Sustainability and Carbon Management in Data Centers – Braham Singh, Verdana

This is texturung TV. I'm Bonnie Schneider for Tech strong TV in the fight against carbon emissions the role of digital measurement reporting and validation is crucial and joining me now to talk about this important topic and discuss dmrv is brahmsing Brahm. Thank you so much for joining us from the chairman of verdana a leading player in the sustainability and carbon movement.

So thank you so much problem. We really appreciate you joining us. My pleasure.

My pleasure. This is a great opportunity to share what's been happening on our side in the in the in sustainability. So please I'm very thankful.

Great. Well Brom. Can you share with us?

What motivated you to make the move from telecoms and data centers to the sustainability and carbon management sector with verdana? So Bonnie data centers, you know the consume 40 times the energy of a similar size. Commercial facility so they better be tied at the hip to sustainability.

Now, you know struggling with with. Energy issues for years I met up with these young. Group of people who were setting up Madonna and they showed me everything that was wrong with sustainability.

And with people like me. They're high agreed on one thing though that that the way out was to digitize the pain points and and I saw what they were doing. And I then decided to move in with them and you know, it's been great.

I feel young again doing something useful for a change with my life. So it's fun. Yeah.

That is that is good. It's very invigorating to have that experience. So how does the use of digital measurement reporting and validation also known as dmrv contribute to reducing carbon emissions.

So Bonnie if the problem is people like me it's best to get them out of the equation and that's what dmrv does. So here's the thing. Just think about it today.

The carbon trade is a multi-billion Dollar business right with no commensurate reduction in greenhouse gases. Why why is that one would ask and it's because the system is being gamed I can go into detail. I won't but if you want the three major issues.

Go ahead and feel free. Okay, so, you know the three three things one is the the validation on the ground whether a project is worthy of carbon credits. This is Extremely human intensive the validator has to go there.

He has to check it out. He has to interact with the project that he's paid by the project creating a conflict of interest there. And the system has been gained.

So that's one second one is, you know, it's a invisible commodity Bonnie, you know and invisible commodity means the amount of fraud multiplies and you have instances where the same carbon credit is sold to multiple buyers. And then of course you have the the matter of international double count. This guy sells the credit this guy buys it and both show a reduction in greenhouse gases all of this.

All of this can be minimized or eliminated by dmrv and that is where this simple plays A Part people know this the offset purchaser. If you ask them there was a report I just read today and it says that it's number one with the guy who's buying the offset is number one concern is is it being measured properly is a verification done properly is being reported properly. I'm paying money for this carbon credit to be to offset my footprint.

Is it a is it a valid carbon credit or is it is a greenwashed? So this being the concerns what were Donna does Bonnie used to create an immutable digital link between the remote carbon footprint and the people receiving the information like, you know, government bodies Registries exchanges, so that's what dmrb does The radar in the in the in the vadana scheme of things. I like to take a deeper dive into that.

So how does verdonna use blockchain technology to enhance validation and certification of carbon offset credits? Okay. So block the blockchain part is simple.

Bonnie blockchain is is just a you know, it's a bookkeeping mechanism. It's digital ledgers. So it allows for accurate immutable bookkeeping.

Okay, see what it does. I told you about the invisible carbon credit and how I you know, it can be sold to multiple buyers. Well with blockchain that's not possible because the blockchain will keep her record of the provenance of that carbon credit where it come from has been sold before and if it is sold the blockchain then then you know Burns that carbon credit and it's no longer available.

So there are very strong checks and controls that only a blockchain can offer. But like I said, that part is simple the tough part Bonnie is to extend the blockchains immutability. To the distant carbon footprint.

That's the trick. That's the secret sauce. Right?

I mean the blockchain is immutable it's it is it does its job perfectly but how do you feed accurate immutable data to it? And that's the trick and that's what Madonna has done it. It takes the immutability of a blockchain all the way to the to the distant footprint and then you have a and then it connects the blockchain who?

Digital Registries like sir Carbono, so we don't connect with everyone if you're not digital. I don't want to connect with you. Right but if your digital like sir Carbono, please let's come to get together we get together on a blockchain bridge and now you have the immutable digital link from the footprint to to the registry and this is something that the World Bank has been, you know fighting this battle in the sustainability world to digitize if there's one body that I applaud.

It's the World Bank because they keep pushing pushing pushing to for all of us to digitize and I wish everyone listen to them. How do you guarantee the accuracy in these areas? Clute transparency money through transparency something the trade can learn, you know, we we provide Registries with the digital.

