derived from the characteristics of the input materials used to produce the product or the characteristics of the production process used to produce the product. Transferable environmental characteristics can be determined via one or more assignment rules, based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production processes used to produce the product. Assignment rules can define assignment schemes for assigning environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production processes used to produce the product to the product. Therefore, a transferable environmental characteristic can represent an environmental attribute that can theoretically be assigned and / or allocated to a product. A transferable environmental attribute can differ from a transferred environmental attribute; for example, if an environmental attribute claimed by a product consumer is no longer available for assignment or allocation, resulting in a transfer of an environmental attribute different from that initially claimed by the product consumer. Transferable environmental attributes can be stored in a virtual balancing account. Transferable environmental attributes can accumulate across multiple production stages associated with the production of the product. For example, if the production of a product involves several production stages, environmental attributes associated with input materials used in at least two of these production stages and / or environmental attributes derived from production performed in at least two of these production stages can accumulate (e.g., be added). Transferable environmental attributes can be associated with a corresponding product (e.g., they may not accumulate).

[0106] In contrast, confirmed environmental characteristics can refer to environmental characteristics that match the available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure. Available environmental characteristics can be determined based on input materials entering production and / or production processes performed within production. Available environmental characteristics can be allocated or credited to a virtual balancing account included in the digital storage structure. Allocation or crediting can be performed via one or more assignment rules associated with the digital storage structure and / or the virtual balancing account included therein. Confirmed environmental characteristics can be transferred, for example, via a generated dataset to the requesting downstream node. Confirmed environmental characteristics can be deducted or credited from the virtual balancing account included in the storage structure when allocated or credited to products, for example, via one or more assignment rules, and these confirmed environmental characteristics are transferred, for example, via a generated dataset to downstream participant nodes.

[0107] A digital storage structure can store data related to environmental characteristics. Therefore, a digital storage structure can represent a digital inventory of available environmental characteristics or associated balance units (e.g., environmental characteristics that can be allocated to products, for example, via assignment rules). A digital storage structure may include one or more virtual balance accounts. Virtual balance accounts can hold or store environmental characteristics or balance units associated with such environmental characteristics for allocation or assignment to products. Available environmental characteristics or associated balance units can be allocated (or credited or added) to virtual balance accounts, thereby increasing the balance of environmental characteristics or associated balance units stored in virtual balance accounts. Environmental characteristics or associated balance units can be deleted (or debited, withdrawn, or deducted) from virtual balance accounts, for example, by allocating confirmed environmental characteristics to products, thereby decreasing the balance of environmental characteristics or associated balance units stored in virtual balance accounts.

[0108] In embodiments, environmental characteristics relate to the input material and / or the carbon footprint of the production process used to produce the product and / or the product, the renewable content of the input material and / or the product, the bio-based content of the input material and / or the product, the recycled content of the input material and / or the product, the biodegradable content of the input material and / or the product, and / or the amount of green energy used in the production of the product. For example, input materials from organic waste can be associated with environmental characteristics of recycling and bio-based. Input materials from organic waste can be bio-based input materials and recycled input materials. Furthermore, for example, input materials from wood waste can be associated with environmental characteristics of recycling, bio-based, and renewable. Input materials from wood waste can be bio-based input materials, renewable input materials, and recycled input materials. In the context provided herein, renewable input materials, bio-based input materials, and / or recycled input materials can include any material that at least partially comprises a renewable content, a bio-based content, and / or a recycled content, and / or is produced from a renewable content, a bio-based content, and / or a recycled content. The renewable content, bio-based content, and / or recycled content can be physically and / or chemically traceable.

[0109] Environmental characteristics can specify the carbon footprint of the input materials and / or the production process used to produce the product, the renewable content of the input materials and / or the product, the bio-based content of the input materials and / or the product, the recycled content of the input materials and / or the product, the biodegradable content of the input materials and / or the product, and / or the amount of green energy used in the production of the product. Environmental characteristics can specify the type, such as recycled, renewable, bio-based, biodegradable, or green energy use. The type of environmental characteristic can be specified according to the input materials used to produce the product, the production process, and / or the product itself.

[0110] In this embodiment, the product is a chemical product. In this embodiment, production is chemical production, particularly a chemical production network. A chemical production network may include an identity-preserving or segregated production chain. In this context, identity preservation or segregation may refer to preserving or segregating the environmental properties of input materials within the production chain. An example is using bio-based, biodegradable, renewable, or recyclable input materials to produce a fossil-free chemical product. A further example is using fossil input materials to produce a product with fossil content. A chemical production network may include a non-identity-preserving or non-segregated production chain. In this context, non-identity preservation or non-segregation may refer to mixing input materials associated with environmental characteristics. For example, in this context, non-identity preservation or non-segregation refers to mixing input materials associated with environmental characteristics with fossil input materials within the production chain. An example is mixing fossil input materials and renewable input materials to produce a product with both fossil and renewable content.

[0111] A chemical production network can include multiple production steps in each production chain. The production steps included in a chemical production network can be defined by the physical system boundary of the network. The system boundary can be defined by the location or control of the production processes. The system boundary can be defined by sites within the chemical production network. The system boundary can be defined by production processes jointly controlled by one or more entities. The system boundary can be defined by a production chain or value chain with interleaved production processes leading to a final product, which can be separately controlled by multiple entities. For example, a chemical production network may include waste collection steps, waste sorting steps, recycling steps (such as chemical recycling via pyrolysis), cracking steps (such as steam cracking), separation steps to separate the outputs of a process step, and further processing steps to transform these outputs into chemical products leaving the system boundary of the chemical production network. The entry point (or feed point) of a chemical production network can be marked by the entrance where input materials enter the network. The input materials entering the chemical production network can be used to produce one or more chemical products. The chemical products can leave the physical system boundary of the chemical production network. The exit point of a chemical production network can be marked by the exit where the chemical products leave the network.

[0112] Chemical production can be operated by a production operation device. The production operation device can be configured to perform the methods disclosed herein. For example, the production operation device can be configured to generate an authorization rule that includes instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant from a producer node associated with the production. The production operation device can be configured to link a digital product identifier associated with the produced product to the generated authorization rule. The production operation device can be configured to provide the authorization rule to one or more downstream nodes for execution. The production operation device can be configured to determine environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes via at least one assignment rule, based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or the production process used to produce the product. The production operation device can be configured to confirm environmental characteristics requested for transfer by a downstream node based on the authorization rule associated with the product. The production operation device can be configured to generate a dataset including a product identifier and data related to the confirmed and assigned environmental characteristics, and provide the generated dataset to the downstream node requesting the transfer of such environmental characteristics. The production operation apparatus can be configured to generate updated data for updating transferable environmental characteristics to downstream nodes based on assigned environmental characteristics, and to provide such updated data for updating transferable environmental characteristics. The production operation apparatus can be configured to generate a request for updating digital assets associated with input materials used to produce the product, and to provide such a request to an upstream node associated with an upstream participant producing the input materials. The production operation apparatus can be configured to update transferable environmental characteristics included in the digital assets associated with the product, generate a dataset including data related to the updated transferable environmental characteristic data received by the upstream participant, and provide such dataset to the downstream node.

[0113] In an embodiment, the environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes are determined by at least one assigned rule based on the environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production process used to produce the product.

[0114] Assignment rules can define assignment schemes for assigning environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production processes used to produce the product. Assignment schemes can specify balance types or environmental characteristics. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one non-isolated assignment scheme. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with one or more non-isolated assignment schemes, such as a quality balance scheme with free assignment, a quality balance scheme without free assignment, or an accounting and requisition scheme.

[0115] Assignment rules may include instructions for determining transferable environmental characteristics based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or with the production process used to produce the product. The at least one assignment rule may include instructions for determining at least one environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product (e.g., transferable or transferred), the amount of input materials used to produce the product, environmental characteristics associated with the production process used to produce the product, or a combination thereof. Assignment rules may include instructions for determining transferable environmental characteristics based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and the amount of input materials used to produce the product. These instructions may be configured to access a bill of materials associated with the production of the product and including input material data, product data, and process data. Based on the bill of materials, the input materials used to produce the product and the amount of such input materials used to produce the product can be determined.

[0116] Assignment rules may depend on product type and environmental characteristic type. At least one assignment rule may depend on product identifier and environmental characteristic. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to certified or uncertified environmental characteristics. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to environmental characteristics dependent on input materials. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to environmental characteristics dependent on chemical networks or production chains. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to environmental characteristics dependent on products. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to environmental characteristics certified according to a specific certification scheme. At least one assignment rule may be associated with environmental characteristic types related to environmental characteristics following a specific assignment scheme.

[0117] The assignment rule can be associated with at least one production of the product. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one production comprising one or more production chains. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one production comprising one or more process steps that convert input materials into one or more intermediates and / or one or more products. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one process setup of the production. The production can be chemical production. The production can be a chemical production network.

[0118] The assignment rule can be associated with at least one input material characterized by at least one environmental characteristic type. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one input material entering production. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one input material used to produce the product. Production can be chemical production. Production can be a chemical production network.

[0119] The assignment rule can be associated with at least one product characterized by at least one environmental characteristic type. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one product type leaving production. The at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one product type produced from one or more input materials. Production can be chemical production. Production can be a chemical production network.

[0120] In embodiments, determining transferable environmental characteristics to downstream nodes based on the product's production process may include determining environmental characteristics associated with the production process and allocating the determined environmental characteristics as transferable environmental characteristics to the product via one or more allocation or assignment rules. Determining transferable environmental characteristics to downstream nodes based on the product's production process may include determining environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or the production process used to produce the product, determining a balance unit associated with such determined characteristics, and allocating the balance unit to the product via one or more allocation rules. The balance unit may be converted into a transferable environmental characteristic, for example, based on the amount of product produced. The balance unit may be used as a quantitative measure or value to quantify the amount of environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or the production process. The balance unit may be determined using a conversion factor. The conversion factor may take into account the chemical differences between fossil-based input materials such as naphtha and methane and non-fossil input materials such as pyrolysis oil. The conversion factor may involve the low heating value of pyrolysis oil associated with the low heating value of naphtha or methane. The conversion factor may include the ratio of the low heating value of pyrolysis oil to the low heating value of naphtha or methane. In this way, the chemical differences between fossil input materials and renewable input materials can be taken into account.

[0121] In an embodiment, the environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product are determined via a virtual production process based on the environmental characteristics associated with the input materials. The virtual production process may refer to receiving input material data associated with environmental characteristics (e.g., sustainable input materials) and producing environmental characteristics (based on sustainable input materials), and also generating conventional input material data (e.g., data describing corresponding quantities and / or values ​​of conventional (e.g., fossil) input materials). The virtual production process may be configured to parse the input material data and apply a corresponding production recipe. The virtual production process may be configured to determine the quantity (e.g., volume and / or mass) of sustainable input materials based on the input material data and apply virtual production steps to the sustainable input materials. Virtual production steps may be applied according to a production recipe. The production recipe may include data associated with production steps and data associated with the input materials used in each production step. Data associated with the input materials used in each production step may include a material list indicating the input materials (e.g., via input material identifiers) and corresponding quantities. The environmental characteristics determined by the virtual production process for a given product may represent the environmental characteristics that such product can be transferred to downstream nodes.

[0122] The environmental characteristics determined by the virtual production process can be converted into equilibrium units using the conversion factors described above.

[0123] The value of financial assets associated with sustainable input materials and / or transferable environmental characteristics can be determined. The value of financial assets associated with transferable environmental characteristics can indicate the value of financial assets that need to be transferred from the downstream participant to the product producer when the requested environmental characteristic is transferred to a downstream node associated with such a downstream participant. The value of financial assets associated with input materials can be determined based on the cost difference between sustainable input materials and corresponding equivalent fossil input materials. The cost of equivalent fossil input materials can be determined based on average prices, actual prices, market prices, or other suitable values. The value of financial assets associated with transferable environmental characteristics can be determined based on the cost difference between sustainable input materials used to produce the product and corresponding equivalent fossil input materials and / or based on the cost difference between sustainable production processes and equivalent conventional production processes. Sustainable production processes can be production processes associated with reduced environmental impact. For example, compared to equivalent conventional production processes, sustainable production processes can be associated with the use of green energy, reduced heat and / or electricity consumption, and / or reduced emissions and / or waste generation. The value of the financial assets can be stored in a data storage device. This value can be included in digital assets associated with the product. This value can be included in the authorization rules associated with the product. This allows the value of the financial assets associated with the transferable environmental characteristic to be transparent to downstream nodes, and allows downstream participants using the product to request the transferable environmental characteristic based on the value of the associated financial assets.

[0124] In an embodiment, linking at least one of these product identifiers to the at least one licensing rule may include generating the at least one licensing rule and linking at least one of the product identifiers to at least one licensing rule identifier associated with the generated licensing rule. Generating a licensing rule may include determining the storage location for storing transferable environmental attributes. Generating a licensing rule may include determining transferable environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product.

[0125] In one embodiment, authorization rules are generated for each product. In another embodiment, authorization rules are generated for each product category. In yet another embodiment, authorization rules are generated for at least two different product categories (e.g., authorization rules may be associated with or related to at least two different product categories). In yet another embodiment, authorization rules are generated for each entity operating the production of the product.

[0126] In one embodiment, the at least one authorization rule includes an environmental characteristic that can be transferred to a downstream node. In another embodiment, the at least one authorization rule relates to an environmental characteristic that can be transferred to a downstream node. The at least one authorization rule may be associated with a digital asset that includes such an environmental characteristic that can be transferred to a downstream node. The at least one authorization rule may be linked to the digital asset via at least one of these product identifiers. For example, the at least one authorization rule and the digital asset may each include one of the digital product identifiers.

[0127] In embodiments, instructions for triggering the transfer of environmental characteristics transferable to downstream nodes include instructions for collecting such environmental characteristics, instructions for processing the collected environmental characteristics, instructions for triggering the transfer of environmental characteristics requested by downstream nodes, instructions for authenticating downstream nodes and / or downstream participants, or any combination thereof. Processing the collected environmental characteristics may include aggregation, filtering, linking, enrichment, etc. Processing may include determining the amount of transferable environmental characteristics based on a list of materials associated with intermediate products and products produced from input materials, according to the transferable environmental characteristics associated with such input materials. Instructions for triggering the transfer of environmental characteristics requested by downstream nodes may include instructions for providing collected or processed environmental characteristics transferable to downstream nodes for selection and transfer.

[0128] In an embodiment, the at least one authorization rule further includes instructions for triggering the determination of transferable environmental characteristics at an upstream node associated with an input material producer used to produce the product, and for determining the transferable environmental characteristics based on the transferable environmental characteristics of the input material received from the upstream node. The instructions may trigger a request including an input material identifier. Triggering a request to provide such transferable environmental characteristics associated with the input material used to produce the product avoids transferring a bill of materials associated with the production of such input material to the product producer. This allows for the reliable and secure determination of transferable environmental characteristics without having to share any sensitive data.

[0129] In this embodiment, the at least one authorization rule is provided as part of, or in conjunction with, a product pass associated with the product. The product pass may include a decentralized identifier associated with at least one environmental characteristic of the product and / or transferable to downstream nodes. The product pass may include authorization rules. Authorization rules may be linked to the product pass, for example, via a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the product and / or transferable environmental characteristic. The decentralized identifier may include a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) and / or a Digital Identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier may be issued by a centralized or decentralized identity issuing authority. The decentralized identifier may be linked to authentication and / or authorization information. Access to product data can be controlled by the product producer through the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the product producer and product data (such as transferable environmental characteristics and / or digital assets including transferable environmental characteristics). This contrasts with a centralized authority approach, where identifiers are provided by and access to data is controlled by such a centralized authority. In this context, decentralized refers to the use of identifiers controlled by the data owner (such as the product producer) at implementation. Product tokens can be stored in a dedicated storage device associated with the data owner (such as the product producer). Access to product tokens via decentralized identifiers can be controlled by the data owner. Similarly, access to authorization rules can be controlled by the data owner, for example, via rule identifiers. Rule identifiers can include decentralized identifiers, such as decentralized identifiers associated with authorization rules.

[0130] In this embodiment, the at least one authorization rule is provided to the one or more downstream nodes for execution including...

[0131] • Select at least one digital credential representing authentication that at least partially conforms to a predefined set of rules for the at least one authorization rule, the digital credential including a digital identifier associated with the certification authority that issued the digital credential and an authorization rule identifier associated with the at least one authorization rule.

[0132] • Provide the at least one authorization rule in combination with the selected digital credential to the one or more downstream nodes for execution.

[0133] A predefined rule set may refer to an allocation model used to assign environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product as transferable environmental characteristics and / or to an allocation model used to assign confirmed environmental characteristics to a product. The predefined rule set may be associated with or related to the allocation model used to assign environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product as transferable environmental characteristics and / or to an allocation model used to assign confirmed environmental characteristics to a product. The predefined rule set may include criteria for auditing executable code regarding entities that provide executable code and / or regarding functions performed by the executable code.

[0134] Digital credentials may include or represent verifiable credentials.

[0135] Digital credentials can be selected based on rule identifiers included in authorization rules. Digital credentials can also be selected based on mappings of rule identifiers. For example, a rule identifier included in a digital credential can be matched with a rule identifier of an authorization rule associated with the product. Digital credentials that include rule identifiers that match or at least partially match the rule identifiers included in the generated authorization rules can be selected. Authorization rules can be stored on data storage devices, such as dedicated storage devices associated with the product producer. Authorization rules can be stored in a distributed ledger of a distributed ledger network.

[0136] Providing selected digital credentials may include generating a credential representation that includes the selected digital credentials. This credential representation may then be provided in conjunction with at least one authorization rule. Downstream nodes can use the credential representation to verify the digital credentials included in it. For example, a downstream node may verify whether the digital credentials are still valid and / or whether the signature of the credential issuing authority is valid. The use of digital credentials allows downstream nodes and associated downstream participants to verify statements or assertions made by the product producer regarding the allocation scheme used during the determination of the transferable environment characteristics. Furthermore, the use of digital credentials allows downstream nodes to execute authorization rules only if the digital credential authentication authorization rules originate from a trusted source and have been audited to ensure secure execution. This ensures that authorization rules can be securely executed on downstream nodes without causing any damage to such nodes or associated computing systems.

