Energi Mine is testing a blockchain-based rewards system with the Energy Managers Association and Network Rail. The trial will pay employees in EnergiToken (ETK) for cutting their energy use, taking l
Energi Mine is testing a blockchain-based rewards system with the Energy Managers Association and Network Rail. The trial will pay employees in EnergiToken (ETK) for cutting their energy use, taking low-carbon transit to work, and buying efficient appliances.
Network Rail owns and operates Britain's railways and uses enormous amounts of energy. Omar Rahim, CEO of Energi Mine, wanted to work with the EMA because its 1,500 member companies span different industries and consume huge quantities of power. "We want to speak to the widest possible variety of sectors in order to achieve our goal of reducing energy consumption and encouraging energy efficient behaviour," Rahim told MiningPool. "Network Rail, which owns, operates, and develops Britain's railway are one of the biggest users of the EMA, and an ideal company with which to trial our energy-saving incentives platform."
Workers will submit proof of their energy savings. Energi Mine's software uses AI and blockchain to verify the claims against smart meter data and transport records. When an employee hits a threshold—say, a 10 percent drop in energy use—the platform sends ETK to their digital wallet through a smart contract. They can spend the tokens on electricity bills or convert them to regular currency.
The test will run for at least three months. Wendi Wheeler chairs the EMA and manages energy and carbon strategy at Network Rail. "Unlocking the potential to realise energy savings, and sustaining those savings, is often something that companies struggle to achieve," she said. "This is an interesting innovation in the employee engagement arena, and I'm keen to see how it can benefit EMA members – and indeed Network Rail – as trials are developed."
Lord Redesdale heads the EMA. He said the organization's own training programs show companies can cut 40 percent of their energy consumption by changing how employees use power. The EMA will share data from the trial with its broader membership to guide rollout. "The use of tokens will mean that employees can be incentivized to keep saving energy," Redesdale said.
Rahim framed the trial as a way to create lasting behavior change. "Until now there has been no incentive to save energy," he said. "Ultimately we want to change the behaviour of individuals for the long term, to help firms reduce energy consumption and ultimately help the environment by reducing the global carbon footprint."
