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The decision will reduce the amount of fresh plastic created by around 320 tonnes each year
Today, Vodafone Group has announced that it will begin offering half-sized Eco-SIM cards made from recycled plastic to their customers.
According to the operator, the Eco-SIM should eliminate the need for 320 tonnes of virgin plastic to be produced every year, which, in turn, should remove around 1,280 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
This is the second SIM-related eco-friendly measure taken by Vodafone in the last couple of years, with the company last year cutting the size of the SIM cards’ plastic packaging in half. According to the operator, this measure has reduced new plastic production by 340 tonnes a year, equivalent to a reduction of 1,760 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
“Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the need to supply plastic SIMs entirely. We have already halved the amount of plastic used in our SIM cards, and the introduction of Eco-SIMs made from recycled plastic will further reduce the environmental impact of our activities,” explained Alex Froment-Curtil, Vodafone Group Chief Commercial Officer.
Eco-SIMs will reportedly be rolled out progressively in all 12 of Vodafone’s European markets, as well as Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa.
It should be noted that Vodafone already offers digital eSIMs to customers in all its European markets, so the need for physical SIM cards in any form should be diminishing over the coming years. Nonetheless, until eSIM-compatible devices become more widely accessible, physical SIM cards will remain the industry mainstay, so this reduction in plastic usage is considerable.
Vodafone’s wider efforts to reduce their plastic usage have been underway for a number of years now, with the company reporting last year that they had “eliminated all unnecessary plastic and disposable single-use items across all Vodafone’s retail stores and offices”.
Last year, Vodafone Group also committed to reducing its the net carbon emissions from its own operations to zero by 2030, and for its wider supply chain by 2040.
How are the operators tackling the climate crisis and the challenge of sustainability? Find out from the experts themselves at this year’s live Total Telecom Congress
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