[0137] In an embodiment, the product is further associated with a digital asset, which includes a digital product identifier associated with the product and at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to the one or more downstream nodes via the at least one authorization rule. The digital asset can be generated by: determining at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to the one or more downstream nodes; generating a digital asset including the digital product identifier and the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the one or more downstream nodes; and optionally linking the digital asset to the at least one authorization rule. The environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes can be determined as described above. The digital asset can be linked to at least one authorization rule by including at least one rule identifier associated with the authorization rule in the digital asset. The digital asset can be linked to at least one authorization rule by associating at least one of the digital product identifiers with the authorization rule. For example, if both the digital asset and the authorization rule include a digital product identifier associated with the product, the digital asset can be linked to the authorization rule via the digital product identifier. Linking the digital asset to the authorization rule may include generating an access element that includes a digital representation pointing to a storage location where the digital asset is stored. The access element can be included in the authorization rule. The access element can be accessed via the authorization rule. Therefore, the digital asset can be linked to the authorization rule via the access element.

[0138] In one embodiment, the generated digital asset can be linked to at least one authorization rule via an authorization rule identifier. For example, the link may include storing the authorization rule identifier associated with the authorization rule within the corresponding digital asset. In another embodiment, linking the generated digital asset to at least one authorization rule may include generating an access element that includes a digital asset identifier and data associated with the digital asset. The data associated with the digital asset may include a pointer or locator to a storage location where the digital asset is stored. The pointer or locator to the storage location may include a URI or URL pointing to the storage location where the corresponding digital asset is stored. The access element may be associated with or linked to the authorization rule, for example, via the asset identifier. The access element may be included in the authorization rule. Using such an access element can avoid generating new digital assets when updating environmental characteristics that are transferable to downstream nodes and included in existing digital assets, for example, transferring at least a portion of such transferable environmental characteristics to the downstream participant node when the downstream participant node requests the transfer of such characteristics.

[0139] In this embodiment, providing the generated digital assets to the storage structure includes generating transaction data and providing that transaction data to a distributed ledger network to store the digital assets as transactions in the distributed ledger of the distributed ledger network. The transaction data may include the digital assets. The transaction data may further include addresses. Addresses may be associated with accounts containing executable code (e.g., smart contracts). The executable code may be configured to store the digital assets in storage devices associated with such accounts. The executable code may be configured to generate (e.g., mint) tokens based on the received transaction data. Before providing the transaction data to the distributed ledger network, the transaction data may be signed using a private key associated with the product producer. The transaction data may be processed at the distributed ledger network.

[0140] In one embodiment, the storage structure is a dedicated data storage device associated with or controlled by the data owner of the digital asset. The data owner can be the producer of the product. The data owner can control access to such a dedicated storage device. This allows the data owner to control access to the digital asset; for example, the data owner can independently determine access permissions independent of other network participants. In another embodiment, the storage structure is a distributed ledger of a distributed ledger network. The distributed ledger can be replicated across multiple network nodes (e.g., network nodes participating in a consensus protocol running within the distributed ledger network). Access to data stored in the distributed ledger can be controlled based on access permissions agreed upon by the participants of the distributed ledger network.

[0141] In one embodiment, the digital asset represents one or more fungible tokens or portions thereof. Tokens may represent predefined types of transferable contextual properties. The quantity of a token or a portion thereof may represent the quantity of a type of transferable contextual property. Tokens or a portion thereof may be assigned to or held by a distributed ledger network address controlled by or controlled by an artifact producer. In another embodiment, the digital asset represents a non-fungible token (NFT) or is associated with a non-fungible token. NFTs may be assigned to or held by a distributed ledger network address controlled by or controlled by an artifact producer. NFTs may include transferable contextual properties. NFTs may include pointers or locators to databases storing transferable contextual properties. For example, an NFT may include pointers or locators to digital assets stored in a data storage device, such as a dedicated database associated with or controlled by a data owner (e.g., an artifact producer).

[0142] In an embodiment, available environmental characteristics are assigned to the digital storage structure based on environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product via at least one assignment rule. Available environmental characteristics may be assigned to the digital storage structure based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or based on environmental characteristics associated with the production process used to produce the product. Available environmental characteristics may be determined via, for example, the virtual production process described previously. Available environmental characteristics may represent a balance unit associated with such environmental characteristics. The balance unit may be determined based on, for example, the conversion factor described previously.

[0143] A digital storage structure can be associated with metadata identifying the digital storage structure used for balancing environmental characteristics. A virtual storage structure can include one or more virtual balancing accounts. This account can be associated with metadata identifying the environmental characteristics and balancing units assigned to that account. This account can be associated with metadata identifying the production chain associated with that account. This account can be associated with metadata identifying the input materials or byproducts associated with that account. A digital storage structure can include balancing accounts associated with metadata relating to environmental characteristics, input material types, waste stream types, biomass types, and balancing units.

[0144] A digital storage structure and at least one assignment rule can be at least partially associated with the corresponding metadata. The metadata associated with the digital storage structure and at least one assignment rule can be matched across all data points of the metadata. The metadata associated with the digital storage structure and at least one assignment rule can be associated with at least one environmental characteristic type, at least one production process, at least one production chain, at least one assignment scheme, at least one input material type, at least one product type, or a combination thereof. Input material types can be associated with the characteristics of the input material, such as recycled materials, bio-based materials, or renewable materials. Input material types can be associated with the material and its use or entry point, such as pyrolysis oil used to input into a steam cracking unit or syngas facility, or biogas used to input into a steam cracking unit or syngas facility. Input material types can be associated with the geographical origin of the input material. Input material types can be associated with the production process of the input material (e.g., mechanically or chemically recycled materials).

[0145] In an embodiment, the at least one verification rule includes instructions for determining a digital storage structure that stores available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product. The at least one verification rule may include instructions for determining a digital storage structure that stores available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product and / or available balance units associated with the production of a product. The at least one verification rule may be associated with metadata representing a digital storage structure or a virtual balance account included therein and storing available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product. The at least one verification rule may include instructions for verifying or verifying a digital storage structure or a virtual balance account included therein and storing available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product. The at least one verification rule may include instructions for determining, verifying, and / or verifying a digital storage structure or a virtual balance account included therein and storing available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product. To determine a digital storage structure or a virtual balance account included therein and storing available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product, the verification rule may be associated with the product and / or the production chain.

[0146] In an embodiment, the verification rule includes instructions for matching metadata of a digital storage structure with a product type corresponding to the product. The verification rule may include instructions for matching metadata of a digital storage structure with a production chain. This metadata matching can be performed for any combination of metadata associated with the digital storage structure and the assignment rule as described above. To verify a digital storage structure that stores available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product, the assignment rule may be associated with the product type and the digital storage structure. During verification, a digital storage structure that stores available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product can be determined and compared with the digital storage structure associated with the verification rule.

[0147] To verify the digital storage structure that stores the available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product, verification rules can be associated with the product type and the digital storage structure. During verification, the metadata and / or balances of the digital storage structure that stores the available environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product can be checked to ensure they are effectively accessible.

[0148] The at least one verification rule may include instructions for comparing at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the verification rule trigger with available environmental characteristics associated with the product and stored in the provided digital storage structure. In an embodiment, the at least one verification rule may include instructions for matching the requested environmental characteristic with available environmental characteristics. Matching may be performed based on metadata associated with the digital storage structure or a virtual balancing account included therein. The requested environmental characteristic may be associated with an environmental characteristic type, input material type, and / or input material source. The requested environmental characteristic may further be associated with a balancing unit. Matching may include matching the environmental characteristic type, input material type, and / or input material source with the corresponding environmental characteristic type, input material type, and / or input material source associated with the digital storage structure or a balancing account included therein.

[0149] In an embodiment, the at least one verification rule includes instructions for comparing balance units stored in the digital storage structure with balance units associated with the requested environmental characteristics. Comparing the balance units stored in the digital storage structure with the balance units associated with the requested environmental characteristics may include determining the balance units associated with the requested environmental characteristics. The balance units associated with the requested environmental characteristics can be determined based on the amount of product produced and the corresponding requested environmental characteristics.

[0150] In an embodiment, the at least one confirmation rule further includes instructions for comparing the at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger with environmental characteristics that are transferable to the downstream node and included in the digital assets associated with the product. This allows for the avoidance of double accounting or double transfer of transferable environmental characteristics by ensuring that only transferable environmental characteristics that have not yet been transferred to the downstream node are considered during the confirmation process.

[0151] In this embodiment, the at least one requested environmental characteristic is confirmed using first-in-first-out (FIFO) logic by processing received confirmation rule triggers in ascending order of the time they were received. Therefore, confirmation rule triggers can be processed in reverse order of their reception time. This allows for resolving conflict scenarios arising from the fact that the same environmental characteristic may be requested at different times. Additionally, this resolves conflict scenarios arising from the fact that a transferable environmental characteristic may be unavailable for transfer due to previous transfer to a downstream node. Processing of the confirmation rule trigger can be initiated upon completion of processing of a previously received confirmation rule trigger. Processing of the confirmation rule trigger can be completed upon receiving an indication that the digital asset stored in the storage location has been successfully updated with updated data. This allows for avoiding multiple transfers of the same environmental characteristic to downstream nodes, as confirmation can be performed using the latest transferable environmental characteristic stored in the digital asset, thus improving the reliability and trustworthiness of such environmental characteristic transfers.

[0152] In an embodiment, a requested environmental characteristic is validated if it at least partially matches available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure. Matching can be performed using one or more validation rules. Matching can be performed based on metadata associated with the requested environmental characteristic and the digital storage structure and / or the virtual balancing account included therein, as previously described.

[0153] In an embodiment, if the requested environmental characteristic does not match the available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure, the requested environmental characteristic is not validated. One or more validation rules can be used to perform a match. Matching can be performed based on metadata associated with the requested environmental characteristic and the digital storage structure and / or the virtual balancing account included therein, as previously described.

[0154] In an embodiment, assigning at least a portion of the confirmed environmental characteristics to a product may include linking at least one product identifier to an amount of balance units and / or environmental characteristics stored in a digital storage structure and accessible to the product. The amount of balance units may correspond to confirmed environmental characteristics. Linking such balance units to a product identifier may reduce the amount of balance units (e.g., balance) in the digital storage structure linked to that identifier. This ensures that the assigned confirmed environmental characteristics are assigned only once, thereby improving the reliability and trustworthiness of transferring environmental characteristics to downstream nodes. The product identifier may be associated with a physical entity of the product. Thus, a virtual identifier for the product may be uniquely linked to the physical entity of the product. This link may include a physical or virtual link to an identifier uniquely associated with the physical product. For a physical link, a label or code may be physically attached to the product, for example, by printing a QR code on packaging. For a virtual link, different identifiers associated with the physical product may be linked. For example, an order number, batch number, LOT number, or a combination thereof may be linked.

[0155] The allocation of confirmed environmental characteristics may include generating a dataset. The dataset may include digital product identifiers and data associated with the allocated environmental characteristics. In one embodiment, the data associated with the allocated environmental characteristics may include the allocated environmental characteristics themselves. In another embodiment, the data associated with the allocated environmental characteristics may include a digital representation pointing to the allocated environmental characteristics. The digital representation may point to a storage location storing the allocated environmental characteristics. The storage location may be a dedicated storage device associated with or controlled by a product producer. The storage location may be a distributed ledger in a distributed ledger network.

[0156] In this embodiment, the remaining environmental characteristics transferable to the downstream node are determined based on the environmental characteristics transferable according to the at least one authorization rule and the assigned environmental characteristics. The environmental characteristics transferable according to the at least one authorization rule may correspond to transferable environmental characteristics stored in digital assets associated with the artifact and / or authorization rule.

[0157] In one embodiment, update data may be provided to a dedicated storage device associated with or controlled by the product producer. The update data may update the transferable environmental characteristics stored in such a dedicated storage device. For example, update data may update the transferable environmental characteristics included in a digital asset stored in such a dedicated storage device. In another embodiment, update data may be provided to a distributed ledger network. The update data may correspond to transaction data including remaining transferable environmental characteristics. Providing transaction data to the distributed ledger network may result in updating the transferable environmental characteristics stored in a storage device associated with an account containing executable code. Providing transaction data to the distributed ledger network may result in transferring tokens or a portion thereof from the product producer to an address or account controlled by or associated with a downstream participant requesting the transfer of such environmental characteristics. Providing transaction data to the distributed ledger network may result in destroying existing tokens or a portion thereof and minting new tokens or a portion thereof that match the remaining transferable environmental characteristics.

[0158] In an embodiment, the method further includes a step of determining an alternative environmental attribute when at least a portion of the requested environmental characteristic is not confirmed. This additional step may be included in a method for monitoring at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product. This allows for the provision of available alternative environmental characteristics to downstream participants when the requested environmental characteristic has already been transferred by processing a previously received confirmation rule trigger, thereby mitigating conflicts arising from the application of a FIFO approach to processing confirmation rule triggers. Determining alternative environmental characteristics may include...

[0159] • Identify candidate transferable environmental characteristics that partially match the requested environmental characteristics.

[0160] • Identify available equilibrium units associated with this candidate transferable environmental characteristic.

[0161] • Alternative environmental characteristics are determined by selecting candidate transferable environmental characteristics associated with an available balance unit that is at least equal to the balance unit associated with the requested environmental characteristic. Attached Figure Description

[0162] The disclosure will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings and the disclosure, the same reference numerals are intended to refer to the same or similar elements, components, and / or portions. The description of the drawings is provided for illustrative purposes and should not be considered limiting. Embodiments and examples are illustrative examples intended to further illustrate the concepts set forth herein. The drawings include schematic representations and should not be considered limiting. Other embodiments and examples falling within the scope of the concepts outlined herein are possible and may not be explicitly described herein.

[0163] Figure 1 An example of a network of participants in a product ecosystem is shown, associated with a decentralized peer-to-peer network used to transfer the environmental characteristics of the produced products used within the product ecosystem.

[0164] Figure 2 This illustrates another example of a network of participants in a product ecosystem associated with a distributed ledger network used to transfer the environmental characteristics of the produced products used within the product ecosystem.

[0165] Figure 3A An example method is shown for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0166] Figure 3B Another example method is shown for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0167] Figures 4A to 4D It demonstrates the different licensing rules associated with producing a product through production operated by the product producer.

[0168] Figure 5 An example apparatus is shown for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0169] Figures 6A to 6B An example of a digital credential representing authentication that at least partially conforms to a predefined set of rules for at least one authorization rule is shown.

[0170] Figure 6C Showing Figure 6A and Figure 6B An example of the presentation of digital credentials.

[0171] Figure 7 An example method for producing an output associated with a digital asset, the digital asset including at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the output is demonstrated.

[0172] Figures 8A to 8C Examples of allocation or assignment schemes are shown that can be used to associate digital assets with the production of the product and link accessible environmental characteristics requested by the product's consumers to the product produced through production.

[0173] Figure 9Examples of chemical production networks with different allocation or assignment schemes are shown.

[0174] Figure 10 An example of an assignment rule is shown for assigning or assigning at least one environmental characteristic to a chemical product ID based on an assignment or allocation rule.

[0175] Figure 11 An example apparatus for producing an output associated with a digital asset, the digital asset including at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the output, is demonstrated.

[0176] Figure 12 An example is shown of how environmental properties associated with an input material can be transformed into transferable environmental properties associated with the product produced from that input material.

[0177] Figure 13A Examples of digital assets are shown that are associated with a product and include environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0178] Figure 13B Showing Figure 13A , Figure 13C and Figure 13D The JSON schema of the digital assets shown.

[0179] Figure 13C An example of an access element is shown, which is associated with a digital asset and includes a pointer or locator to the storage location where the digital asset is stored, including environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0180] Figure 13D Another example of an access element is shown, which is associated with a digital asset and includes a pointer or locator to the storage location where the digital asset is stored, including environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0181] Figure 14 An example of a system for transferring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product is illustrated.

[0182] Figure 15 A graphical user interface is shown that displays transferable environmental characteristics associated with a given product and triggers the transfer of at least a portion of the transferable environmental characteristics to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the product.

[0183] Figure 16AAnother example of a system is shown for transferring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0184] Figure 16B This demonstrates yet another example of a system for transferring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0185] Figure 17 This demonstrates yet another example of a system for transferring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0186] Figure 18 An example method is shown for triggering the transfer of environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product.

[0187] Figure 19 Showing Figure 18 Examples of the methods shown in the document.

[0188] Figure 20 An example method for monitoring at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product is demonstrated.

[0189] Figure 21 Showing Figure 20 Examples of the method.

[0190] Figure 22 An example of production is shown, which is combined with an operating system including an environmental property management system for two or more environmental properties to produce one or more products from one or more input materials.

[0191] Figure 23 A virtual production system is demonstrated for producing sustainable chemical products by decoupling the environmental characteristics of incoming sustainable inputs and transforming these environmental characteristics into equilibrium units.

[0192] Figure 24 An example method is shown for assigning environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or with the production process used to produce the product to at least one digital storage structure.

[0193] Figure 25 An example of an assignment rule is shown for assigning, delegating, or allocating at least one environmental characteristic to a virtual balancing account of a digital storage structure.

[0194] Figure 26 An example of assigning rule instructions for at least one virtual balancing account used to select a digital storage structure is shown.

[0195] Figure 27 An example of assigning rule instructions for compatibility checks of virtual balancing accounts used in digital storage structures is shown.

[0196] Figures 28A to 28C Examples of digital storage structures are shown, along with the relevant metadata identifying the virtual balancing account within the digital storage structure.

[0197] Figure 29 A merging system was demonstrated for producing digital assets associated with chemical products by combining environmental characteristics represented in equilibrium units with conventional product data.

[0198] Figure 30 A merging system is demonstrated for producing non-fungible tokens associated with environmental characteristics transferred to chemical products by combining environmental properties represented by equilibrium units with conventional product data.

[0199] Figure 31 An example method for monitoring digital assets associated with products is shown.

[0200] Figure 32 An example method for monitoring digital assets associated with input materials used in the production of finished products is demonstrated.

[0201] Figure 33A The diagram illustrates a sequence of digital assets used to monitor the product and the digital assets associated with the input materials used to produce the product.

