At Zumo, we’re committed to supporting crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) at every stage of their sustainability journey, and complying with the new wave of sustainability requirements, such as those contained in the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, is a critical step. As part of this commitment, Zumo’s senior team recently travelled to Brussels to participate in the sustainability roundtable, co-organised by BlackVogel, the Blockchain for Good Alliance, and Zumo—with support from the European Commission and Blockchain for Europe to explore the future of sustainable blockchain technology.

Shaping conversations across the continent

Hosted at the European Commission’s DG GROW, Joachim Schwerin, Principal Economist of the EU Commission- DG GROW, delivered a powerful keynote on the future of sustainable blockchain technology to set the scene for the discussion.

Speaking for Zumo, Clark Povey, Zumo’s Chief Operating Officer, highlighted the importance of moving beyond mere compliance with regulations and instead adopting a long-term, holistic view of environmental responsibility. This includes the need to focus on both compensation (through market instruments and carbon offsetting) and, crucially, also mitigation strategies that can reduce a provider’s environmental impact at source. This comprehensive approach, Clark noted, is essential for meeting ambitious global environmental goals.

The session, attended by senior decision makers from both the industry and regulatory bodies, also covered the challenges of verifying carbon credits and the role that blockchain technology can play in enhancing traceability and transparency in carbon markets, as well as addressing the issue of greenwashing.

Blockchain sustainability potential

The Brussels event also highlighted some of the possibilities for blockchain in fostering sustainability. We were proud to be one of the four projects invited to showcase Oxygen, which was introduced to help CASPs better align their digital asset activities with net zero principles and adopt more sustainable practices.

Each invited project was selected to highlight the diversity of industries and solutions that can be impacted by blockchain technology.

• Demia is ensuring real impact is measurable, transferable, and scalable across both regulated and voluntary carbon markets. “We need to move past carbon accounting as a checkbox exercise. The next generation of climate solutions hinges on verifiable, machine-readable data that unlocks trust, not just compliance. At Demia, we’re building the zero-trust infrastructure to make that possible” Mat Yarger, Founder & CEO, Demia

• EthicHub connects small-scale farmers with global investors using blockchain, promoting financial inclusion and sustainable growth. “Democratizing Impact investment enables new ways of collaboration among peers instead of charity ” Gabriela Chang Valdovinos, CSO and Cofounder, EthicHub

• PBTokn.com transforms financial accountability with purpose-bound money, a solution that ensures funds are only spent on their intended purpose. “We incentivise, reward and help people for being more sustainable, in a very secure and efficient way using blockchain” Adri Wischmann, Founder, PBTokn

Convergence or divergence? Cryptoassets in a wider ESG framework

Closing the event with some final remarks, Zumo’s Sustainability Director Kirsteen Harrison explored whether we’re now seeing a convergence between crypto-specific sustainability disclosure requirements and wider sustainability frameworks, or if elements are potentially diverging in some areas.

There’s no doubt that cryptoasset sustainability disclosure requirements are setting the bar higher for CASPs. The EU has been first to pave the way with MiCA and its mandatory sustainability disclosures, and there are now similar developments evolving further afield. In the UK, for example, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting industry on what sustainability disclosures could look like as part of its upcoming regulatory framework. And the UAE, which is very progressive in the digital assets arena, is also weighing up sustainability disclosure requirements.

For all of this to be understood in its proper context, the industry needs to understand, and react to, what’s happening globally in the wider sustainability disclosures landscape. Kirsteen touched on the introduction of further-reaching frameworks, such as those of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which both require comprehensive (and sector-agnostic) disclosures.

In tandem, the key standards and guidance that underpin these disclosures are changing. In the coming months, a new version of the SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard, the world’s only framework for corporate net zero target setting, will be released. There are also ongoing consultations on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol – which is seen as the ‘Bible’ for those calculating carbon footprints – with a final version expected in 2027.

How will sector-specific frameworks – such as MiCA – dovetail with these developments? One interesting point made by Kirsteen is that the crypto experience has shown we can have financial regulations with sustainability baked in, whilst everywhere else we see standalone sustainability requirements, which don’t tend to be bolted on to non-sustainability regulations. Does this leave the door open for more models similar to MiCA?

Rethinking sustainability through a crypto lens

Another area that Kirsteen covered is the characteristics that make sustainability disclosures in crypto different from other sectors. For example, within MiCA, reporting is very much at the asset level (whether that’s Bitcoin, Ethereum, or another cryptoasset) whereas other sectors’ sustainability disclosures sit at the entity level. In addition, MiCA is all about quantitative information – such as data on electricity consumption and carbon footprint – whereas in wider sustainability disclosures there’s a lot more room for qualitative information on climate risks and opportunities, which is useful to help contextualise much of the quantitative data.

Key takeaways

Overall, the discussions highlighted several important insights:

• Sustainability is now a standard for CASPs:
  The EU’s MiCA regulation has set a precedent by mandating sustainability disclosures for Crypto-Asset Service Providers, with other regions like the UK and UAE developing similar frameworks.

• Regulatory convergence vs. divergence:
  Sustainability disclosure requirements in crypto coexist with broader frameworks such as ISSB and CSRD, raising the question of whether crypto disclosures will eventually align with global standards or remain siloed.

• Evolving guidance and frameworks:
  Major updates to the SBTi v2 and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol are reshaping how emissions are measured and reported across industries. The crypto sector must determine how best to align its practices with these evolving standards.

• Adoption of sustainability standards in crypto:
  Integrating sector-agnostic sustainability reporting with crypto-specific requirements remains a significant challenge, necessitating either the adaptation of existing frameworks or the development of dedicated standards.

• Industry standardisation gaps:
  Compared to traditional finance, the crypto industry still lacks mature standardisation bodies to oversee sustainability reporting, a gap that is particularly pronounced among the predominantly SME-driven landscape in the EU.

• Practical challenges in disclosure implementation:
  The absence of universally accepted methodologies for measuring crypto’s environmental impact continues to hinder effective sustainability reporting.

• Bridging the gap between compliance and real impact:
  Sustainability in crypto should go beyond mere regulatory compliance. Participants emphasised that mitigation strategies and real-world environmental benefits must be prioritised. For example, Zumo is not just focused on meeting MiCA compliance but is actively pursuing mitigation measures to drive real sustainable change.

• Collaboration is key:
  Public–private partnerships, regulatory engagement, and industry-wide collaboration are essential for developing robust, scalable sustainability disclosure models.

To close the roundtable, Kirsteen posed three questions for participants to ponder:

• How much of what’s happening in the wider sustainability disclosures landscape will now feed into crypto-specific requirements?

• How will the crypto sector adopt new standards (such as the revised GHG Protocol and SBTi v2) and then produce sector-specific standards and guidance that reflect these effectively?

• As a young and fledgling industry, do we (yet) have the industry standardisation forums and frameworks to facilitate this?

While there may not currently be clear answers to these questions, we believe the industry can find them together through considered collaboration. Get in touch if you’re keen to discuss your own sustainability journey and find out more about how we can support you with our award-winning Oxygen solution.

If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, we warmly invite you to join the upcoming online Sustainability Roundtable: Connecting Innovators and Policymakers, a debrief and continuation of the conversation initiated in Brussels. The session will take place on April 16th at 15:30 BST/16:30 CET,  Please register here: https://virtualsummit2025.blockchain4good.io/