Evaluating the Transparency and Traceability of Carbon Tokens: Blockchain’s Role in Circular Economy Certification

This paper proposes a blockchain enabled carbon emissions tracking architecture for the automobile manufacturing supply chain that is integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning, Manufacturing Execution Systems and Internet of Things data with smart contracts to deliver verifiable, real-time sustainability metrics. This has been justified due to the literature review lack for carbon emission calculation in supply chain levels. ERP modules standardise multisource planning, procurement and inventory records before committing them to a private ledger, while MES bridges shop-floor machines to the chain, ensuring fine-grained operational visibility. Distributed IoT sensors placed at each lifecycle stage from raw material extraction and production to logistics, recycling has been enabled to transfer energy consumption and emissions values to the ledger, where embedded algorithms apply a uniform calculation methodology. Smart contracts automatically convert validated tonnes of CO₂ into tradeable carbon-credit tokens, release payments upon compliance, and maintain an immutable audit trail accessible to regulators with autonomous permissions. By eliminating centralised gatekeepers, the model enhances transparency, prevents double counting and reduces administrative latency that plagues conventional carbon markets. Future studies are suggested for exploring multi modal transport modelling, cross sector scalability and adaptive contract logic that incorporates emerging scientific baselines and regulatory thresholds.