[0202] Figure 33B An example system for monitoring digital assets associated with a product and digital assets associated with the input materials used to produce that product is demonstrated. Detailed Implementation

[0203] Figure 1 An example of a network of participants in a product ecosystem is shown, associated with a decentralized peer-to-peer network used to transfer the environmental characteristics of the produced products used within the product ecosystem.

[0204] The associated product ecosystem participant network 130 may be associated with a decentralized peer-to-peer network 134 to exchange transferable and / or accessible environmental characteristics associated with raw materials, chemical products, discrete products, final products, recycled materials, and / or their respective production. Participant network 130 may include one or more network participants 102 to 114 associated with decentralized participant nodes 116 to 128. Network participants may be part of one industry or different industries. Network participants may be part of a product ecosystem that includes chemical products. The product ecosystem may include a production chain that produces one or more final products. The product ecosystem may include a recycling chain to recover at least a portion of the waste products generated from the use of final products.

[0205] The product ecosystem may include raw material producers 104, chemical product producers 102, chemical product users 106, final product producers 108, final product users 110, EOL product collectors 112, and recyclers 114. Figure 1 The product ecosystem shown is merely an example and may include more or fewer network participants. For example, a product ecosystem may include a chain of chemical product producers, rather than just a single chemical product producer 102. The participant network 130 may include a chemical supply chain. A product ecosystem may allow the production of new products, such as chemical products, using materials derived from the recycling of end-of-life products. A product ecosystem may be associated with the production and / or recycling of physical products. Products may be chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, component assemblies, final products, end-of-life products, or recycled materials.

[0206] Participants in participant network 130 can be associated with the production and / or recycling of products. Decentralized network participants 102 through 114 can refer to manufacturers of physical products, such as raw material producers 104, chemical product producers 102, chemical product users 106, final product producers 108, users of physical goods (such as final product users 110), and / or participants in recycling chains associated with physical products (such as EOL product collectors 112 and recyclers 114). Network participants can be associated with participant nodes 116 through 128 and with decentralized participant identifiers associated with the associated participant nodes 116 through 128. Decentralized participant identifiers can uniquely identify decentralized network participants and their associated decentralized participant nodes within decentralized peer-to-peer network 134.

[0207] Participants in participant network 130 can be connected via material flows. A material flow can be a circular material flow 136. A circular material flow 136 can be a closed-loop material flow. A closed-loop material flow can refer to a material cycle from which recycled material is used to produce the same final product, the recycled material being obtained from that material cycle via recycling. A circular material flow 136 can also be an open-loop material flow. An open-loop material flow can refer to a material cycle from which recycled material is used to produce a different final product compared to the material flow from which recycled material is obtained. A material flow can be a linear material flow (e.g., excluding recycling). Material flow 136 can correspond to a product flowing from one participant in participant network 130 to a downstream participant in participant network 130. Material flow 136 can refer to a continuous or discontinuous flow of product. The flow of product can include any mode of transport suitable for transporting product from a participant to a downstream participant. Modes of transport can include pipes, containers, barrels, and packaging. Material flow 136 can be associated with raw materials (e.g., virgin raw material 158) used to produce a chemical product. Raw materials can be provided to chemical product producer 102 for the production of chemical products and / or intermediate chemical products (not shown). Circulating material stream 136 can be associated with chemical products 156. These chemical products can be supplied from chemical product producer 102 to chemical product user 106 for the production of discrete products. The discrete products produced are different units sold as individual products, as opposed to chemical production. Circulating material stream 136 can also be associated with recycled material 160. This recycled material can be supplied from recycler 114 to chemical product producer 102 for the production of chemical products.

[0208] At least some of the participants in participant network 130 may be associated with distributed participant network nodes 116 to 128. Distributed participant nodes 116 to 128 may be under the control of the corresponding distributed participant associated with each distributed participant node 116 to 128. Distributed participant nodes 116 to 128 may form a distributed network 134. Distributed network 134 may be a peer-to-peer communication network. Distributed peer-to-peer network 134 may be configured to execute data transactions 132 according to at least one network protocol. Data transactions 132 may be based on at least one transaction protocol including authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. Based on authentication and / or authorization mechanisms, peer-to-peer communication may be established between distributed network nodes 116 to 128 associated with network participants 102 to 114. One or more authentication mechanisms may be associated with or linked to a distributed identifier, such as... Figure 14 As described in the context. One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier can be accessed by decentralized participant nodes 116 to 128, such as Figure 14 As described in the context, distributed configurations allow for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthen the control of data owners in distributed networks by implementing data sovereignty.

[0209] Data transactions between distributed network participant nodes 116 to 128 can be based on distributed identifiers associated with the corresponding product data to be accessed, such as... Figure 14 As described in the context, a distributed identifier can be uniquely associated with the physical entity of a product and the associated product data. A distributed identifier can uniquely identify a corresponding product within a distributed network. A distributed identifier can be associated with other distributed identifiers, such as the distributed identifier of the product used to produce that product. This allows for tracking of the products used to produce the product (such as the final product). Distributed identifiers can be included in the digital access element associated with the product.

[0210] Data flow 132 (e.g., transactions depicted by dashed lines) between distributed network participant nodes 116 to 128 can be directly or indirectly associated with material flow 136 (depicted by thick solid lines) between network participants 102 to 114. For example, data flow 132 can be directly associated with material flow 136 if data associated with input materials supplied from raw material producer 104 to chemical product producer 102 is accessed by distributed participant node 118 associated with said chemical product producer 102. For example, data flow 132 can be indirectly associated with material flow 136 if data associated with chemical products produced by chemical product producer 102 is accessed by distributed participant node 128 associated with recycler 114.

[0211] Distributed participant nodes 116 to 128 may be distributed computing nodes. A distributed computing node may be any device or system comprising at least one physical tangible processor and physical tangible memory capable of having computer-executable instructions executed by the processor thereon. The memory may take any form of volatile or non-volatile storage device and may depend on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0212] At least some of the distributed participant nodes 116 to 128 can be configured as distributed data providing network nodes. At least some of the participant nodes 116 to 128 can be configured as distributed data consuming network nodes. Participants in the distributed participant network 130 can be associated with distributed data providing network nodes and / or distributed data consuming network nodes, depending on whether the data is provided to downstream participants or consumed from upstream participants. For example, final product producer 108 can be associated with a distributed data providing network node configured to provide product data to downstream participants (e.g., recycler 114), for example, as Figure 14As described in the context. Alternatively, the final product producer 108 may be associated with a distributed data consumption network node configured to access data associated with discrete products produced by upstream participants (e.g., chemical product user 106).

[0213] The distributed network 134 may include additional distributed network nodes ( Figure 1 (Not shown in the image). Additional decentralized network nodes may not be associated with or operated by participants 102 to 114 in the product ecosystem. These additional decentralized network nodes may provide services to network participants 102 to 114. For example, they may provide a digital marketplace to network participants 102 to 114. Additional decentralized network nodes may be decentralized infrastructure service nodes. These nodes may provide services to decentralized participant nodes 116 to 128, such as verifying their identity before data exchange. Decentralized participant nodes 116 to 128 may be associated with or include certificates, such as X.509 certificates. Certificates may be associated with decentralized infrastructure service nodes that include, for example, certificate issuance services and / or dynamic provisioning services providing dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). Thus, decentralized participant nodes 116 to 124 may be associated with a unique identifier embedded in an X.509 certificate that identifies the corresponding decentralized participant node 116 to 128. The information required to verify a certificate can be provided via a registry of certifications associated with the certificate issuance service and / or dynamic attribute provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model 3.0 of April 2019, identities can be verified (not shown) before data exchange can be performed using distributed data provisioning network nodes associated with the data owner, certification authority (CA), dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and distributed data consumption network nodes associated with the data consumer.

[0214] Figure 2 An example of a participant network 216 of a product ecosystem associated with a distributed ledger network 220 used for the transfer of environmental characteristics related to the production of products is shown. The distributed ledger network 220 may include one or more network participants 102 to 114. Distributed network participants 102 to 114 may be, for example... Figure 1 This is part of the product ecosystem described in the context. Products can be chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, component assemblies, final products, end-of-life products, or recycled products.

[0215] Participants in the distributed ledger network 220 can be associated with the production and / or recycling of products. Network participants 102 to 114 can refer to manufacturers of physical products, such as input material suppliers 104, chemical product producers 102, chemical product consumers 106, OEMs 108, users of physical goods (such as end-product users 110), and / or participants in recycling chains associated with physical products (such as EOL product collectors 112 and recyclers 114). Figure 1 The product ecosystem shown is merely an example and may include more or fewer network participants. For example, a product ecosystem may include a chain of chemical product producers, rather than just a single chemical product producer 102. Network participants 102 through 114 may be associated with decentralized participant identifiers. A decentralized participant identifier uniquely identifies a network participant within the distributed ledger network 220. A decentralized participant identifier may correspond to or be derived from the public key associated with the corresponding network participant 102 through 114. A decentralized participant identifier may represent an account on the distributed ledger network 220 associated with the corresponding network participant 102 through 114.

[0216] Participants in participant network 216 can access via Figure 1 The material flow 136 connection is described in the context of the context.

[0217] At least some of the participants 102 to 114 in participant network 216 may be associated with or have access to distributed ledger network nodes 204 to 214. Although Figure 2 Only one distributed ledger network, distributed ledger network 220, is shown, but participants 102 to 114 of participant network 216 can access at least one additional distributed ledger network (not shown). Distributed ledger network nodes 202 to 214 can form distributed ledger network 220. Distributed ledger network 220 can be a distributed peer-to-peer network. Nodes 202 to 214 of distributed ledger network 220 can connect to other nodes in distributed ledger network 220. For example, at least one physical standard network (wired and / or wireless) can be used for connectivity. Nodes 202 to 214 can have equal permissions, which distinguishes them from a server-client structure.

[0218] Nodes 202 to 214 may include peer-to-peer applications. These applications can be software running on the computer representing any of nodes 202 to 214. The same peer-to-peer application can be implemented on each node 202 to 214; for example, each node may include the same content, and the same code (including one or more executable tools) can be executed on each node. Nodes running peer-to-peer applications may store a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain. The distributed ledger can be inspected by all participants 102 to 114 in the product ecosystem. The distributed ledger can also be inspected by other entities that are not part of the product ecosystem, for example, for auditing purposes or to support purchasing decisions. In one example, each of nodes 202 to 214 may store the (entire) distributed ledger, such as a blockchain. In another example, only a portion of the distributed ledger may be stored on a node (a light node).

[0219] Peer-to-peer applications can be configured to store digital assets associated with chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, parts, component assemblies, and / or final products. Peer-to-peer applications can be configured to access transferable environmental property data associated with chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, parts, component assemblies, and / or final products. Peer-to-peer applications can be configured to manage digital assets linked to chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, parts, component assemblies, and / or final products. For example, peer-to-peer applications can be configured to update digital assets and / or transfer datasets including data related to available environmental properties to downstream participant identifiers associated with downstream participants requesting the transfer of transferable environmental properties.

[0220] At least some of participants 102 to 114 can connect to the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 via a peer module (not shown). The peer module can be configured to communicate at least with the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 (i.e., nodes 202 to 214 of the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220, for example, nodes 202 to 214 running a peer-to-peer application). Therefore, the peer module can represent a participant in the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. The peer module may not include the peer-to-peer application. Such a peer module can be configured to provide access to the peer-to-peer application, for example, via an API (Application Programming Interface). Such a peer module (also represented as a light node) can include a decentralized application that includes at least an endpoint to the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. Therefore, such a peer module can access or connect to the gateway of nodes (such as nodes 202 to 214) running the peer-to-peer network (so-called remote nodes). The peer module can be configured to generate transaction data, for example, such as... Figure 30 , Figure 20 , Figure 24 , Figure 33A and Figure 33B As described in the context of [the above description], a peer module can be configured to, for example, sign the generated transaction data using a private key associated with a corresponding participant in the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. A peer module can be configured to provide the generated transaction data to the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 for processing. A peer module can be configured to query data from the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. For example, a peer module can be configured to collect data from the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220, such as digital assets stored in the distributed ledger. A peer module can be configured to request data from the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220, such as [example data]. Figure 16A and Figure 16B The transferable environment characteristics described in the context.

[0221] Peer-to-peer network 220 can be configured to execute data transaction data stream 218 according to a transaction network protocol. This data transaction data stream 218 can be associated with material flow 136 between participants in the decentralized participant network 216. The data transaction data stream 218 may include data transactions between the peer module and the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. For example, the peer module can be configured to generate transaction data and provide the generated transaction data to the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. Transaction data can be associated with the storage of digital assets, such as… Figure 30 As described in the context. Transaction data can be associated with the transfer of digital assets or datasets, such as... Figure 20 , Figure 29 , Figure 30 , Figure 33A and Figure 33B As described in the context. Transaction data can be associated with a storage of authorization rules linked to the produced product, for example, such as... Figure 16A and Figure 16BAs described in the context of the data transaction data stream 218, it may include data transactions between peer nodes 202 to 214. For example, a data transaction received by a node of the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 may be broadcast to at least a portion of the other nodes of the peer-to-peer network 220. Each transaction provided to the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 may contain proof data, such as a signature. For example, the transaction data may be signed using a private key associated with the corresponding participant of the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. Before processing a transaction, it may be confirmed by verifying the proof data of the transaction, for example by comparing the proof data with valid proof data stored, for example, in a peer-to-peer application. A portion of nodes 202 to 214 may perform the confirmation process. If the transaction is valid, it may be further processed, for example, it may be included in another block of the distributed ledger or blockchain. It should be understood that other means besides signatures (e.g., communication addresses, certificates, etc.) may also be used in the confirmation or authentication process, respectively.

[0222] The peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 can be configured to execute one or more consensus algorithms. The consensus algorithm can be used to process received transactions. The consensus algorithm can be used to process confirmed transactions. The consensus algorithm can be executed by at least a portion of the nodes of the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220. The consensus algorithm can include one or more protocols through which all full nodes in the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 can reach a joint agreement on the current state of the network. The consensus algorithm can include Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm, Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, Proof-of-History consensus algorithm, Byzantine fault-tolerant algorithm, delegated Proof-of-Stake algorithm, Proof-of-Burning algorithm, Proof-of-Capacity algorithm, Proof-of-Time algorithm, Proof-of-Activity algorithm, Proof-of-Weight algorithm, Proof-of-Importance algorithm, Leased Proof-of-Stake algorithm, or combinations thereof. For example, the consensus algorithm can include a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. In another instance, the consensus algorithm can include a combination of Proof-of-History and Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithms. In yet another instance, the consensus algorithm can be a Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus protocol on a collectively trusted subnet.

[0223] Peer-to-peer applications can store distributed ledgers. Examples include Ripple's XRP ledger. Peer-to-peer applications can store blockchains. However, the following statement can be easily transferred to other peer-to-peer applications, such as those storing directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). A directed acyclic graph (such as IOTA or Tangle) means that blocks (or nodes in the graph) are coupled to each other via directed edges. Thus, "directed" means that (all) edges (always) have the same direction, similar to time. In other words, it is impossible to go back a step. Finally, "acyclic" means that there are no cycles.

[0224] Distributed ledgers or blockchains can be permissionless or permissioned. They can be public, consortium-based, or private. Peer-to-peer applications can leverage multiple blockchains connected via mechanisms such as sidechains or smart contracts. Interoperability between blockchains can be established. Examples of blockchains include Ethereum and Solana.

[0225] A blockchain can be formed from at least two interconnected blocks. The first block can also be called the genesis block. Each block (except the first block) can reference every previous block. A new block can be created through a computationally intensive process (e.g., so-called "mining") or through another suitable process, such as voting, and specifically, the new block is provided to all nodes 202 to 214 of the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220.

[0226] A blockchain can be configured to receive transactions, such as transactions associated with the storage of digital assets and / or transactions associated with transferring available environmental features to downstream participants requesting such environmental features. Transactions can be received from peer-to-peer modules as previously described. The blockchain can be configured to confirm received transactions. The blockchain can be configured to store transactions (such as confirmed transactions) in new blocks on the blockchain. For example, a new block can be appended to an existing block on the blockchain. The blockchain can be configured at least to store digital assets, such as... Figure 30 As described in the context, a blockchain can be configured to store authorization rules. A blockchain can be configured to trigger the collection of transferable environmental characteristics.

[0227] Specifically, newly received transactions can be confirmed, saved, and published in the current block of the blockchain. Published transactions can be read by at least a portion of the participants in the peer-to-peer network. Alternatively or additionally, transaction data can be stored in a registered storage device, such as on a blockchain-controlled decentralized file service or a distributed blockchain database.

[0228] Only a subset of the nodes in the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 can be configured to store peer-to-peer applications, and / or only a subset of the nodes in the peer-to-peer distributed ledger network 220 can be configured to execute smart contract algorithms. Since confirmation / verification requires a considerable amount of computation, it may be advantageous, for efficiency reasons, if only a subset of nodes 202 to 214 executes the executable tools and / or confirmation and / or authentication algorithms.

[0229] Confirmation, analysis, and optimization can be performed on-chain or off-chain, as described above. Off-chain confirmation, analysis, and / or optimization can be managed by peer applications (such as code on the blockchain). It should be understood that only a single, especially a particularly powerful, peer can perform the confirmation, analysis, and / or optimization process, while other nodes can be configured as monitoring nodes. Powerful functionality, in particular, implies high computational power.

[0230] Similarly, in another embodiment (not shown), a particularly large peer-to-peer network can be divided into two or more clusters. For example, in a corresponding peer-to-peer network, confirmation can be performed by only members of one cluster (e.g., sharding the blockchain to improve scalability). In another embodiment, multiple blockchains can be used to form peer-to-peer applications. These blockchains are connected via frameworks such as sidechains, smart contracts, or inter-ledger protocols.

[0231] Figure 3A An example method is demonstrated for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product. This method can be... Figure 5 The system shown in the image is used for implementation.

[0232] Environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product can refer to any characteristic or feature related to the environmental impact of such production. This characteristic can be a property or feature of the input materials, the production process used to produce the product, and / or the product itself. Environmental characteristics can indicate the environmental performance of the input materials, the production process, and / or the product. Environmental characteristics can be derived from the characteristics of the input materials, the production process, and / or the product. Environmental characteristics can include one or more features that can impart environmental or sustainability impacts to the input materials, the production process, and / or the product. Environmental characteristics can include environmental, technological, recyclable, or circular characteristics associated with the environmental impact of the input materials, the production process, and / or the product.

