Green eSIM

eSIMs have the potential to both change the SIM technology landscape and make a positive impact on climate change. By implementing an eSIM, users not only save themselves time, stress, and hassle, they also create less waste, which streamlines the production and distribution processes.

How eSIM management is good for the environment:

• Less CO₂: With eSIM, the physical production process of plastic cards and customer packaging, as well as extensive transport logistics, are no longer necessary.
• Fewer SIM cards: SIM cards no longer need to be  physically replaced for an update. Instead, a new eSIM can be simply downloaded.  
• No logistic footprint: Plastic SIM cards cause a complex logistic chain around the globe – mostly by plane. By comparison, the eSIM uses almost no physical logistics.

One of the main ways eSIM management helps the environment is by eliminating the need for extra resources. This cuts down harmful waste as well as saves companies cost in labor, materials, and production and processing time.

How eSIM management saves resources:

• No packaging: Thanks to the eSIM’s digitalization, bulky, plastic SIM packages are no longer required.
• Saving raw materials: eSIMs further reduce the need for plastic because they are soldered directly into the device.
• Digital sale: MNOs can sell eSIMs digitally. There is no need for customers to travel to MNO shops or order physical cards online.
• Leaner devices: eSIMs require less space in mobile devices and SIM card holders are no longer necessary.

In addition to all the cost and environmental benefits of the eSIM, this embedded technology enhances the user’s experience as well. As the convenience and cost-saving aspects of eSIM become more well-known, users will start to choose the eSIM over traditional, removable SIM chips.

How the eSIM creates a more efficient user journey:

• Convenient: Mobile contracts can be activated quickly and digitally without the need to drive to a shop or wait for a SIM to arrive by post.
• Frictionless: With the eSIM, users will no longer need to find the right SIM card size or struggle to insert the plugins into the device.
• Flexible: Users who have only one phone but use different MNOs will no longer need to carry and swap out multiple SIM cards. Instead, changing the MNO can be done completely digitally.

Without the logistic of traditional SIM cards, the standard supply chain could eventually disappear. This will save companies time, money, and resources, as well as cutdown on the environmental impact associated with transportation and packaging.

How eSIMs will disrupt the traditional supply chain:

• Fewer flights: When it comes to climate change, air travel is one of the most impactful forms of transportation. By requiring fewer physical pieces, eSIMs reduce the number of air shipments needed and, eventually, they will not be required at all.
• Less factory production: Less plastic and physical materials mean fewer items need to be produced by factories. This reduces the resources needed to operate a factory as well as the harmful chemicals and waste that typically come with industrial production.
• Reduced customer transportation: Because users will no longer need to travel to shops to purchase physical SIM cards, this reduces their transportation footprint whether it’s by car, bus, or train.
• Reduced materials: Because updates and MNO changes can be handled digitally, eSIMs eliminate the need for distributors to produce extra materials and for customers to purchase them.