For episode 243, we’re excited to welcome Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder and CEO of The Hashgraph Group, a Swiss-based Web3 technology company building enterprise-grade solutions within the Hedera ecosystem.
Today's conversation sits at the intersection of climate action, supply chain integrity, and distributed ledger technology. We're going to explore two of The Hashgraph Group's flagship products: EcoGuard, which is transforming how carbon credits are created, tracked, and retired, and TrackTrace, which is bringing transparency and traceability to complex global supply chains.
We'll also dive into a landmark partnership that was announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos: a collaboration with CONFED, the Confederation of Coconut Farmers Organizations of the Philippines, to establish the country's first Digital Carbon Office. This initiative involves over 3 million coconut farmers and 347 million coconut trees, and it's designed to get financial rewards to farmers immediately and accurately, rather than at the end of multi-year cycles with significant value lost along the way.
You’ll learn:
🌍 What's broken about traditional carbon markets, from fragmentation and greenwashing to eroding public trust, and why blockchain is well-positioned to fix it
🌱 How EcoGuard is digitizing the entire carbon credit lifecycle, from creation to trading to retirement, with full transparency and traceability
🥥 The landmark partnership with CONFED in the Philippines, bringing over 3 million coconut farmers and 347 million coconut trees into a Digital Carbon Office powered by Hedera
📦 How TrackTrace is transforming supply chain transparency with verifiable, tamper-proof data aligned with regulations like the EU's Digital Product Passport
🌱 Carbon markets aren't equally accessible, and smallholder farmers are being left behind: Millions of smallholder farmers around the world are doing critical work sequestering and reducing carbon, but they aren't being compensated for it, whereas larger farmers are. The infrastructure and scalable models to support them simply haven't existed. This is where solutions like EcoGuard and distributed ledger technology come in, creating pathways for farmers to participate in carbon markets and receive fair compensation for the climate impact they're already delivering.
📱 EcoGuard isn't just about carbon credits. It's equally about digital inclusion: EcoGuard provides a simple, smartphone-based interface that allows farmers to get compensated fairly for their work. But it goes further than that. By onboarding farmers to the platform, they also gain access to a digital wallet, digital identity, payment infrastructure, and more, all with the complexity stripped away. It's a powerful example of how Web3 can meet people where they are and open doors to broader financial and digital participation.
🛒 We may be entering an era of conscious consumerism powered by transparent supply chains: With distributed ledger technology like TrackTrace, consumers may soon have access to transparent, verifiable data about all the products they buy: where they came from, how they were made, and whether environmental and ethical claims hold up. This shifts power to individuals, enabling them to make purchasing decisions that align with their values while adding real credibility to certifications that have too often been taken on faith.
The Hashgraph Group (THG)- Website
02:20 - To start, we'd love to hear your story. What drew you to Web3, and what led you to co-found The Hashgraph Group?
04:15 - For listeners who may not be familiar, can you give us a high-level introduction to The Hashgraph Group and your relationship with the Hedera ecosystem? What kinds of solutions are you building and who are they designed for?
05:45 - Hedera is a hashgraph, which is Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), but is unique from a typical blockchain. What is Hedera and why is it’s hashgraph technology beneficial for these use cases?
08:15 - Traditional carbon markets have faced significant criticism: fragmentation, lack of transparency, greenwashing, and eroding public trust. From your perspective, what's broken about carbon markets today, and why is blockchain well-positioned to fix it?
11:15 - You recently signed a landmark agreement with CONFED, the Confederation of Coconut Farmers Organizations of the Philippines, to establish the country's first Digital Carbon Office. This involves 3M+ coconut farmers and 347M coconut trees. Can you tell us about this partnership, what it took to build, and what impact it will have for farmers on the ground?
14:05 - From the point of view of the farmer, can you walk me through what the user experience looks like, and how they engage with the EcoGuard platform?
15:40 - There is a lot of mistrust and stigma around crypto and Web3. How do you approach partnerships in a way that addresses these concerns and creates buy in?
17:50 - One thing that stood out about the CONFED announcement is the focus on getting financial rewards to farmers immediately and accurately, rather than at the end of multi-year cycles with significant value loss. How does EcoGuard enable this shift, and why does that matter for climate finance at scale?
20:15 - Beyond carbon markets, The Hashgraph Group has built TrackTrace, a solution for supply chain transparency and traceability. Can you explain what TrackTrace does and why verifiable, tamper-proof supply chain data is becoming increasingly important, especially with regulations like the EU's Digital Product Passport?
23:40 - With all of this technology available for supply chain transparency, do you believe we are entering the age of retail transparency and conscious consumerism?
27:20 - What role does Artificial Intelligence (AI) play in the Hashgraph For Enterprise (H4E) tech stack?
35:40 - For organizations, governments, or enterprises listening who might be interested in exploring these solutions, what's the best way to get involved or learn more about working with The Hashgraph Group?
36:40 - If you could speak directly to governments, NGOs, or enterprises still sitting on the sidelines when it comes to distributed ledger technology for climate and supply chains, what would your message be?
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While we may discuss specific web3 projects or cryptocurrencies on this podcast, please do not take any of this as investment advice, and please make sure to do your own research on potential investment opportunities, or any opportunity. We host a variety of guests on this podcast with the sole purpose of highlighting the social impact use cases of this technology. That being said, Crypto Altruism does not endorse any of these projects, and we recognize that, since this is an emerging sector, some may be operating in regulatory grey areas, and as such, we cannot confirm their legality in the jurisdictions in which they operate, especially as it pertains to decentralized finance protocols. So, before getting involved with any project, it’s important that you do your own research and confirm the legality of the project. More available HERE.