[0233] Environmental characteristics can specify or quantify ecological criteria associated with the environmental impacts of input materials, production processes, and / or products. Environmental characteristics can be derived from or arise from measurements taken during the life cycle of the input materials and / or products and / or during the production process. Environmental characteristics can include, for example, impact categories such as carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential, primary energy demand, cumulative energy demand, consumption of biological and non-biological resources, air emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion potential, ozone formation, terrestrial and / or marine acidification, water consumption, water loss, water availability, water pollution, noise pollution, freshwater and / or marine eutrophication potential, human carcinogenic and / or non-carcinogenic toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial, freshwater and / or marine ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation, agricultural and / or urban land occupation, land conversion, land use, indirect land use, deforestation, biodiversity, mineral resource consumption, and / or fossil resource consumption. Environmental characteristics can be calculated through a combination of one or more environmental characteristics. Environmental characteristics may include, for example, material or product characteristics related to the production of input materials and / or products, such as recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, vegan, halal, kosher, palm oil-free, natural, amount of green energy used, and product carbon footprint data. The amount of green energy used may refer to the amount of green energy (e.g., energy generated from natural resources such as solar, wind, and water) used during the production of input materials and / or products.

[0234] Technical characteristics can specify or quantify the properties of input materials or products that are at least indirectly related to environmental impact. Technical characteristics can be, or can be generated from, measurements taken during the life cycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Technical characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product life cycle and can characterize the performance of the input material or product during or up to that stage. Technical characteristics may include, for example, composition data, inputs in the production process, bills of materials, specification data, component data, safety data, application characteristic data, application instructions, and / or quality data. Technical characteristics may include, for example, the physical, chemical, or other properties of the input material or product.

[0235] Recycling characteristics can specify or quantify the lifecycle features of input materials and / or products associated with recycling. Recycling characteristics can be, or can be generated from, measurements taken during the lifecycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Recycling characteristics can be, or can be generated from recycling data recorded in one or more previous lifecycles (including reuse). Recycling characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product lifecycle and can characterize reuse or recycling performance within or up to that stage. Recycling characteristics can be related to technical, mechanical, chemical, and / or biological recycling. Recycling characteristics can include, for example, recycling data, reuse rate, recovery rate, recycling cycles, performance of reused products, quality of reused input materials, etc. Additional recycling material characteristics can be obtained by combining recycling characteristics.

[0236] Recyclability characteristics can specify and / or quantify the lifecycle characteristics of input materials and / or products associated with recycling. Recyclability characteristics may include the composition of the input materials and / or products, containing components specifically tailored to make the input materials and / or products suitable for recycling. Recyclability characteristics can be or can be generated from measurements taken during the lifecycle of one or more input materials and / or products. Recyclability characteristics can be or can be generated from recycling data recorded in one or more previous lifecycles. Recyclability characteristics can be determined at any stage of the input material and / or product lifecycle and can characterize recycling performance within or up to that stage. Recyclability characteristics may include, for example, recycling data, recyclability data, recycling efficiency, etc.

[0237] Environmental characteristics can numerically specify the environmental impacts of input materials, processes, and / or products. Environmental characteristics can include qualitative data points related to the type of impact, for example, taking into account the input materials, processes, and / or products. Qualitative data points can be converted into quantitative measures, such as balance units. Environmental characteristics can also include quantitative data points related to the type of impact, for example, taking into account ecological criteria associated with the input materials, processes, and / or products.

[0238] Environmental characteristics that can be transferred to downstream nodes (hereinafter also referred to as transferable or accessible environmental characteristics) can include environmental characteristics that can be assigned or allocated to an artifact via an assignment rule and have not yet been transferred to a downstream node (e.g., transferable or transferable upon successful confirmation). Such transferable environmental characteristics can be determined via assignment rules, for example, such as... Figure 7 and Figure 10 As described in the context.

[0239] Transferable environmental characteristics can be derived from the characteristics of the input materials used to produce the product or the characteristics of the production process used to produce the product. Transferable environmental characteristics can be determined via one or more assigned rules based on the environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production process used to produce the product, for example, such as... Figure 22 and Figure 24 As described in the context of [the previous sentence]. Assignment rules can define assignment schemes for assigning environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production processes used to produce the product to the product. Therefore, a transferable environmental characteristic can represent an environmental attribute that is theoretically available for assignment and / or allocation to a product. A transferable environmental attribute can differ from a transferred environmental attribute; for example, if an environmental attribute claimed by a product consumer is no longer available for assignment or allocation, resulting in a transfer of an environmental attribute different from one initially claimed by the product consumer. Transferable environmental attributes can be stored in a virtual balancing account. Transferable environmental attributes can accumulate across multiple production stages associated with the production of the product. For example, if the production of a product involves several production stages, environmental attributes associated with input materials used in at least two of these production stages and / or environmental attributes derived from production performed in at least two of these production stages can accumulate (e.g., be added). Transferable environmental attributes can be associated with a corresponding product (e.g., they may not accumulate).

[0240] Products can be produced from one or more input materials through a process operated by the product producer, such as Figure 5 As described in the context. Products can include any output product, such as chemical intermediates, chemical products, components or parts, component assemblies, and final products. Products can be produced from one or more input materials. Input materials can be delivered to the product producer's production, and the producer can use the received input materials to produce the product, for example, as... Figure 5 As shown. The product can be produced via chemical and / or physical processes. The product can be produced via an assembly process. Production may include one or more production plants performing different production steps. The product can be associated with at least one product identifier. The product identifier can uniquely identify the product within the production process. The product identifier can be a numerical identifier. The numerical identifier can be associated with or linked to a physical identifier element physically attached to the produced product. The product can be provided to one or more product consumers (e.g., downstream participants of the product producer). The product consumer can use the product to produce one or more other products.

[0241] At least one authorization rule can be generated associated with a product identifier. This at least one authorization rule may involve one or more authorization rules. Authorization rules can be generated for each product. Authorization rules can be generated for each product category. Authorization rules can be generated for at least two different product categories (e.g., authorization rules can be associated with or related to at least two different product categories). Authorization rules can be generated for each entity operating the production of the product. This allows for a reduction in the number of rules that need to be created and maintained, thereby reducing complexity and providing reliable access to transferable environment characteristics. Authorization rules allow for secure control over access to and use of transferable environment characteristics from a variety of different data sources. Furthermore, authorization rules allow for controlled and secure access to and use of transferable environment characteristics from a variety of different data sources.

[0242] Authorization rules may include transferable environment characteristics. Authorization rules may relate to transferable environment characteristics. Authorization rules may be associated with or related to digital assets that are associated with the artifact and include environment characteristics that allow transfer to downstream nodes (see, for example...). Figure 13A and Figure 13B (The digital assets shown).

[0243] refer to Figure 4AThe authorization rules may include rule identifiers 404 and one or more instructions 408. The rule identifier can uniquely identify a rule associated with an entity producing the product. The rule identifier can also uniquely identify a rule associated with an entity within the product's ecosystem. The rule identifier can be a distributed identifier used by distributed network nodes. The rule identifier can be, for example, a UUID or DID, or an address of a distributed ledger network storing the authorization rules. These instructions can be configured to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node. These instructions can include one or more executable functions. Instructions 408 can include functions that can be compiled into executable code, which can then be executed by one or more computing nodes. Instructions 408 can include unstructured data that can be transformed into instructions executable by one or more computing nodes. The authorization rules may include one or more instructions 408. The authorization rules may include data transaction instructions, data transaction protocols, or executable instructions, such as data usage policies, applications, smart contracts, or other data processing instructions associated with product producer network nodes and / or downstream nodes. At least one authorization rule may include instructions to collect and process transferable environment characteristics specified by the authorization rule. At least one authorization rule may relate to or include at least one event trigger associated with transferring an environment characteristic to a downstream node. The event trigger specified by the authorization rule may be a user interaction that detects an environment characteristic selected from transferable environment characteristics and indicates a desired transfer. The event trigger specified by the authorization rule may receive a request that includes a selected environment characteristic transferable according to at least one authorization rule associated with the product. The authorization rule may relate to or include instructions based on at least one event trigger. The event trigger may trigger or initialize instructions to transfer at least one environment characteristic selected or requested from environment characteristics transferable to a downstream node according to the authorization rule associated with the product.

[0244] The licensing rules may further include one or more product identifiers 406 associated with the product produced.

[0245] refer to Figure 4BInstruction 408 may include instructions for authenticating users, instructions for collecting transferable environmental characteristics associated with a product, instructions for providing the collected transferable environmental characteristics for selection and transfer, and instructions for triggering the transfer of environmental characteristics selected from collected or processed environmental characteristics that can be transferred according to at least one authorization rule to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant (e.g., a product consumer). These instructions may further include instructions for transforming the collected data. These instructions may further include verifying proof data included in the collected data. Proof data (such as digital signatures) may be associated with a product and / or a product producer. Verifying proof data may allow authentication of the product producer and / or the product produced. These instructions may further include instructions for triggering the transfer of financial assets (such as cryptocurrency assets, digital fiat currency assets, stablecoin assets, etc.) and / or instructions for triggering the transfer of verified environmental characteristics from an account or digital storage structure controlled by the product producer to an account or digital storage structure controlled by a downstream participant. The transfer of financial assets may be triggered based on the transfer of verified environmental characteristics from a participant node associated with the product producer to a downstream participant node requesting the transfer. Financial asset transfers can be triggered when an indication is received that confirmed environmental characteristics (e.g., in the form of a dataset) have been transferred to a downstream participant node that is requesting the transfer.

[0246] The identified environmental characteristics can refer to those that match the available environmental characteristics stored in the digital storage structure. Available environmental characteristics can be determined based on input materials entering production and / or production processes performed within production. Available environmental characteristics can be allocated or credited to a virtual balancing account included in the digital storage structure. Allocation or crediting can be performed via one or more assignment rules associated with the digital storage structure and / or the virtual balancing account included therein, for example, such as... Figure 22 and Figure 24 As described in the context. Confirmed environmental characteristics can be transferred to the requesting downstream node, for example, via the generated dataset. Confirmed environmental characteristics can be deducted or billed from the virtual balancing account included in the storage structure when allocating or assigning artifacts, and can be transferred to downstream participant nodes, for example, via the generated dataset.

[0247] and Figure 4B Compared to instruction 408 shown, Figure 4C The example shown, instruction 408, does not include instructions for authenticating users. For example, if... Figure 14 As shown, authentication is performed before providing authorization rules, so such authentication can be omitted.

[0248] Figure 4DExamples of different instructions 408 are shown, such as instruction set 1 410, instruction set 2 412, and instruction set 3 414. Instruction set 1 410 may include instructions for collecting and providing the collected transferable environment characteristics via executable code stored in a distributed ledger in a distributed ledger network (e.g., Oracle). Instruction set 2 412 may include instructions for authenticating users and / or artifacts, triggering the collection of transferable environment characteristics, providing the collected transferable environment characteristics for selection and transfer, and triggering the transfer of selected environment characteristics to downstream participant nodes that request the transfer. Instruction set 3 414 may include instructions for transferring verified environment characteristics to downstream participant nodes that request the transfer. Separating instructions 408 into different sets allows for flexible combination of these instructions when generating authorization rules. This allows for consideration of different architectures used for storing transferable environment characteristics, transferring datasets associated with verified environment characteristics, and executing authorization rules. For example, decentralized data storage devices and distributed ledger networks used to transfer datasets in the form of tokens (such as fungible tokens and nonfungible tokens (NFTs)) can be combined with client-server architectures to execute instructions included in authorization rules. This avoids having to share the data required to interact with executable code (such as smart contract interfaces (e.g., ABI)) stored in the distributed ledger with product consumers and improves security.

[0249] Generating authorization rules can include generating executable code. These rules can include both generated code and the compiled code. This code can be executed within a client-server architecture. The code can execute within a distributed ledger network, for example... Figure 2 The distributed ledger network 220 is shown in the diagram. Therefore, at least a portion of the authorization rules can be smart contracts deployed on the distributed ledger network. These instructions can reside within one or more smart contracts deployed on the distributed ledger network.

[0250] Generating authorization rules can include determining the storage location for storing portable environment attributes. Generating authorization rules can also include defining the system architecture in which the authorization rules will be enforced, such as a client-server architecture or a distributed ledger network.

[0251] Generating licensing rules may include determining the transferable environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product. For example, transferable environmental characteristics may include, for instance... Figure 7 and Figure 10 It is determined as described in the context.

[0252] A digital credential can be selected to represent at least partial conformity of at least one authorization rule to a predefined rule set. Examples of such digital credentials 602 and 604 are provided in... Figure 6A and Figure 6BAs shown in the diagram. Digital credentials can represent certifications or other credentials issued by regulatory bodies, governments, industry alliances, standards-setting organizations (SSOs), certification bodies (such as ISCC, TÜV, etc.). This is a secure and portable way to store and share information about entity attributes. An entity can be an authorization rule. An entity can be a product producer that produces products associated with an authorization rule. A predefined rule set can refer to a set of guidelines, rules, or requirements that establish a common framework or consistent way of working. It can be a formal document providing specifications, procedures, or guidelines for products, services, processes, or systems with the aim of ensuring quality, safety, reliability, interoperability, or other desired characteristics. This set of guidelines, rules, or requirements can refer to, include, or relate to allocation models used to assign environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to the product and / or to verify requested environmental characteristics. This set of guidelines, rules, or requirements can include guidelines regarding entities providing code and guidelines regarding auditing executable code for the functions performed by the code.

[0253] Digital credentials can correspond to verifiable credentials. Verifiable credentials can refer to tamper-proof credentials with an author identity that can be verified cryptographically. Verifiable credentials can be generated based on the W3C's Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0 (see https: / / www.w3.org / TR / vc-data-model-2.0 / ).

[0254] Digital credentials can be selected based on the rule identifier included in the generated authorization rules.

[0255] refer to Figure 6A and Figure 6B Digital credentials 602 and 604 may include information such as the digital credential's ID, an identifier associated with the issuing authority, the issuance date, the expiry date, and statements regarding the credential's subject. (See reference) Figure 6AThe `credentialSubject` attribute can represent at least one authorization rule and the participant or source providing at least one authorization rule. The `credentialSubject` attribute can include a distributed participant identifier for the entity providing the rule, such as the participant's DID and business partner number. The entity providing the rule can correspond to an entity that produces an output (e.g., an output producer). The `credentialSubject` attribute can further include a statement (e.g., `allocationType`) regarding the allocation model used to determine the transferable environment characteristics associated with or included in at least one authorization rule. `allocationType` can correspond to quality balance, identity retention, segregation, or accounting and claiming, depending on the model used to allocate the transferable environment characteristics associated with this or these authorization rules. The `credentialSubject` attribute can further include an authorization rule identifier, rule name, and version number. This allows determination of whether a provided digital credential is associated with at least one provided authorization rule. Figure 6A The digital certificate 602 shown can allow product producers to demonstrate to third parties that a certified or audited allocation scheme was used to allocate transferable environmental characteristics to the product. This can allow for increased credibility regarding the determination of transferable environmental characteristics and makes the allocation scheme used for such allocation transparent to product consumers.

[0256] refer to Figure 6B The `credentialSubject` attribute can represent at least one authorization rule via a rule identifier, rule name, and rule version, such as... Figure 6A As described in the context. `credentialSubject` can further indicate whether the authorization rules have been audited. Audits can be performed by a third party (such as an auditing firm) according to the rules or standards. Audits can be performed to ensure that the instructions included in the authorization rules are executed in accordance with the requirements of the standards and / or do not cause any damage or undesirable side effects to the system executing such instructions. Audits can be performed to ensure that the provider of the authorization rules is considered trustworthy, for example... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The product ecosystem shown is considered trustworthy. The credentialSubject can be further defined by the auditing body's ID and name. Additionally, the credentialSubject can include information about whether the provider of the authorization rules (e.g., the source) is a trusted source, such as a decentralized participant identifier associated with a participant in the decentralized network. A participant can be a product producer that produces products associated with the authorization rules.

[0257] Digital credentials can further include digital proofs. A digital proof can refer to verifiable evidence of the authenticity of a digital credential without revealing the underlying encryption mechanisms of the data. Digital proofs can be generated by combining digital credentials with cryptographic proofs (such as digital signatures or zero-knowledge proofs) to create tamper-proof, cryptographically secure records that can be shared with others. A digital proof can include data contained within the digital credential (such as the issuing authority, credential holder, issuance date, and other relevant information) and a cryptographic signature verifying the integrity of the data. The cryptographic signature can be the signature of the credential issuing authority.

[0258] The use of digital credentials allows upstream participants to demonstrate or prove that the determination of the transferable environment characteristics associated with authorization rules is based on a certified or audited allocation model (such as an identity retention model, segregation model, quality balance model, or bookkeeping and claiming model), and can help create transparency and increase trust for downstream participants. Furthermore, the use of digital credentials allows downstream participants to determine whether an authorization rule originates from a trusted source and has been audited according to given criteria before enforcing it. This can help increase trust in the authorization rule and ensure the secure execution of instructions included in the authorization rule on the downstream participant's computing systems.

[0259] A credential representation can be generated from the selected digital credentials. The credential representation can include the selected digital credentials. The representation can be a verifiable representation. A verifiable representation can be a tamper-proof representation encoded in a way that allows the authorship of the data to be trusted after the password verification process. A verifiable credential representation can be generated based on the W3C's Verifiable Credential Data Model v2.0 (see https: / / www.w3.org / TR / vc-data-model-2.0 / ). An example of this 606 representation is... Figure 6C As shown in the diagram. Document presentation 606 may include at least a portion of the data included in the selected digital documents 608, 610. Document presentation 606 may further include proof data ( Figure 6C (Not shown in the image). Verification data can be associated with the holder of the digital credential. Verification data can be associated with the entity that generates the verifiable representation.

[0260] The generated authorization rules can be provided for enforcement based on the product identifier. The generated authorization rules can be provided in association with the generated credential representation. The generated authorization rules can optionally be provided, along with the credential representation, to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using or consuming the product. The generated authorization rules can optionally be provided, along with the selected digital credential, via a decentralized network, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown. Providing authorization rules and optionally selected digital credentials may include: generating a product pass associated with the product, which includes authorization rules and optionally selected digital credentials, such as... Figure 14 The aforementioned; and provides product access via a distributed network (see...). Figure 14 Providing at least one authorization rule may include deploying executable code representing the authorization rule within a server-client architecture or a distributed ledger network.

