BVrio – A Bolsa Verde do Rio de Janeiro is a due diligence and risk assessment tool. It is a system which was designed to help timber traders to assess custody and the risk of illegality, based on big data analysis and satellite images, with results kept using block chain analysis. It claims to have the objective to facilitate the trade of responsible timber, among other complementary services. The platform intends to increase liquidity, demand and supply for legally sourced timber in making use of market mechanisms. Their overall goal is to increase transparency, legality and sustainability in the timber sector.
At this moment, the platform is particularly useful to stakeholders in Europe and in the US where its operations can be based on the European Timber Regulation as well as the Lacey Act.
The Responsible Timber Platform claims to be a trading platform with a due diligence system built in. On the website, interested parties have the chance to start the due diligence process in four steps. Starting with gathering information about the origin of the timber that was acquired and about required documents in the due diligence guides. Continuing with the risk assessment upon login, followed by engaging in potential risk mitigation and concluding with selecting the type of certificate which needs to be checked.
The due diligence and risk assessment reports are still limited but extensive data and guides on Brazil and Ghana already make for a promising start. Also the data available on the trading platform is still inconclusive concerning certification and prize, but the intention and the effort become clear.
