The case guides students to resolve a number of questions when embracing a new technology, with a focus on Blockchain, a radical new technology that has attracted a lot of hype although the adoption rate remains low among firms. Consequently, there are few successful business applications and many challenges, uncertainties and risks to be overcome. The case emphasizes two aspects of Blockchain.

nam.R, a data-driven start-up based in Paris, embarked on an ambitious plan to contribute to address global warming using open data. From its launch in 2017, using open-data sources augmented by sophisticated data analytics, nam.R has constructed a “digital twin” of every single building in France by early 2020.

When Wilfried Pimenta de Miranda joined the IOTA project as Director for Business Development in early 2017, his mandate was to demonstrate the potential of the open-source technology and increase adoption. The open community programme sought to engage with external market players to kick off a first set of proofs of concept.

This case is about shared mobility in Paris. It can be used as a stand-alone case or as a follow-on from the case study: “On a mission to cut emissions - reducing the carbon footprint in Paris whilst maintaining an efficient transport system” by the same authors. In 2018, Anne Hidalgo, the first woman Mayor of Paris, set out to create a greener city, free from polluting vehicles.

In 2018, the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, in the fourth of her six-year mandate, embarked on a vision to create a greener city, free from polluting vehicles. Two years earlier, recognizing the global climate emergency and the need to keep global warming below 1.5C°, the city of Paris had set out an ambition to attain carbon neutrality by 2050.