[0261] By generating and providing at least one authorization rule related to environmental characteristics (which are associated with the production of a product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product), such environmental characteristics can be made transparent to downstream participants. This allows downstream participants to flexibly adapt the environmental impact of their products as needed by triggering the transfer of transferable environmental attributes via at least one authorization rule. The at least one authorization rule can be associated with environmental characteristics generated by one or more production steps required to produce the product; for example, the at least one authorization rule can accumulate environmental characteristics generated by multiple production steps performed for the production of the product. This allows downstream participants to obtain transparency regarding the total environmental characteristics transferable for a given product via the authorization rule, in order to adjust the environmental impact of products produced by such downstream participants, without being limited by environmental characteristics associated with that product (e.g., those already transferred to upstream participants involved in the production of the product, or those already claimed by them). Thus, at least one authorization rule can provide downstream participants with the option to claim or transfer environmental characteristics associated with such authorization rule. This improved flexibility in transferring environmental characteristics to downstream participants can allow for improvements in the environmental impact of product ecosystems, as downstream participants can request the transfer of environmental characteristics as needed. In addition, auditing bodies or governments can use transparency regarding residual transferable environmental characteristics to guide product ecosystems toward reduced overall environmental impact, for example by providing incentives to request the transfer of residual transferable environmental characteristics.

[0262] At least one authorization rule can be associated with a digital credential representing at least partial conformity of the authorization rule to a predefined set of rules. The digital credential can demonstrate that the determination of the transferable environment characteristics associated with the authorization rule was accomplished according to a certified or audited allocation model (such as an identity retention model, segregation model, quality balance model, or accounting and claim model), and can help create transparency and increase trust for downstream participants. The digital credential can demonstrate that the authorization rule originates from a trusted source and has been audited according to given criteria. This can help increase trust in the authorization rule and the transferable environment characteristics associated with it, and ensure the secure execution of instructions included in the authorization rule on the computing systems of downstream participants.

[0263] Figure 3B Another example method is demonstrated for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product. This method can be... Figure 5 The system shown in the image is used for implementation.

[0264] A product can be produced from one or more input materials. The input materials can be delivered to the product producer's production facility, and the producer can use the received input materials to produce the product. Input materials can include raw materials, recycled materials, chemical intermediates, chemical products, or discrete products. The product can be, for example,... Figure 3A The product described in the context of.

[0265] Production can be chemical production. Production can include chemical production networks with interconnected production chains, such as Verbund production.

[0266] A chemical production network may include multiple interconnected processing steps. A chemical production network can be an integrated chemical production network with connected or interconnected production chains. A chemical production network may include multiple distinct production chains having at least one common intermediate product. A chemical production network may include multiple stages of a chemical value chain. A chemical production network may include the production, refining, processing, and / or purification of chemical products. A chemical production network may include multiple production chains that produce multiple chemical products leaving the chemical production network from one or more input materials entering the network. A chemical production network may include multi-layered chemical value chains. A chemical production network may include physically connected or interconnected supply chains and / or production sites. Production sites may be located in the same location or in different locations. In the latter case, production sites may be connected or interconnected via dedicated transportation systems such as pipelines, supply chain vehicles (e.g., trucks), ships, or other cargo transport vehicles.

[0267] A chemical production network can chemically transform input materials into one or more chemical products leaving the network via chemical intermediates. The network can convert input materials into one or more chemical products through chemical transformation. Input materials can be fed into the network at any entry point. Alternatively, input materials can be fed into the network at its origin. For example, input materials can constitute feedstock for a steam cracking unit. Input materials can include bio-based, recycled, and / or fossil-based input materials used to manufacture chemical intermediates and / or chemical products.

[0268] A chemical production network can include multiple production steps. The production steps included in a chemical network can be defined by the system boundary of the chemical production network. The system boundary can be defined by the location or control of the production processes. The system boundary can be defined by the sites of the chemical production network. The system boundary can be defined by production processes jointly controlled by one or more entities. The system boundary can be defined by a value chain with interleaved production processes leading to the final product, which can be separately controlled by multiple entities. A chemical production network can include waste collection and sorting steps, recycling steps (such as pyrolysis), cracking steps (such as steam cracking), separation steps to separate the outputs of a process step, and further processing steps to transform these outputs into chemical products leaving the system boundary of the chemical production network.

[0269] The product can be combined with, for example Figure 3A The digital product identifiers described in the context are associated with the digital product identifiers. At least one of the digital product identifiers may be linked to at least one authorization rule, which includes instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic, transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the product, from the producer node associated with production to the downstream node. The transferable environmental characteristic may include... Figure 3A The characteristics described in the context. For example, transferable environment characteristics can be, for example, such as Figure 7 and Figure 10 It is determined as described in the context.

[0270] The at least one authorization rule can be as follows: Figure 3A The at least one authorization rule may be generated as described in the context. Figures 3A to 4D The authorization rule identifiers and instructions described in the context. The at least one authorization rule may further include at least one of these digital product identifiers.

[0271] You can choose a digital credential representing at least partial conformity of at least one authorization rule to a predefined set of rules, for example, such as Figure 3A As described in the context. Figure 6A The example digital voucher is shown in the image.

[0272] At least one authorization rule linked to the product can be provided to one or more downstream participant nodes for execution based on the digital product identifier, for example, such as Figure 3A The selected digital credentials may be additionally provided to such nodes, for example, as described in the context. Figure 3A As described in the context.

[0273] By linking the produced product to at least one authorization rule associated with environmental characteristics (which are linked to the production of the product and are transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product), such environmental characteristics can be made transparent to downstream participants. This allows downstream participants to flexibly adapt the environmental impact of their products as needed by triggering the transfer of transferable environmental attributes via at least one authorization rule. The at least one authorization rule can be associated with environmental characteristics generated by one or more production steps required to produce the product; for example, the at least one authorization rule can accumulate environmental characteristics generated by multiple production steps performed for the production of the product. This allows downstream participants to gain transparency about the total environmental characteristics transferable for a given product via authorization rules, enabling them to adjust the environmental impact of products produced by such downstream participants without being limited by environmental characteristics associated with that product (e.g., those already transferred to upstream participants involved in the production of the product, or those claimed by them). Thus, at least one authorization rule can provide downstream participants with the option to claim or transfer environmental characteristics associated with such authorization rule. This improved flexibility in transferring environmental characteristics to downstream participants can allow for improvements in the environmental impact of the product ecosystem, as downstream participants can request the transfer of environmental characteristics as needed. In addition, auditing bodies or governments can use transparency regarding residual transferable environmental characteristics to guide product ecosystems toward reduced overall environmental impact, for example by providing incentives to request the transfer of residual transferable environmental characteristics.

[0274] Figure 5 An example apparatus is shown for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product. Figure 5 The apparatus shown can be used to implement Figure 3A and Figure 3B The method shown.

[0275] exist Figure 5 In the example shown, chemical product producer 102 is illustrated as a possible participant in the product ecosystem. Any other participant may be equally suitable, and this example should not be considered limiting. For example, a product may include any output product, such as chemical intermediates, chemical products, components or parts, component assemblies, and final products. A product may be produced from one or more input materials, input material 502. The input materials may be delivered to the product producer's production 504, and the producer may use the received input materials to produce product 506. A product may be produced via chemical and / or physical processes. A product may be produced via an assembly process. Production may include one or more production plants performing different production steps.

[0276] like Figure 5 As shown, production may include chemical production 504. Production may include chemical production networks with interconnected production chains, such as Verbund production, for example, as... Figure 3A As described in the context. Chemical production 504 can produce one or more products, such as chemical product 506, from one or more input materials 502 fed to chemical production 504.

[0277] Input materials can be fed into chemical production 504 at any entry point. Input materials can be fed into chemical production 504 at the starting point of production 504. The production steps included in chemical production can be defined by the system boundary 508 of chemical production 504. Input materials can be, for example, raw materials constituting a steam cracking unit, pyrolysis facility, or separation facility. Input material 502 can include raw materials or recycled materials. Input material 502 can include chemical materials, such as chemical intermediates and / or chemical raw materials. Input materials can include input materials associated with environmental characteristics and input materials not associated with environmental characteristics. Environmental characteristics can include... Figure 3A The environmental characteristics described in the context. Input materials associated with environmental characteristics may include bio-based input materials, recycled input materials, renewable input materials, input materials with sustainable sources, and / or input materials produced using green energy. Input materials not associated with environmental characteristics may include fossil input materials, such as natural gas and naphtha. Chemical production 504 may chemically convert input material 502 into one or more chemical products 506 leaving production 504 via chemical intermediates.

[0278] The operating system 510 of chemical production 504 can monitor and / or control chemical production 504 based on operating parameters of different processes. One process step monitored and / or controlled may be the feeding of input material 502 or the discharge of chemical product 506. Another process step monitored and / or controlled may be the generation of an authorization rule that triggers the transfer of environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be linking the authorization rule to the produced chemical product. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be generating a digital asset including transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product and linking such digital assets to the authorization rule. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be confirming a requested environmental characteristic, transferring such confirmed environmental characteristic to the downstream node requesting the environmental characteristic, and updating the transferable environmental characteristic based on the confirmed environmental characteristic.

[0279] The produced product 506 can be used with, for example... Figure 3AThe product identifier is associated with the digital product identifier described in the context. A product identifier can be associated with or related to physical identifier elements physically attached to a product, such as barcodes, QR codes, batch numbers, and / or LOT numbers. A product identifier, such as a digital product identifier, can be provided to be associated with the product. The digital product identifier can be provided from a database associated with the operating system 510. The digital product identifier can be generated before, during, or after the production of the product. The digital product identifier can be used, for example, to collect product data associated with the product from different data sources.

[0280] The produced product 506 can be associated with product data. Product data can be collected before, during, or after the production of the corresponding product. Different portions of the product data can be associated with a common output product identifier to allow the collection of output product data based on a single output product identifier. Product data may include output product identifier, characteristic data associated with the output product, output product name data, output product producer data, output product claim data, output product safety data, environmental characteristic data associated with the output product, production data associated with the output product, analytical certificate data associated with the output product, certificate data associated with the output product, lifecycle data associated with the output product, storage instructions associated with the output product, assembly instructions associated with the output product, operating conditions associated with the output product, or combinations thereof.

[0281] Environmental characteristics data may include transferable environmental characteristics such as carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential, primary energy demand, cumulative energy demand, consumption of biological and non-biological resources, air emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion potential, ozone formation, land and / or ocean acidification, water consumption, water loss, water availability, water pollution, noise pollution, eutrophication potential of freshwater and / or ocean, human carcinogenic and / or non-carcinogenic toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, ecotoxicity of land, freshwater and / or ocean, ionizing radiation, agricultural and / or urban land occupation, land conversion, land use, indirect land use, deforestation, biodiversity, mineral resource consumption, fossil resource consumption, recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, biodegradability and / or green energy use.

[0282] Characteristic data may include at least one measured chemical and / or physical property of the produced output product, and / or at least one chemical and / or physical property determined based on collected data associated with the production of the output product. Data may be collected before, during, and / or after the production of the output product. The collected data may be used to determine at least one physical and / or chemical property of the output product. For example, at least one physical and / or chemical property may be determined based on sensor data obtained from a sensor. Data may be collected using a suitable sensor configured to measure chemical and / or physical properties. Chemical properties may be properties of the output product that become apparent during or after a chemical reaction. Therefore, chemical properties may be any property that can only be established by altering the chemical identity of the output product. Examples of chemical properties include heat of combustion, enthalpy of formation, toxicity, chemical stability in a given environment, flammability, oxidation state, corrosiveness, combustibility, acidity and alkalinity, chemical composition, content of recyclables used in the production or manufacture of the product, content of bio-based components used in the production or manufacture of the product, content of renewable resources used in the production or manufacture of the product, and / or pH value. Physical properties may be any measurable property of the output product. Therefore, the values ​​of physical properties describe the state of the output product. Examples of physical properties include absorption, brittleness, boiling point, capacitance, color, concentration, continuous discharge, density, ductility, physical dimensions, distribution, efficacy, elasticity, charge, conductivity, impedance, potential, flow rate, fluidity, hardness, capacity, inductance, intrinsic impedance, brightness, luminosity, gloss, mass, melting point, opacity, permeability, permittivity, plasticity, pulsed discharge, power, pressure, emissivity, resistivity, reflectivity, refractive index, solubility, specific heat, strength, stiffness, temperature, tensile strength, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, weight, viscosity, volume, and / or wave impedance. At least one physical and / or chemical property being measured can be obtained by a sensor configured to measure such property. The sensor can be included in a measuring device. The sensor can correspond to the measuring device.

[0283] Production data may include any data related to the production of the output product. Production data may include monitoring and / or control data associated with the production of the output product. Production data may be acquired before, during, and / or after the production of the output product.

[0284] Operating system 510 can be configured to collect or trigger the collection of input material data associated with the input material based on the product identifier. The input material data can be, for example, via... Figure 1The input material data is collected via a decentralized network as described in the context of the input material data collector 514. The input material data may include digital assets containing transferable and optionally transferred environmental characteristics associated with the input material (e.g., environmental characteristics already transferred to upstream participants). The digital assets may be part of an input material pass collected via a decentralized network. The digital assets associated with the input material may be stored in a distributed ledger of the distributed ledger network 220 and may be transferred to an address associated with the chemical product producer 102 when or after the input material is provided to production 504, for example, as... Figure 30 As described in the context. Input material data can be collected based on input material identifiers associated with the input materials. Input material identifiers can be determined by collecting data related to the production of products and / or intermediate products (such as production formulas and / or BOMs (Bills of Materials)) and parsing the collected production data to determine intermediate product identifiers or input material identifiers included in such production data. Data related to the production of products can be collected based on the provided digital product identifiers.

[0285] For example, the EV characteristic determiner 518 can determine environmental characteristics related to the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with the product's consumer based on collected input material data. These transferable environmental characteristics can be determined via assigned rules, such as... Figure 7 and Figure 10 As described in the context.

[0286] At least one authorization rule can be generated by authorization rule generator 520. The authorization rule may include instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic, transferable to a downstream node associated with a product consumer, from the producer node associated with production to the downstream node. The authorization rule can be linked to a product, for example, via a digital product identifier, by authorization rule generator 520. Authorization rule generator 520 can link the generated authorization rule to the identified transferable environmental characteristic. For example, authorization rule generator 520 can link the generated authorization rule to a digital asset associated with the product and including a transferable environmental characteristic. The authorization rule can be as follows: Figure 3A It is generated as described in the context. Examples of authorization rules and instructions are in Figures 4A to 4D As shown in the image.

[0287] The generated authorization rules can be provided to a data storage device, such as database 522. The stored authorization rules can be collected from database 522 based on the digital product identifier associated with the product, for example, such as... Figure 14 As shown.

[0288] Figure 7An example method is demonstrated for producing an output associated with a digital asset, which includes at least one environmental characteristic transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the output. This method can be... Figure 11 The system demonstrated in the example is used for implementation. Environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes can correspond to... Figure 3A The transferable environment characteristics described in the context.

[0289] The product can be produced from one or more input materials, such as Figure 3A and Figure 5 The product can be produced through manufacturing processes, such as chemical production networks (see, for example...). Figure 3A Input materials may include raw materials, recycled materials, chemical intermediates, chemical products, or discrete products. The product may be, for example,... Figure 3A and Figure 5 The product described in the context of.

[0290] A producer identifier associated with the product producer can be provided; this box is typically optional. The producer identifier can include a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the product producer within the product ecosystem. This allows the generated digital assets to be linked to the product producer. The unique identifier can include a private-public key pair. The unique identifier can also include decentralized participant identifiers. Box 704 can also be executed after Box 706.

[0291] Based on the production of a product, at least one environmental characteristic associated with such production and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with one or more downstream participants using the product can be determined. At least one transferable environmental characteristic can be determined based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product and / or the production process used to produce the product. Environmental characteristics associated with input materials can be determined based on input material data associated with the input materials. Environmental characteristics associated with input materials can be determined using a virtual production process, for example, such as... Figure 22 and Figure 23 As described in the context.

[0292] Input material data associated with input materials can be collected based on product identifiers, such as via... Figure 1 The distributed network shown. Input material data can be as follows: Figure 5Input material identifiers are collected as described in the context. Input material identifiers can be determined by collecting data associated with the production of the product (such as production formulas and / or BOMs) and parsing the collected production data to determine the input material identifiers included in such production data. Input material data can include datasets containing transferable and optionally transferred environmental characteristics associated with the respective input materials (e.g., environmental characteristics that have been requested and transferred to upstream participants of the product producer in response to such requests). Datasets can be part of input material passes collected via a distributed network. Datasets associated with input materials can be stored in a distributed ledger network (such as...). Figure 2 In the distributed ledger network 220 shown, the data can be transferred to an account controlled by the product producer before, during, or after the purchase of the corresponding input materials, for example, in... Figure 30 As described in the context.

[0293] To illustrate this concept and refer to Figure 12 Various chemical products (such as polyamides and polystyrene) can be produced from the following input materials via intermediate chemical products (such as ethylene, propylene, benzene, cyclohexanone, and caprolactam or ethylene and benzene and ethylbenzene):

[0294] • 3 kg of recycled input materials, such as pyrolysis oil produced from mixed plastic waste.

[0295] • 5 kg of bio-based input materials, such as bio-naphtha produced from kosher and vegan vegetable oils.

[0296] • 92 kg of fossil naphtha.

[0297] Steam cracking units can produce cracking products from these illustrative input materials. These cracking products (such as ethylene, propylene, and benzene) can then be further processed and chemically converted. Figure 12 In the illustrative example, 20 kg of ethylene as a cracking product and 30 kg of polyamide and 50 kg of polystyrene as chemical products can be supplied to the chemical production outlet.

[0298] Based on the product identifiers associated with the produced chemical products (such as polyamides and polystyrene), intermediate product identifiers can be determined for the intermediate products used in the production of the chemical products. These intermediate product identifiers can be used to determine input material identifiers, such as those associated with pyrolysis oils, bio-naphtha, and fossil naphtha used in the production of the chemical products.