Dashboard from where they can see their project. So the registry cans one registry said to me, I want One dashboard on which I can see all my projects and see what's happening there in real time. And minimize the my using human valid latest to go there they can still be there.

But at least I can see what's happening. So this is what one registry asked of us now. We do this for them and then the calculations we do are based on their methodology.

Not ours. So look what happens they get a dashboard. They see what's happening on the ground and the math.

That's that's being used is their math they say this is the methodology. We want you to follow and that's what the machine does. And so that transparency is how we we, you know, we guarantee the the accuracy that the question you asked.

How do we get into the accuracy? Well, that's how we do it. Well, that's definitely interesting and one aspect.

I was wondering about the Privacy so many people are concerned about their data being breached. How does verdonna safeguard the privacy of the information that's gathered during the carbon offset credit validation process. To authentication various levels of authentication.

These kids are put together. It's it's it's it's you know, almost irritating to I have to go through hoops to get the information. So for example, if you're a registry, then you have an authentication process only you and your people can access your information.

No one else. Can these are you know, try it and test it standard measures in the IT world which are put in place firewalls Etc to ensure that I can't see the information that belongs to you. It's impossible.

We have a lot of people that are watching that work in the devops devsecops and and cyber communities. I was wondering if you could tell me how verdonna's dmrv platform is compatible with other tools and systems that might be employed by these workers. Sure.

Bonnie is a simple we open source. We there's nothing proprietary. Everything we do is open source.

And then we use rest apis they call them and blockchain bridges to connect to other people in the ecosystem. So not only are we not only our platform based on open system. Sorry open source.

It's also connects to people very easily. There's nothing proprietary. There are no walls, except of course, the the walls against unauthorized access which I spoke to you about.

But other than that, there's a completely open system we might and welcome everyone to come and join us. We then also, um want to be part of the Great ecosystem the greater ecosystem, for example I mentioned the World Bank we have created something called the cad Trust. Which is a kind of a metal layer.

Call it umbrella registry that everyone can connect to and see all the information available out there from different Registries to actually address the issue of double counting that I mentioned. One of the big issues. Right.

I mean, they both sides are accounting lowering of emissions, which is inaccurate. If I'm lowering my mission then because of credits I bought from you. Then you need to up yours up your information your mission enjoy accounts that doesn't happen.

And so all of this is is done through the transparency that we have learned actually from the World Bank, and we follow the those methods Well looking at the big picture. How is the interest in carbon offset credits evolved in recent years? Well, it's huge.

if you look at the history of Of carbon credits right the whole day the whole I mean carbon became a commodity in 1997 under the Kyoto Protocol. and almost instantly it was a success and the trading began carbon prices went through the roof and carbon trading was just exploded until until people found how the systems being gamed and then the Paris Accord came. With the intention to sort things out and they're trying to and the only way they can solid out is through is through digitization, but it is slow getting all the countries to come together.

And make decisions is a slow excruciating process. And I'm sorry to say that can keep getting kicked down the road. So what is taken up the slack?

Bonnie is the Is the voluntary Market? So because the various companies for all good reasons. Won't do something about their carbon footprint.

And so they want to buy offsets and this is not so that's why a voluntary marketers come up to supply them the offsets that that they need now, how has it evolved? I think one of the major changes that happened happening again, you know people like World Bank are sponsoring it is telling these these companies don't just buy. A carbon don't just buy offsets to reduce to rather than do something real to reduce your carbon footprint.

So for example now United and other airlines, I believe are rather than buying offsets. are using sustainable few well No, I'm just gonna say we just have a few minutes left. I wanted to ask one final question.

What are the advancements and developments that you anticipate for the sustainability and carbon management industry in the future body the digitization and countries opening their own National digital Registries. This is the next thing that's going to happen because you know the kind of confusion that's taking place today taking the can down the road can't continue. So I foresee countries having National Registry strong bodies.

Digital Industries and that's that's I think if we talk again in a year's time, I hope to see you know, both of us can see that happen that countries are creating strong National digital carbon Registries if that happens. You know that's progress. Well Brahms saying thank you so much for joining us from verdonna.

We really appreciate the interesting facts that you provided in this industry and and how it's growing and the developments that are ahead for the future. Thanks for joining us from. Thank you, Bonnie.

Thank you for making time. My pleasure. Well, stay with us.

We have a lot more coming up on Tech strung TV. I'm Bonnie Schneider.