A blockchain-based approach to sustainability: Interview with Pratik Gauri, CEO of 5ire

By Puja Sharma

5ire is a blockchain ecosystem that brings forth Sustainability, Technology & Innovation to build the 5th industrial revolution (5IR). Founded by Pratik Gauri, Prateek Dwivedi, and Vilma Mattila in August 2021, the mission of the 5ire ecosystem is to embed the for-benefit paradigm at the heart of the blockchain, by highly incentivizing practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), therefore facilitating the transition from the 4th Industrial Revolution to the 5 Industrial Revolution and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

5ire is a fifth-generation blockchain ecosystem rather than just a blockchain network.  Complete with its exchange, its wallet, its own NFT/ Metaverse marketplace, and a VC fund along with the blockchain called, 5ireChain. Thus, enabling it to independently seek partners who are serious about sustainable development and seeking opportunities in the “for-benefit” economy it seeks to create while impacting a billion lives.

IBS Intelligence interacted with the company’s Co-founder and CEO, Pratik Gauri, to understand how 5ire is paving a way for sustainability with blockchain at the core.

What drove you to build this ecosystem?

I think sustainability is a reason in itself.  I would like to see both blockchains prosper because I am passionate about what technology can do, and I am also passionate about reversing the effects of human activity on the environment.  Thus, the 5ire ecosystem was born. When our co-founders Prateek Dwivedi, Vilma Matilla, and I began, we were astonished by how big the scale of sustainable development was. At the time we began talking about it, it was a $5 billion market that was expected to grow to $50 billion in the next 5 years.

So, the stakes for continuing to live the way we live are huge and we have no choice but to give up on producing or doing anything just keeping profits in mind.  We all will have to move from a “For Profit” to a “For Benefit” economy.  Better to do it now than ever.

How are you planning to grow in the next couple of years?

Over the next few years, we want to drive growth in the public sector and partner with governments across the world. In terms of alliances and partnerships, we have done tremendous work. We are in talks with governments across states like Tamil Nadu, Assam, in India as well as governments in the US and Africa, to partner with them so that they can leverage our blockchain.

We have a lot of valuable allies as our partners include names like FxDx, Moonrock capital, SafeLaunch, OIG, Croc Capital, Marshland Capital, Magnus Capital, Sanctum, and Alphabit Fund.

We have strengthened our team in India, with Raj Kapoor, the founder of the India Blockchain Alliance joining us as our India Strategy Lead, who has been very valuable in starting public-private partnerships in India. On having valuable advisors we have also scored big across public and private sectors with advisors like Jeff Hoffman from Booking.com, and Ed Martin, Senior Advisor for Nobel Peace Prize and Ex-CMO of Coca Cola with deep insights in both verticals. I think the stakes and the stakeholders in 5ire are growing exponentially.

Keeping the SDGs in mind, how would you facilitate the transition from the 4IR to 5IR?

SDGs and ESG are at the core of our business. We live and breathe ESG factors and are continuously trying to find more reliable ways to assess a company’s contribution to better adherence with the SDGs and a better ESG score. It is a core value that is used by our blockchain to assign nodes for transaction validation.

 When it comes to sustainability, it is not a one-off thing. You have to regularly engage with the community and provide opportunities and an outlet for the community to get involved, and that is what we are trying to achieve. What we have done is formed partnerships with local and state governments in three continents in providing tools that help in carrying out their day-to-day functions in a “For Benefit” way. We have also started to directly address students where we will suggest coursework that is more SDG-focused. We have also created a VC fund specifically for encouraging technologies that are SDG aligned. All this is the groundwork to support communal action towards more sustainable development that enables us to transition to the 5th Industrial Revolution.

What steps are you taking to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?

Just like platforms and companies that enabled bad behavior that got us to the current ecological emergency, we have to enable the communities/ companies and reward good behavior. We aim to provide the resources and educate them in better adherence to the UN’s agenda. If we educate people to look at it as a norm, it will accelerate its adoption much more rapidly.

What is the future of blockchain concerning sustainability?

The lack of sustainable practices in blockchain has been a significant area of concern for stakeholders across the globe and this has kept blockchain as technology from being widely accepted and adopted. There is no disagreement on the good that blockchain can do, however, the ecosystem is starting to recognize the problem and making a shift. Globally, major blockchain networks are moving away from Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithms to Proof of Stake (PoS) to save electricity that gets spent mining for blocks. I am confident that the tide will soon turn more strongly towards sustainable practices in the blockchain sector and 5ire is the pioneer in that space.