[0299] Return to reference Figure 7Determining transferable environmental characteristics based on the environmental properties associated with input materials can include determining the environmental properties associated with the determined input materials, determining the balance units associated with these determined properties, and allocating the balance units as transferable environmental characteristics to the product via one or more allocation rules. The environmental properties associated with the determined input materials can be determined via a virtual production process, for example, such as... Figure 22 and Figure 23 The environmental characteristics associated with the determined input material can be determined from the input material data, for example, as described in the context. Figure 22 As described in the context, determining transferable environmental characteristics based on a production process may include identifying environmental characteristics associated with the production process and allocating those identified environmental characteristics as transferable environmental characteristics to the product via one or more allocation rules. If the input material data contains a dataset that includes transferable environmental characteristics, those characteristics can be directly used to determine the transferable environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product.

[0300] Balance units can be used as quantitative measures or values ​​to quantify the amount of environmental characteristics associated with the input materials and / or production processes used to produce the product (e.g., a chemical product). Balance units can be viewed as credits that can be deposited into an account (e.g., a digital storage structure) or deducted from the account when allocated to a confirmed requested environmental characteristic, for example, as... Figures 24 to 30 The equilibrium unit can be determined via a virtual production process based on input material data, as described in the context of [the previous sentence]. Figure 22 and Figure 24 The balance unit can be determined based on the amount of input materials provided to chemical production and the environmental characteristics associated with that amount of input materials. The determined balance unit can then be assigned to a digital storage structure, such as... Figures 24 to 30 As described in the context.

[0301] refer to Figure 12 As an illustrative example, the environmental characteristics associated with using 3 kg of pyrolysis oil from recycled mixed plastic waste as input material 1 could correspond to 3 balance units, and the environmental characteristics associated with using 5 kg of bio-based naphtha from bio-based food waste as input material 2 could correspond to 5 balance units. The use of fossil input materials (such as fossil naphtha) may not correspond to any balance units because such fossil input materials are irrelevant to environmental characteristics. In this example, the simplified weight-based method used to determine the balance units is for illustrative purposes only. Other methods could be based on energy, atomic counts (such as carbon atoms), molecular counts (such as methane), or include losses occurring during the production process.

[0302] In more detailed embodiments, the equilibrium unit can be determined based on a more complex conversion factor that takes into account the chemical and / or physical differences between input materials and their associated yields. The conversion factor can quantify the differences in chemical and / or physical properties when replacing fossil input materials with non-fossil input materials. The conversion factor can correlate the use of conventional input materials with the use of input materials associated with one or more environmental characteristics. The conversion factor can depend on carbon atoms, methane molecules, energy characteristics, process characteristics, or any other suitable factor used to quantify the environmental impact of environmental characteristics. For example, the low calorific value (LHV) or high calorific value (HHV) of fossil and non-fossil input materials can be considered. Furthermore, for example, material losses occurring during the processing of either fossil or non-fossil input materials can be considered. Furthermore, for example, exempted steam cracking products, intermediates, or production chains can be considered. Furthermore, for example, only pre-selected production chains can be considered. In this way, the environmental impact of non-fossil input materials can be quantified with reference to fossil input materials.

[0303] Return to reference Figure 7 And continue to refer to Figure 12 Balance units can be allocated as a transferable environmental characteristic to at least a portion of the produced product based on a corresponding amount of the produced product via one or more allocation rules. The allocation rules can be associated with one or more allocation methods or schemes that can be used to allocate balance units as a transferable environmental characteristic to the produced product. Allocation or accounting methods or principles for allocating recycled or renewable content are defined, for example, in ISO 22095. Four different chain of custody models can be used: identity retention model, segregation model, quality balance model, or bookkeeping and claim model. Examples of such allocation methods or schemes are provided in... Figures 8A to 8C As shown in the image.

[0304] Go to Figure 8AThis demonstrates examples of dedicated or segregated production networks that can be allocated using an identity retention model. The production network may include a first production chain for producing chemicals from fossil materials and a second production chain for producing chemicals from input materials associated with environmental characteristics, such as bio-based input materials, recycled input materials, renewable input materials, and / or input materials associated with sustainable sources. The first and second production chains are not interconnected. The first and second production chains respectively produce fossil-based chemicals and chemicals including bio-based, renewable, and / or recycled content, or chemicals produced from input materials associated with sustainable sources. Renewable content may be based on the use of input materials from renewable sources. Renewable content may include bio-based input materials produced from organisms such as different types of crops, trees, or algae. Recycled content may be based on the use of any recycled input materials. This can include any recycled input materials produced from chemical and / or mechanical recycling. Sustainable source content may be based on the use of input materials from sustainable sources. Sustainable sources can be certified through certified data included in the collected input material data. Green energy use may be based on the amount of green energy used during the production process of the product. Examples of such dedicated production environments include fermentation or chemical conversion, such as producing polyethylene from sugarcane, or bio-polylactic acid (PLA), bio-succinic acid, or bio-butanediol (BDO) from corn.

[0305] refer to Figure 8B And continue to refer to Figure 7 and Figure 12 This illustrates a complex production network that can be allocated using a quality balance model. Figure 8A Compared to traditional production networks, fossil-based input materials are co-fed and mixed with input materials associated with environmental characteristics. Production networks can produce one or more chemical products via chemical intermediates through one or more chemical process chains. For simplicity, Figure 8BA quality balance approach for a chemical process chain used to produce a chemical product is presented. In this quality balance model, the physical mixing or co-feeding of input materials with environmentally relevant characteristics with conventional fossil input materials is considered. Here, the feed entering the production network and the release of the chemical product form the system boundary. The quality balance of input materials and chemical products links the input materials used with environmentally relevant characteristics to the chemical product produced using said input materials. Quality balance allows tracking the total amount of input materials with environmentally relevant characteristics (e.g., recycled, bio-based, or renewable input materials, or input materials with sustainable sources) throughout the production network and allows the allocation of such environmental characteristics to the chemical product. Materials with different sets of specified characteristics can be mixed. For example, recycled, bio-based, or renewable feedstocks can replace an equivalent amount of fossil feedstock at the beginning of the value chain (input materials) and can be allocated to the produced product (chemical product) in an input-output matching manner. For this model, the proportion of inputs with specified characteristics may only match an average initial proportion and will typically vary depending on the different outputs. This means not tracking the chemical or technological proportions (e.g., actual recycled content, renewable content, bio-based content, or sustainable source content) present in each chemical byproduct produced from input materials associated with environmental characteristics. The mass balance can include a conversion factor to ensure that the amount of input material is correlated with the amount of chemical byproduct produced. Calculations can be performed over a predefined or specified time period. The mass balance can be based on balance units such as mass, energy, or carbon.

[0306] refer to Figure 8C And continue to refer to Figure 7 and Figure 12 , Figure 8C The diagram illustrates a complex production network associated with an accounting and reimbursement scheme. In this scheme, input materials associated with environmental characteristics are not linked to the actual material flow. Accounting and reimbursement allows specific environmental characteristics (such as renewable energy) to be decoupled from physical input materials and transferred individually as datasets via a dedicated registry. This approach can be used for renewable energy. Accounting and reimbursement can be based on accounting units, such as kilowatt-hours for electricity. Figure 8A In the identity preservation model or isolation method shown, input materials from renewable, recyclable, bio-based, and / or sustainable sources may not be mixed with fossil input materials. In such cases... Figure 8B and Figure 8C In the quality balance or accounting and claiming methods shown, input materials associated with environmental characteristics can be mixed with fossil input materials.

[0307] Figures 8A to 8COne or more of the allocation methods shown can be used within a production network (such as a chemical production network). For example, redirection... Figure 9 And continue to refer to Figure 7 and Figure 12 Different allocation methods can be used for different production chains executed within a production network. A production chain can be defined by the chemical products produced via that production chain. The production chain logic can be based on process data associated with the process steps from input materials to chemical products. For each production chain, an allocation scheme can be applied (and the application of an allocation scheme can be assigned to the production chain).

[0308] Examples of assignment rules that can be used to allocate equilibrium units as transferable environmental characteristics to products are shown in Figure 10 As shown in the image. (Reference) Figure 10 And continue to refer to Figure 7 and Figure 12 The at least one assignment rule may depend on the type of environmental characteristic, such as recycled input materials. The at least one assignment rule may depend on both the type of environmental characteristic (e.g., recycled input materials) and the type of input material (e.g., recycled input materials and pyrolysis oil based on plastic waste). The at least one assignment rule may depend on both the type of environmental characteristic (e.g., recycled input materials) and the production chain (e.g., an ethanol production chain). The at least one assignment rule may depend on both the type of environmental characteristic (e.g., recycled input materials) and the assignment scheme (e.g., a mass balance with and without free assignment). The at least one assignment rule may depend on both the type of environmental characteristic (e.g., recycled input materials) and the type of chemical product (e.g., polyurethane). Through this at least one assignment rule, a defined balance unit that can be assigned to the produced product can be determined.

[0309] For example and reference Figure 12 As an illustrative example, balance units may be allocated as part of a produced chemical product (e.g., polyamide and polyethylene) as a transferable environmental characteristic, while no allocation may be performed for a separately produced chemical product, ethylene. Allocation may include determining the balance units available for use with the product (e.g., those that can be allocated to the product) via at least one allocation rule, and converting the balance units into transferable environmental characteristics, as previously described. The allocation of transferable environmental characteristics may be performed independently of the amounts of other products produced from the input materials associated with the environmental characteristic and / or by the production processes associated with the environmental characteristic. This may allow for the determination of a maximum amount or quantity of environmental characteristics transferable to downstream nodes for such produced products. For example, the maximum amount or quantity of transferable environmental characteristics that can be allocated to a given produced product may correspond to the maximum amount of recycled, bio-based, renewable, or biodegradable content represented by the determined balance units that can be allocated to the product based on the amount of the product and the allocation rules. Figure 12In the illustrative example shown, the transferable environmental characteristics that can be assigned to the produced chemical product polyamide may correspond to a 10% recycling content (e.g., 3 BUs associated with the environmental characteristic "recycling" divided by 30 kg of produced polyamide) and a 17% bio-based content (e.g., 5 BUs associated with the environmental characteristic "bio-based" divided by 30 kg of produced polyamide). Similarly, the transferable environmental characteristics that can be assigned to the produced chemical product polystyrene may correspond to a 6% recycling content (e.g., 3 BUs associated with the environmental characteristic "recycling" divided by 50 kg of produced polystyrene) and a 10% bio-based content (e.g., 5 BUs associated with the environmental characteristic "bio-based" divided by 50 kg of produced polystyrene).

[0310] Return to reference Figure 7 It is possible to generate digital assets associated with the product. Digital assets can be generated at the time, during, and / or after the product is produced. Generating digital assets may include generating a dataset that includes at least one of the product identifier associated with the product and identified environmental characteristics that can be transferred to one or more downstream nodes. Figure 13A The text appears to be a mix of unrelated fragments and incomplete sentences, making it impossible to translate accurately. It seems to be a collection of snippets from various sources, possibly related to news articles or reports. Figure 12 The illustrative example shown is an exemplary digital asset. Generating a digital asset may include generating transaction data, signing the generated transaction data, and providing the transaction data to a distributed ledger network, for example, as... Figure 30 As described in the context.

[0311] In one example and further reference Figure 13A The digital assets associated with the produced polyamide may include transferable environmental characteristics as previously identified. Transferable environmental characteristics can be specified by classifiers 1304 and 1310, which distinguish different transferable environmental characteristics, such as recycled, bio-based, renewable, sustainably sourced, green energy use, and biodegradability. The corresponding transferable environmental characteristics can be further associated with quantities (e.g., 1308 and 1312). Additionally, transferable environmental characteristics can be associated with binary classifiers that distinguish between transferable and transferred characteristics. These classifiers can be updated, for example, as... Figures 31 to 33BAs described in the context, when transferring requested and confirmed environmental characteristics to downstream nodes. This avoids the possibility that transferable environmental characteristics may be transferred multiple times to different downstream nodes, thereby ensuring that confirmed environmental characteristics are reliably and trustworthyly transferred to downstream nodes. Digital assets may further include transferable or transferred environmental characteristics associated with input materials used to produce product 1316. Therefore, digital asset 1302 can be considered as a knapsack accumulating transferable and transferred environmental characteristics along the production chain. Thus, digital assets (e.g., knapsacks) can record environmental characteristics transferred along the production chain as well as transferable environmental characteristics that can still be requested along the production chain. Therefore, digital assets associated with a given product can reflect the transferable environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and the environmental characteristics that have been transferred to upstream participants of the product producer. Digital assets may include additional product data 1318, such as Figure 14 The product data can be collected, for example, based on a product identifier before the digital asset is generated. The digital asset may include the provided product identifier 1322. The digital asset may further include a producer identifier 1320. The digital asset may further include signature or verification data. The signature data can be generated by signing the digital asset with a private key controlled by the product producer. The signature or verification data can allow a third party to verify the authenticity of the product producer and the data integrity of the digital asset.

[0312] Go to Figure 13B And continue to refer to Figure 7 and Figure 13A Digital assets can correspond to JSON files. JSON files can include various properties such as description, productId, productName, and environmentalProperties. The environmentalProperties property can include one or more environmental properties associated with the production of the product. Each included property 1328, 1330, 1332 can be defined by a type, a value indicating the quantity of the property as transferable or transferred, a binary classifier distinguishing between transferable and transferred properties, and a value indicating the quantity of the transferred property. If a confirmed environmental property is transferred to a downstream node, the binary classifier and the value indicating the quantity of the transferred property can be updated, for example, as shown below. Figures 31 to 33B As described in the context.

[0313] In another example and further reference Figure 30 In this context, digital asset 1302 can be a non-fungible token (e.g., a dataset assigned to a given owner and stored in a distributed ledger network, which can only be assigned as a whole to another owner, and thus cannot be divided). Non-fungible tokens can include... Figure 13AThe data shown. This non-fungible token can be used as such... Figure 13C and Figure 13D The access element shown includes a locator or pointer to the storage location of digital assets associated with the product and optionally with the input materials used to produce the product.

[0314] Return to reference Figure 7 The generated digital assets can be linked to at least one authorization rule associated with the product. This at least one authorization rule can include instructions for triggering a transfer that is transferable to downstream nodes and is included in at least one environmental characteristic of the generated digital assets. This at least one authorization rule can be as follows: Figure 3A The generated digital asset may be generated as described in the context described above. The generated digital asset may be linked to at least one authorization rule via an authorization rule identifier. For example, the link may include storing the authorization rule identifier associated with the authorization rule within the corresponding digital asset. Linking the generated digital asset to at least one authorization rule may include generating an access element that includes a digital asset identifier and data associated with the digital asset. The data associated with the digital asset may include a pointer or locator to a storage location where the digital asset is stored. The pointer or locator to the storage location may include a URI or URL pointing to the storage location where the corresponding digital asset is stored. The access element may be associated with or linked to the authorization rule, for example, via the asset identifier. The access element may be included in the authorization rule. Using such an access element can avoid generating new digital assets when updating environmental characteristics that are transferable to downstream nodes and included in existing digital assets, for example, transferring at least a portion of such transferable environmental characteristics to the downstream participant node when the downstream participant node requests the transfer of such transferable environmental characteristics.

[0315] Go to Figure 13C And continue to refer to Figure 7 Access element 1340 may include a digital product identifier 1322 and data related to digital assets associated with product 1324. Data related to digital assets 1324 may include a URI pointing to a storage device 1326 storing the digital assets associated with the product. In this example, storage device 1326 may be controlled by or associated with a product producer (e.g., chemical product producer 102). The storage device may store digital assets, such as... Figure 13B The JSON file shown. Dedicated storage device 1326 can be associated with the data owner of the digital asset associated with the produced product. Access to dedicated storage device 1326 can be controlled by the producer of the product or the data owner of the digital asset, for example, via at least one authorization rule linked to the digital asset.

[0316] In another example and further reference Figure 13D Digital asset 1302 may include digital product identifier 1322, data related to the digital asset associated with product 1324, and data related to the digital asset associated with the input materials used to produce product 1334. Data related to the digital asset associated with product 1324 may include a URI pointing to a storage device 1326 storing the digital asset associated with the product, such as... Figure 13C As described in the context. Data associated with digital assets related to the input materials used to produce the product 1334 may include a URI pointing to a storage device 1336 storing the digital assets associated with the input materials. The dedicated storage device 1336 may be associated with the data owner of the digital assets associated with the input materials. Access to the dedicated storage device 1336 may be controlled by the producer of the input materials or the data owner of the digital assets associated with the input materials, for example, via at least one authorization rule. Although Figure 13D The example shows only two pointers or locators pointing to a dedicated storage device for storing digital assets, but access element 1340 may include more pointers, depending on the amount of input material used to produce the product.

[0317] Return to Figure 7 And continue to refer to Figure 13C and Figure 13D Digital assets can be provided for storage, with access to the transferable environmental characteristics included within such digital assets via linked authorization rules. The storage device can be a dedicated storage device associated with the data owner of the digital asset (such as the product producer). Access to the dedicated storage device can be controlled by the data owner of the digital asset, for example via... Figure 14 The data provider node is shown. The storage device can be a distributed ledger. The distributed ledger can be part of a distributed ledger network, for example, such as... Figure 2 As described in the context. A distributed ledger can be a distributed file storage device, such as IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) or Storj (see also...). Figure 16B Storage systems such as IPFS can return identifiers associated with the stored data. These identifiers (e.g., CIDs (Content Identifiers)) can allow the location of digital assets stored in a distributed storage system. A distributed ledger can be a blockchain that stores digital assets as entries within blocks of the blockchain. For example, digital assets can correspond to... Figure 30 Non-fungible tokens are described in the context of [the previous sentence]. A distributed ledger can be a blockchain that stores digital assets in memory associated with executable code running on a distributed ledger network, for example, [the following is a list of examples]. Figure 16AThe context described above. Box 712 may also be executed before box 710. For example, if the link may include generating an access element that includes a pointer to the storage location where the corresponding digital asset is stored, then box 712 may be executed before box 710.

