Barriers of Blockchain in Sustainability Reporting: An Application With Fuzzy AHP

Abstract

Sustainability Reporting, which is a non-financial reporting, is an important practice that includes measuring and reporting the social, environmental, and economic impacts of an organization. The accuracy and transparency of these reports is a crucial factor for consumers and investors. Blockchain technology is seen as a tool that can increase the accuracy and transparency of sustainability reporting by offering a decentralized and transparent system. However, there are barriers to the use and adoption of blockchain technology. Studies reveal technological, institutional, organizational, and environmental factors. Integration issues between different blockchain networks can threaten data integrity and accuracy. In addition, problems such as high energy consumption and low transaction speed can also affect the sustainability of blockchain technology. In the study, the barriers to the use of blockchain technology in sustainability reporting were analysed. For this purpose, the criteria determined were presented to expert opinions and criterion weighting was made with the Fuzzy AHP method. The most important results from the study show that resistance to change, the idea that the system works at a limited capacity, and the lack of trust in the system are the most affecting barriers preventing the adoption of blockchain technology in this space.