[0318] By generating digital assets associated with a product and linking the generated digital assets to at least one authorization rule, environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product (e.g., environmental characteristics that can be assigned to or allocated to the product based on the environmental characteristics of the input materials used to produce the product, and / or environmental characteristics of the production process used to produce the product) can be transferred to downstream nodes via at least one authorization rule. Therefore, digital assets can provide environmental characteristics that can be assigned to or allocated to the product based on the production of the product and one or more assignment rules, and thus can be requested by downstream participants, for example, these environmental characteristics can be transferred to downstream nodes via at least one authorization rule. Assignable or assignable environmental characteristics can be determined using assignment rules associated with input materials and / or the production process, thereby allowing the assignment mechanism to be adjusted according to the physical setup of the product production. Digital assets can allow the storage of assignable / assignable environmental characteristics and provide access to such assignable / assignable environmental characteristics as transferable environmental characteristics via at least one authorization rule.

[0319] Figure 11 An example system for producing artifacts associated with digital assets is demonstrated, the digital assets including at least one environmental characteristic transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the artifact. The system can be configured to perform... Figure 7 The method is described in the context of the production of the product. Environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes can correspond to the following: Figure 3A The transferable environment characteristics described in the context. Figure 11 In the example shown, chemical product producer 102 is illustrated as a possible participant in the product ecosystem. Any other participant could be equally appropriate, and this example should not be considered limiting.

[0320] The system may include production configured to produce product 506 from one or more input materials 502 entering production 504, for example, such as... Figure 3A and Figure 5 The production can be as described in the context. Figure 3A and Figure 7 The chemical production described in the context of 504. Chemical production can be as follows: Figure 3A The chemical production network described in the context. The product can be, for example, a chemical production network. Figure 3A The product described in the context of.

[0321] Input materials can be fed into chemical production 504 at any entry point. Input materials can be fed into chemical production 504 at the starting point of production 504. The production steps included in chemical production can be defined by the system boundary 508 of chemical production 504. Input materials can be, for example, raw materials constituting a steam cracking unit, pyrolysis facility, or separation facility. Input material 502 can include raw materials or recycled materials. Input material 502 can include chemical materials, such as chemical intermediates and / or chemical raw materials. Input materials can include input materials associated with environmental characteristics and input materials not associated with environmental characteristics. Environmental characteristics can include... Figure 3A The environmental characteristics described in the context. Input materials associated with environmental characteristics may include bio-based input materials, recycled input materials, renewable input materials, input materials with sustainable sources, and / or input materials produced using green energy. Input materials not associated with environmental characteristics may include fossil input materials, such as natural gas and naphtha. Chemical production 504 may chemically convert input material 502 into one or more chemical products 506 leaving production 504 via chemical intermediates.

[0322] The operating system 510 of chemical production 504 can monitor and / or control chemical production 504 based on operating parameters of different processes. One process step monitored and / or controlled may be the feeding of input material 502 or the discharge of chemical product 506. Another process step monitored and / or controlled may be the generation of an authorization rule that triggers the transfer of environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be linking the authorization rule to the produced chemical product. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be generating a digital asset including transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product and linking such digital assets to the authorization rule. Yet another process step monitored and / or controlled may be confirming a requested environmental characteristic, transferring such confirmed environmental characteristic to the downstream node requesting the environmental characteristic, and updating the transferable environmental characteristic based on the confirmed environmental characteristic.

[0323] The produced product 506 can be used with, for example... Figure 3A The product identifier is associated with the digital product identifier described in the context. A product identifier can be associated with or related to physical identifier elements physically attached to a product, such as barcodes, QR codes, batch numbers, and / or LOT numbers. A product identifier, such as a digital product identifier, can be provided to be associated with the product. The digital product identifier can be provided from a database associated with the operating system 510. The digital product identifier can be generated before, during, or after the production of the product. The digital product identifier can be used, for example, to collect product data associated with the product from different data sources.

[0324] The produced product 506 can be used with, for example... Figure 5 The product data described in the context is related.

[0325] Operating system 510 can be configured to collect or trigger the collection of input material data associated with the input material based on the product identifier, such as... Figure 5 As described in the context. Input material data can be collected based on input material identifiers associated with the input materials. Input material identifiers can be determined by collecting data associated with the production of products and / or intermediate products (such as production formulations and / or BOMs (Bill of Materials)) and parsing the collected production data to determine intermediate product identifiers or input material identifiers included in such production data (see also...). Figure 7 Data related to the production of a product can be collected based on the provided digital product identifier.

[0326] For example, the EV characteristic determiner 518 can determine environmental characteristics related to the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with the product's consumer based on collected input material data. These transferable environmental characteristics can be determined via assigned rules, such as... Figure 7 and Figure 10 As described in the context.

[0327] At least one digital asset can be generated, for example, by the digital asset generator 1102. Digital assets can be, for example,... Figure 7 The digital assets are generated as described in the context. Digital assets may include an artifact identifier and transferable environment characteristics determined by the EV characteristic determiner 518. Examples of digital assets generated by the digital asset generator 1102 are shown in... Figure 13A , Figure 13B and Figure 30 As shown in the diagram. Digital assets can be associated with product 508, for example, via a product identifier.

[0328] The generated digital assets can, for example, be linked to at least one authorization rule via digital asset generator 1102. The link can be as follows: Figure 7 The digital asset generator 1102 may perform as described in the context described above. For example, it may collect authorization rule identifiers associated with the authorization rules included in the digital asset from a storage device (e.g., rule db 522) storing authorization rules. The collected authorization rule identifiers may be included in the generated digital asset. In another instance, the digital asset generator 1102 may generate access elements, such as... Figure 7 , Figure 13C and Figure 13D As described in the context.

[0329] The generated digital assets can be provided to a storage location, such as digital asset storage device 1104. The generated access elements can be provided to a storage location, such as digital asset storage device 1104. Digital asset storage device 1104 can be as follows: Figure 11 The operating system 510 shown is part of the digital asset storage device 1104. The digital asset storage device 1104 may not be part of the operating system 510. Figure 11 (Not shown in the image). For example, digital asset storage devices can be distributed storage systems such as IPFS, Storj, or others. Figure 2 The distributed ledger network is shown. Digital asset generator 1102 can be configured to generate transaction data to store digital assets in the distributed ledger network. Transaction data may include asset identifiers and transferable environment characteristics. Transaction data may also include asset identifiers and access data. Transaction data can be signed and provided to the distributed ledger network for storage within the distributed ledger of such a network. The stored access elements and / or digital assets can be collected from the storage location via linked authorization rules, for example, such as... Figures 14 to 16B As shown.

[0330] Figure 14 An example of a system for transferring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product to a downstream node associated with a consumer of the product is illustrated. Transferring environmental characteristics may include requesting the transfer of environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable according to at least one authorization rule associated with the product to a downstream participant using the product (e.g., a product consumer). Figure 14 The system shown can be used for implementation Figure 18 and Figure 19 The method shown.

[0331] In this example, chemical product producer 102 is shown as a possible participant in the product ecosystem. Any other participant may be equally suitable, and this example should not be considered limiting. For example, a product may include any output product, such as chemical intermediates, chemical products, components or parts, component assemblies, and final products. A product may be produced from one or more input materials. Input materials may be delivered to the product producer's production facility, and the producer may use the received input materials to produce the product. A product may be produced via chemical and / or physical processes. A product may be produced via an assembly process. Production may include one or more production plants performing different production steps.

[0332] The products produced can be combined with, for example Figure 5The product data described in the context is relevant. Product data can be collected before, during, or after the production of the corresponding product. Different portions of the product data can be associated with a common output product identifier to allow the collection of output product data based on a single output product identifier. Product data may include product identifiers, product-related characteristic data, product name data, product producer data, product claim data, product safety data, product-related environmental characteristic data, product-related production data, product-related analytical certificate data, product-related certificate data, product-related lifecycle data, product-related storage instructions data, product-related assembly instructions, product-related operating conditions, or combinations thereof.

[0333] Environmental characteristics data may include environmental characteristics that can be transferred to one or more downstream nodes. Environmental characteristics that can be transferred to one or more downstream nodes may include, for example, carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential, primary energy demand, cumulative energy demand, consumption of biological and non-biological resources, air emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion potential, ozone formation, land and / or ocean acidification, water consumption, water loss, water availability, water pollution, noise pollution, freshwater and / or ocean eutrophication potential, human carcinogenic and / or non-carcinogenic toxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial, freshwater and / or marine ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation, agricultural and / or urban land occupation, land conversion, land use, indirect land use, deforestation, biodiversity, mineral resource consumption, fossil resource consumption, recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, sustainable source content, biodegradability and / or green energy use.

[0334] To cross, for example Figure 1 The participant network shown tracks environmental characteristics and can generate digital assets associated with the produced products, including digital product identifiers and environmental characteristic data transferable to one or more downstream nodes, such as... Figure 7 The context described. Examples of digital assets are in... Figure 13A , Figure 13B and Figure 30 As shown in the diagram, a digital product identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the product. This allows digital assets to be linked to the physical entity of the product. A digital product identifier can include a batch number, LOT number, order number, serial number, or a combination thereof. The generated digital assets can be stored in a storage location, such as... Figure 7 As described in the context.

[0335] Digital assets can be associated with access elements configured to provide access to such digital assets, such as... Figure 7As described in the context. Such access elements may include an artifact identifier and access data pointing to the storage location of the stored digital asset, such as... Figure 13C and Figure 13D shown.

[0336] Digital assets can be associated with or linked to at least one authorization rule, such as Figure 7 As described in the context, authorization rules can allow for control over access to digital assets.

[0337] Authorization rules and digital assets can be part of a product pass associated with the product. A pass can refer to a dataset with a defined semantic structure. This defined semantic structure can be obtained by applying a semantic model (such as an aspect model) to the collected data associated with the corresponding product. A pass can include a product identifier, at least one decentralized pass identifier, and data associated with the product (e.g., product data). Product data can include authorization rules and digital assets. Product data can further include access elements associated with the digital assets. Product data can be partitioned into multiple datasets. For example, authorization rules can represent one dataset, digital assets can represent another dataset, and access elements can represent yet another dataset.

[0338] A pass may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized pass identifier and product data. A pass may involve one or more authorization mechanisms associated with a decentralized pass identifier and product data. One or more authorization mechanisms may include authorization rules that determine whether to grant access to at least a portion of the product data. A pass may be associated with one or more digital representations used to access a product pass or a portion thereof. A digital representation may be considered an access element providing access to a product pass or a portion thereof (e.g., a digital asset). The digital representation may include a decentralized identifier and access data. Access data may include a locator or pointer (e.g., a URL or URI) pointing to a dedicated storage device (e.g., a dedicated storage address) associated with the data owner and / or authorization rules of the digital asset. The pointer or locator may directly point to the dedicated storage device. The pointer or locator may point to a data-providing network node associated with the dedicated storage device. Access elements may include one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and access data. Access elements may be associated with one or more authentication mechanisms associated with a decentralized identifier and access data. Access elements may be provided to a decentralized registry storing access elements. A distributed registry can be associated with a data provider network node. This allows the data owner of a pass associated with such an access element to control access to the registry and access to the access elements stored in the registry via the data provider network node.

[0339] A pass can be part of a product's digital twin. A product's digital twin can be a digital representation of the product's physical entity, carrying a semantic description defining the physical entity. Therefore, a digital twin of a product's physical entity is a digital version of that physical entity. Once created, a digital twin can be used to represent the product's physical entity in a digital representation of a real-world system. A digital twin can be uniquely linked to a physical product via an identifier. A digital twin can be created to be identical in form and behavior to the corresponding product. Additionally, a digital twin can reflect characteristics of the product, for example, during its production and / or lifecycle. For example, sensors can capture real-time (or near real-time) data from a physical product, such as transmitting or using data, to relay it back to a remote digital twin. The digital twin can then be updated to maintain its correspondence with the product's physical entity. Therefore, a digital twin can represent the current state of the product's physical entity at any given time. A digital twin can contain distributed digital twin identifiers. Distributed digital twin identifiers can include unique identifiers uniquely associated with the product's producer. Distributed digital twin identifiers can include one or more Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) or one or more Digital Identifiers (DIDs). Through distributed identifiers and their unique association with the product's producer and the product itself, the product's producer can control access to the digital twin or parts thereof (such as digital assets and licensing rules). A distributed digital twin identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the product to which the digital twin is associated. A distributed digital twin identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the product for which the digital twin was generated. A distributed digital twin identifier can be associated with distributed identifiers of the input materials used to produce the product. Through this association of identifiers, access to the input material data can be achieved in a manner similar to that described for the product data. A distributed digital twin identifier can be, or can be assigned to, a physical identifier linked to the product.

[0340] Products produced by producers (such as chemical product producer 102) (such as chemical product 156) can be provided to product users, such as chemical product consumer 106 (the corresponding material flow is not in...). Figure 14 As shown in the figure, see the corresponding material flow. Figure 1 It can be achieved through production (e.g., in...). Figure 3A , Figure 5 and Figure 11 (In the context of the chemical production described) to produce chemical products 156. Production may include chemical production networks with interconnected production chains, such as Verbund production, for example, as... Figure 3AThe product produced may include a tracer material. The tracer material may be unique to the product and / or the product producer. This allows for the identification of the product and / or the product producer based on the tracer material. Thus, product counterfeiting can be detected, thereby increasing the credibility of the produced product. The tracer material may be a chemical compound that can be identified within the product using analytical methods. For example, the tracer material may be a fluorescent material that can be identified using a fluorometer. Data associated with the tracer material may be included in a product pass associated with the product. Data associated with the tracer material may include the tracer material name, tracer material ID, chemical and / or physical properties of the tracer material, or a combination thereof. The data associated with the tracer material included in the product pass can be compared with tracer material data obtained and / or determined from the product to verify the authenticity of the product.

[0341] A product user can be any downstream participant in the product ecosystem that directly or indirectly uses product 156 produced by the product producer. Direct use can include using the produced product as input material to produce another product. Indirect use can include using another product as input material, wherein that other product has already been used to produce the product.

[0342] Product 156 can be associated with a physical identifier element physically attached to the product. The physical identifier element can be associated with a product identifier, or it can encode the product identifier. For example, the physical identifier element can be a code that encodes the product identifier, such as a QR code or barcode. The physical identifier element can be read by device 1402 (e.g., a code reader). The data acquired by device 1402 can include the product identifier. The data acquired by device 1402 can be used by a data consumption service (e.g., node 120) associated with chemical product consumer 106 to collect authorization rules associated with the produced product 156. The data acquired by device 1402 can be provided to a server connected to data consumption node 120. Consumer node 120 can be configured to determine the provider node associated with the producer of product 156 associated with such product identifier based on the product identifier included in the data acquired by device 1402. For example, consumer node 120 can be configured to query the infrastructure nodes of distributed network 134 using the product identifier. Figure 14 (Not shown in the image) to determine the distributed participant identifier of the data provider associated with the product identifier. Consumer node 120 can then use the determined distributed participant identifier to query infrastructure nodes to determine the endpoint of the provider node associated with the distributed participant identifier.

[0343] Server 1408 can be configured to generate query data to query distributed registries, such as distributed registry 1406, associated with an endpoint obtained by a provider node (e.g., node 118). The query data may include product identifiers. The query data may include key-value pairs, wherein at least one value may be a product identifier. Server 1408 can be configured to generate a request for collecting distributed identifiers associated with the product identifiers. The request may include at least a portion of the endpoints received by the provider node and the query data. The request may be provided to consumer node 120. Consumer node 120 can be configured to query distributed registries of distributed network 134 in response to a request from server 1408. The query may include query data and distributed participant identifiers associated with consumer node 120.

[0344] Consumer node 120 can be configured to send such queries to endpoints of provider nodes (such as node 118) included in requests received from server 1408. These queries can be authenticated. This authentication can be based on data associated with an authentication mechanism. The authentication mechanism can be based on certificates and / or tokens associated with the respective decentralized participant nodes (such as consumer node 120 and provider node 118), such as device certificates (X.509v3), TLS connection certificates (X.509v3), and 'Dynamic Attribute Tokens' (OAuth access tokens). If authentication fails, the corresponding data provider may not provide data.

[0345] A provider node (e.g., node 118) can be configured to query an associated decentralized registry (e.g., decentralized registry 1406) to determine whether the associated decentralized registry includes a decentralized identifier (e.g., a decentralized digital twin identifier) ​​associated with the query data contained in a query from consumer node 120. If authentication is valid, this query can be executed. A provider node that does not have the determined decentralized identifier associated with the query data can send a corresponding response to consumer node 120. A provider node that does not have the determined decentralized identifier associated with the query data (e.g., node 118) may not send any response to consumer node 120. A provider node 118 that has the determined decentralized identifier associated with the query data can initiate a data transaction with consumer node 120 according to a transaction protocol. Provider node 118 can provide a dataset including one or more data usage rules associated with the decentralized identifier. The dataset can be provided to server 1408. Server 1408 can parse the received dataset to determine the data usage rules. The determined rules can be provided to the user for consent. Server 1408 can be configured to automatically accept such datasets provided by predefined provider nodes. Server 1408 can provide consumer node 120 with data indicating signature, such as tokens and proof data (e.g., digital signatures) including identifiers associated with the dataset. If the rule is not accepted, server 1408 can also forward data indicating rejection of data usage rules included in the dataset to consumer node 120. Consumer node 1402 can then forward this data to provider node 118. Upon rejection of a data usage rule, provider node 118 can terminate the connection and may not provide any data. Using a dataset including data usage rules ensures that consumer node 120 and other systems processing the data comply with at least one data usage rule associated with the provided data.

[0346] A provider node 118, possessing a distributed identifier associated with the queried data, can provide such a distributed identifier to a consumer node 120. This identifier can be provided when the data consumer accepts data usage rules. The consumer node 120 can provide the received distributed identifier to a server 1408. Upon receiving the distributed identifier, the server 1408 can be configured to generate a request to collect access elements associated with at least a portion of the received distributed identifier. This request may include the corresponding distributed identifier. This request can be provided to the consumer node 120. The consumer node 120 can be configured to request the corresponding access elements from the provider node 118, which has already provided the distributed identifier in response to the query. The request to the corresponding provider node 118 may include the distributed identifier and a distributed participant identifier associated with the consumer node 120. Upon receiving the request, the provider node 118 can collect access elements from the associated distributed registry 1406 based on the distributed identifier included in the received request. The collected access elements can then be provided to the consumer node 120. The consumer node 120 can provide the received access elements to the server 1408. Server 1408 may store accessed elements in a storage device (such as storage device 1412) associated with the server.

[0347] Server 1408 can be configured to parse received access elements (e.g., received access element data). Access elements may include a distributed identifier and associated access data. Server 1408 can be configured to match the access data contained in the received access element with data provided by device 1402 (e.g., product identifiers) or with predefined data (e.g., key-value pairs representing authorization rules) to determine the distributed identifier and associated access data that match the provided or predefined data. Server 1408 can be configured to generate a corresponding request for retrieving such aspects associated with such distributed identifiers. This request may include the distributed identifier and associated access data. This request may be generated when determining a match between the product identifier and access data included in the access element and identifier data provided by node 120. This request may be forwarded to consumer node 120. Consumer node 120 may generate a request to collect product passes including authorization rules from the corresponding provider node 118. Consumer node 120 may generate a request to collect authorization rules from the corresponding provider node 118. The request may include a distributed identifier included in the request received from server 1408 and a distributed participant identifier associated with consumer node 120. The request may be sent by consumer node 120 to an endpoint defined in access data collected from provider node 118. Consumer node 120 and provider node 118 may authenticate as described above.

[0348] Provider node 118 can determine whether consumer node 120 is authorized to access the requested product pass or authorization rule. Provider node 118 can match the decentralized participant identifier provided by consumer node 120 with the access rule associated with the corresponding product pass or authorization rule. The access rule can define the consumer nodes allowed to access the product pass or authorization rule via the associated decentralized participant identifier. This allows filtering of consumer nodes requesting access to such product pass or authorization rule based on the associated decentralized participant identifier, thereby improving security to ensure that no unauthorized consumer node can access the product pass or authorization rule. When it is determined that consumer node 120 is authorized to access the product pass or authorization rule, provider node 118 can provide consumer node 120 with the data usage rule associated with the product pass or authorization rule for acceptance, as previously described. Provider node 118 can collect the requested product pass or authorization rule from storage device 1404 based on the decentralized identifier received from consumer node 120. The product pass or authorization rule can be collected upon acceptance of the provided data usage rule. The collected product pass or authorization rules can be provided to consumer node 120. The received product pass or authorization rules can be stored in storage device 1412. If the data usage rules are not accepted, the peer communication channel can be terminated, and provider node 118 may not provide product pass or authorization rules.

[0349] Authorization rules can be provided as part of a product pass. By providing authorization rules along with the product pass, the authorization rules can be inherently linked to a decentralized pass identifier associated with the product and / or product data. This link can be persistent or non-persistent. If the link is persistent, the collection of transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product through the production chain and / or lifecycle chain can be based on the use or processing of the decentralized pass identifier associated with the product and / or product data at any participant node in the decentralized network. Specifically, authorization rules can be provided in conjunction with the decentralized pass identifier associated with the product and / or product data, and this connection can be maintained over any data exchange related to the product data. In this way, authorization rules can be directly attached to the data flow in the decentralized network via the decentralized pass identifier associated with the product and / or product data.

[0350] If the links are non-persistent, collecting transferable environmental characteristics associated with a product through the production chain and / or lifecycle chain can be based on linking authorization rules to decentralized identifiers associated with other products produced from that product and / or data associated with other products produced based on that product. In both cases, an inherent link to the product used to produce the other product can be maintained to allow the collection of transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product at each stage of the production and / or lifecycle chain. Specifically, a pass associated with another product may include a decentralized identifier associated with the other product, a decentralized pass identifier associated with the product, data associated with the other product, and / or data associated with the product. The pass may further include authorization rules associated with the other product. In this way, the authorization rules are indirectly attached to the data flow in the decentralized network via decentralized identifiers associated with the product and / or product data.

[0351] Server 1408 can be configured to retrieve authorization rules from the collected credentials. Server 1408 can be configured to verify digital credentials associated with authorization rules. For example, authorization rules can be associated with digital credentials representing authentication of at least a portion of at least one authorization rule conforming to a predefined set of rules, such as authentication of an allocation scheme for determining transferable environment characteristics, and / or authentication of confirmation of a requested environment characteristic, and / or authentication of auditing of authorization rules. Verification can include verifying the context and schema defined in the presented “@context” to ensure that both parties understand and interpret the information in the same way. Verification can further include examining the proof data provided in the presentation to verify its integrity and authenticity. This may involve checking digital signatures and ensuring that the proof matches credentials (such as public keys) in the presentation. Verification can further include examining proof data associated with an issuing authority. This can ensure that the credential was indeed issued by the claimed issuing authority. Verification can further include performing revocation checks, querying revocation registries or other sources to confirm that the digital credential has not been revoked since its issuance. Verification may further include checking the contents of each credential (608, 610) to ensure that it meets the specified criteria and complies with any additional policies or requirements.

[0352] Verification of digital credentials associated with authorization rules ensures that the transferable environment characteristics accessed through such rules are determined according to a certified allocation scheme, thereby enhancing the trustworthiness of these transferable environment characteristics. Furthermore, verification of digital credentials associated with authorization rules that include executable instructions ensures that instructions can be executed securely because the authorization rule can be considered to originate from a trusted source and includes audited instructions. Server 1408 can be configured to execute instructions only after successful verification of digital credentials indicating authentication of a successfully audited authorization rule. This allows for the avoidance of executing authorization rules from untrusted sources or unaudited authorization rules, which could otherwise negatively impact the computing systems of downstream participants executing instructions included in such authorization rules.

[0353] Server 1408 can be configured to execute instructions included in authorization rules. Executing instructions may include collecting digital assets containing environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes, and providing the collected transferable environmental characteristics for display. Digital assets may be collected from provider node 118, for example, based on access elements associated with the digital assets and including pointers to the storage locations where the digital assets are stored. Access elements may be included in the collected credentials. Pointers may include the URI or URL of a dedicated storage device (such as storage device 1404) of an upstream participant storing such digital assets. Server 1408 can be configured to parse the access elements to determine the pointer. Server 1408 can be configured to provide the pointer to consumer node 120, and consumer node 120 can be configured to request digital assets via distributed network 134 based on such pointers.

[0354] Server 1408 can be configured to initiate the determination of a provider node associated with input materials used to produce the product. The provider node associated with such input materials can be determined by a distributed service based on access elements associated with assets that include relationships between parent output products and child input materials used to produce the parent output product. Assets can be collected by the service, and these relationships are resolved into a distributed input material identifier associated with such input materials. The distributed input material identifier can be provided to server 1408 via consumer node 120. Server 1408 can be configured to request a provider endpoint associated with such identifier via consumer node 120. Consumer node 120 can query such endpoints from infrastructure nodes based on the received identifier. Server 1408 can be configured to request the determination of transferable environmental characteristics associated with the input materials based on a bill of materials used to produce such input materials. The request received by such provider node can be provided to a system associated with an upstream participant in the production of the input materials. This system can determine the environmental characteristics associated with the input materials based on the bill of materials used to produce the input materials and can provide the determined environmental characteristics to the provider node. The provider node can provide the determined environmental characteristics to the consumer node 120, and the consumer node can provide the received environmental characteristics to the server 1408.

[0355] This avoids server 1408 potentially accessing the bill of materials for output products produced by upstream participants, which is necessary to determine the transferable environmental characteristics of such input materials. For example, digital assets associated with an output product may include pointers to various storage devices storing digital assets associated with the input materials used to produce that product. To determine the transferable environmental characteristics associated with an output product, the bill of materials used to produce such input materials is needed, as the quantity of input materials associated with environmental characteristics determines the quantity of the transferable environmental characteristics associated with the product.

[0356] Server 1408 can be configured to process collected transferable environmental characteristics included in digital assets, for example, through aggregation, filtering, linking, enrichment, etc. Server 1408 can be configured to determine the quantity of transferable environmental characteristics based on a bill of materials associated with intermediate products and products produced from input materials, according to the transferable environmental characteristics associated with such input materials. The bill of materials can be included in the collected digital assets.

[0357] Server 1408 can be configured to provide collected or processed transferable environment features for selection and transfer. Transfer can be triggered based on a request that includes an environment feature selected from collected environment features that can be transferred to a downstream node according to at least one authorization rule.

[0358] Providing collected or processed transferable environmental characteristics for selection and transfer may include providing the collected or processed transferable environmental characteristics via a communication interface. The communication interface may include an API. The collected or processed environmental characteristics may be provided to the computing system via the communication interface. Additionally, transferred environmental characteristics and / or financial assets may be provided via the communication interface. The computing system may be configured to select the provided collected or processed environmental characteristics. The computing system may be configured to select the provided collected or processed environmental characteristics according to one or more predefined rules. These rules may relate to financial assets associated with the transferable environmental characteristics. These rules may relate to the transferable environmental characteristics to be selected. These rules may relate to the transferable environmental characteristics to be selected and the associated financial assets. The computing system may be configured to generate a request including the selected environmental characteristics and, for example, provide the request via the communication interface. The selected environmental characteristics may include an environmental characteristic type and, optionally, a quantity associated with the selected environmental characteristics that can be transferred according to at least one authorization rule.

[0359] Providing collected or processed portable environmental characteristics for selection and transfer may include providing collected or processed portable environmental characteristics for display. Providing collected or processed portable environmental characteristics for display may include providing instructions to a display device (such as device 1402) to generate a user interface presentation including such characteristics. Device 1402 may be configured to generate a user interface presentation in response to data received from server 1408, and to display the user interface presentation on the screen of device 1402. Reference Figure 15The user interface 1502 shown on device 1402 may include a field 1504 displaying a product identifier associated with the product. This allows a user to check, for example, whether the displayed transferable environmental characteristics are indeed associated with the received product by comparing data acquired by scanner 1402 with the data displayed in field 1504. User interface 1502 may further include a list of transferable environmental characteristics 1508 associated with the received product. Transferable environmental characteristics may be associated with a brief description (not shown) describing the environmental characteristic. Transferable environmental characteristics may be associated with financial assets. Financial assets may represent the price associated with transferring such characteristics to consumer node 120. Each transferable environmental characteristic may be associated with a checkbox 1506, allowing a user to select the transferable environmental characteristic to be transferred. At least some of these transferable environmental characteristics (such as recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, biodegradable content, sustainable source content, green energy use, product carbon footprint, etc.) can be associated with a slider or field 1514, which allows the user to input a target amount of recycled content, bio-based content, renewable content, biodegradable content, sustainable source content, green energy use, product carbon footprint, etc. (e.g., the target amount of the transferable environmental characteristic requested to be transferred). The slider can be associated with a value that updates as the slider moves to indicate its current position. After selecting one or more transferable environmental characteristics and optionally after selecting the amount of transferable environmental characteristics, the reduction in product environmental impact achieved by transferring the selected environmental characteristics to consumer node 120 can be shown in field 1512. This reduction can be the maximum reduction achievable by transferring the requested environmental characteristic. This reduction can be associated with a value set by the user via the slider or field 1514. This reduction can be generated based on reduction data stored in the collected digital assets. The user can trigger the transfer of the selected transferable environmental characteristic by clicking the "Transfer" button 1510. One or more product consumers requesting one or more transferable environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product can lead to the confirmation and transfer of the requested environmental characteristics at the upstream participant's side (e.g., the product producer's side), for example, such as Figure 20 and Figure 21 As described in the context.

[0360] Return to Figure 14 Triggering a transfer may include generating a request for transferring selected environmental characteristics that can be transferred to consumer node 120 according to authorization rules linked to the artifact. This request may be generated by server 1408 in response to receiving data indicating user input from device 1402. This request may also be generated by the computing system as described above.

[0361] The request may include selected environmental characteristics, product identifiers, and downstream participant identifiers associated with downstream nodes (e.g., consumer node 120), such as a decentralized participant identifier associated with chemical product consumer 106, transferable according to at least one linked authorization rule. Downstream participant identifiers may include letters and / or numbers. Downstream participant identifiers may include one or more Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) and / or one or more Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs). Downstream participant identifiers may be associated with or may include verifiable claims or credentials. Verifiable claims may be issued by a centralized or decentralized identity issuing authority that makes one or more claims to a subject, such as a consumer entity being a trusted participant in a decentralized network. For example, an issuing authority may make claims to consumers (e.g., entities operating data-consuming network nodes) associated with decentralized participant identifiers. Verifiable claims may include these claims along with proof instructions demonstrating that the claims have not been tampered with and were indeed issued by the claim issuing authority. Verifiable claims may also include duration information metadata defining the valid period of use of the verifiable claim or defining a specific number of authorized uses of the verifiable claim. Verifiable claims may also include the DID of the claim issuer and / or entity (such as a consumer entity). Verifiable claims may be signed by the claim issuer. The claim issuer may provide verifiable claims to claim holders (such as consumers) to present them to any dependent parties that rely on the authenticity of these claims, such as decentralized data providers. The signature of the verifiable claim can be verified using the public key associated with the claim issuer to determine if the customer entity is a trusted entity within the decentralized network.

[0362] The request can be provided to upstream participants, such as chemical product producer 102. The request can be provided from consumer node 120 to provider node 118 via distributed network 134, for example, to an endpoint configured to receive data from consumer node 120. The request can be processed by chemical product producer 102, for example, as... Figure 20 and Figure 21 As described in the context. Alternatively (not shown), the request can be provid...

Claims

1. A method, particularly a computer-implemented method, for providing access to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product and transferable to one or more downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product, the method comprising: - The product is produced from one or more input materials and the produced product is provided, wherein the product is associated with at least one digital product identifier. - Link at least one of the digital product identifiers to at least one authorization rule, the at least one authorization rule including instructions to trigger the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the downstream node is determined by at least one assignment rule based on the environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product. - Specifically, via a distributed network, the at least one authorization rule is provided to one or more of the downstream nodes for execution based on the digital product identifier associated with the product.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, The environmental characteristics associated with the production of this product are determined through a virtual production process based on the environmental characteristics associated with the input material.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein, The at least one assignment rule includes instructions for determining the at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to the downstream node based on environmental characteristics associated with the input materials used to produce the product, the amount of input materials used to produce the product, environmental characteristics associated with the production process used to produce the product, or a combination thereof.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The at least one authorization rule is provided as part of or in conjunction with a product pass associated with the product, wherein the product pass includes a distributed identifier associated with the chemical product and / or the at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to the downstream node.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The at least one authorization rule is provided to the one or more downstream nodes for execution, including - Select at least one digital credential representing authentication of at least a portion of the at least one authorization rule with a predefined set of rules, the digital credential including a digital identifier associated with the certification authority that issued the digital credential and an authorization rule identifier associated with the at least one authorization rule. - Provide the one or more downstream nodes with the at least one authorization rule in combination with the selected digital credentials for execution.

6. A method for monitoring at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of a product, particularly a computer-implemented method, wherein, The product is associated with at least one licensing rule, which is related to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product. The method includes: - Provide at least one digital storage structure that stores the available environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product. - A confirmation rule trigger is received by at least one of these downstream nodes, the confirmation rule trigger including at least one product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream node. - A confirmation rule is used to confirm at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger, the at least one confirmation rule including instructions for comparing the at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger with these available environmental characteristics. - By generating a dataset associated with the product and including at least one of these product identifiers and data related to the assigned environmental characteristics, at least a portion of these identified environmental characteristics are assigned to the product. - Provide the dataset based on the downstream participant identifier to transfer it to at least one downstream participant node. - Based on the assigned environmental characteristics, generate updated data, which includes remaining environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule, and provide the generated updated data to update at least one of the environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node and are related to the at least one authorization rule.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The product is further associated with a digital asset, which includes a digital product identifier associated with the product and at least one environmental characteristic that can be transferred to the one or more downstream nodes via the at least one authorization rule.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The digital asset is generated by: identifying at least one environmental characteristic associated with the product and transferable to the one or more downstream nodes; and generating the digital asset, which includes the digital product identifier and at least one environmental characteristic transferable to the one or more downstream nodes. And optionally link the digital asset to the at least one authorization rule.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein, The at least one confirmation rule further includes instructions for comparing the at least one requested environmental characteristic included in the confirmation rule trigger with environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node and included in the digital assets associated with the product.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein, The at least one requested environmental characteristic is acknowledged using first-in-first-out logic, by processing the received acknowledgment rule triggers in ascending order of the time they are received.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein, The remaining environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node are determined based on the environmental characteristics that can be transferred according to the at least one authorization rule and the assigned environmental characteristics.

12. The method of any one of claims 6 to 11, further comprising the step of determining alternative environmental properties when at least a portion of the requested environmental property is not confirmed.

13. An apparatus for monitoring environmental characteristics associated with the production of a product, particularly an operating system for the production of one or more products, wherein, The product is associated with at least one licensing rule, which is related to at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to downstream nodes associated with downstream participants using the product. The device includes: - A digital storage system configured to provide at least one digital storage structure that stores environmental characteristics associated with the production of the product and at least one assignment rule for assigning environmental attributes to the produced product. - An input receiving interface configured to be triggered by at least one of these downstream nodes using a receiving acknowledgment rule trigger, the acknowledgment rule trigger including at least one product identifier associated with the product, at least one environmental characteristic requested from environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the at least one authorization rule associated with the product, and a downstream participant identifier associated with the at least one downstream node. -Outbound distributor, which is configured as By generating a dataset associated with the product and including at least one of the product identifiers and data related to the assigned environmental characteristics, at least a portion of these identified environmental characteristics are assigned to the product. ○ Provide the dataset based on the downstream participant identifier to transfer it to at least one downstream participant node. - An update data generator configured to generate update data based on the assigned requested environmental characteristics, the update data including remaining environmental characteristics that can be transferred to the downstream node according to the authorization rule, and to provide the generated update data for updating the environmental characteristics associated with the at least one authorization rule.

14. A product associated with at least one authorization rule, wherein, The at least one authorization rule includes instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the product from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node.

15. A digital credential associated with at least one authorization rule and authenticating the conformity of the at least one authorization rule with at least a portion of a predefined set of rules, wherein, The at least one authorization rule includes instructions for triggering the transfer of at least one environmental characteristic associated with the production of the product and transferable to a downstream node associated with a downstream participant using the product from the producer node associated with the production to the downstream node.

Images