Sustainable SIM cards for the future

Picture a SIM card, that crucial little rectangle of plastic in a phone. It is tiny! How much waste could such a little unit actually contribute to?

Well, quite a lot, actually. A quick look at some numbers may be helpful here to provide some context. The Trusted Connectivity Alliance (TCA) noted that almost 4 billion physical SIM cards were shipped worldwide in 2024. If all those SIM cards were stacked, it would create a tower nearly 3,000 km tall, effectively posing a danger to orbiting satellites! Keep in mind that a tower that tall takes a lot of energy to produce, emitting approximately 500,000 tons of CO₂. 

Also, remember how that SIM was delivered to the customer. The user knocks it out of a credit-card-sized plastic holder. This holder is made of single-use plastic; once the SIM card is punched out of it, it is waste. In the best case, it may be recycled. Or it may just be thrown away. Almost 4 billion credit card-sized holders worth of trash: you get the picture.

However, the SIM card’s life cycle doesn’t have to be like this. Taking a more considered approach to how it can be made more sustainable would take into account the materials used, their production, the energy expended – and its means of production – as well as the logistics cycle in play. Keeping an eye on emissions through the entire cycle is crucial.

There is an ethical implication to this, as more and more companies pivot to a stronger commitment to sustainable goals that reflect our shared ownership of our planet. Beyond that, making the SIM card’s journey more sustainable just makes commercial sense. Modern users demand more sustainable products and solutions that fit their own lifestyles and choices. This produces a strong pull, especially in established markets like the European Union (EU). Directives such as the European Green Deal set out achievable, time-bound goals.¹ Among other things, the European Green Deal’s vision calls for: 

• No net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050
• Economic growth that is decoupled from resource use
• Leaving nobody, and no region, behind

While also setting the agenda for the future, these goals are explicitly responding to what Eurozone residents want in their own lives.

To meet these mandates, and respond to the growing demand for more environmentally friendly products and services, the SIM card industry pivots toward more sustainable card bodies. The first step in such a process is to look at the material they’re made from, and their size.

Recycled plastic, smaller SIM cards

We’ve already noted that end users are increasingly likely to seek out products that match their own expectations of what a sustainable life should look like. The telecommunications industry is no different. A SIM card body that markets itself as being made from recycled material, as opposed to single-use plastic, is exhibiting a clear point of difference from the rest of the field. 

Another way in which SIM card bodies can lessen their environmental impact is by making them physically smaller. This may seem self-evident, but a mass production process that has been engineered to produce a particular size of body takes time and money to change. It requires will to expend the effort and investment to make such a change. Yet, making this change has tangible, measurable benefits. Among other things, a smaller card body made of recycled materials can lead to:

1. Saving valuable resources
2. Lessened CO₂ emissions
3. Less waste
4. Less fuel expended on logistics – with its own CO₂ saving – due to less weight and volume

In addition, a card body that is made from, for example, 100% recycled ABS material can be recycled again when it reaches the end of its life.

Use renewable energy

Manufacturing anything requires energy, the generation of which produces CO₂. However, renewable energy is increasingly available to responsible manufacturers, and at more attractive price points. An engaged customer base wants to know that a supplier of a particular product is doing their bit to lessen their load on our Earth. Responsible organizations are making the use of sustainable energy a central component of their ESG strategies. The larger industry would do well to learn from them.

The logistics chain

An analysis of how much it costs to ship SIMs to their eventual users should be looking at the environmental impact as well. As already stated, smaller card-body sizes make for better, less carbon-emitting transport. But there are other factors we can look at when it comes to the transport of SIM cards. 

Consider offshore manufacturing. It may be cheaper to make SIM cards in a distant place and ship them to your domestic customers, but local production has a measurable environmental payoff in terms of lessening emissions across the logistics cycle. This has been recognized by various bodies globally: Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which came into effect in 2023, names localization as a key priority for the future.²

Additionally, using the best and most efficient logistics solutions mitigates the cost of moving billions of SIM cards. Recent advances in technology – including AI – have made logistics ever smarter in terms of consolidating routes, avoiding traffic, minimizing inventory, etc. One more way in which a virtuous cycle can be reinforced is by tasking operators to collect unused cards to return to the manufacturer, so they can be recycled and used again. 

Proactive for the future

Consumers in more mature markets tend to have long-term postpaid contracts. In such a scenario, with a low turnover of SIMs, one could argue that the sustainability gains, even if reputationally important, would be marginal in physical terms. 

The more immediate gains stand to be made in markets that are price sensitive and favor prepaid cards, where a price fluctuation of a few points can motivate a consumer to switch suppliers. These forces drive the global demand for physical SIM cards. Such emerging markets are driven by cost considerations, and sustainability can perhaps lag behind as a factor in a user’s decision-making. 

The issue to be addressed by the industry is delivering the same environmentally friendly product that markets like Europe now require, at a price that can appeal to cost-sensitive emerging markets. To put it another way: even if a market pull doesn’t exist yet, a better way of doing things can be put in place, because it already exists somewhere else. 

Even though the SIM card is a tiny product, the sustainability gains available can be leveraged in marketing campaigns to end users. These can highlight the ESG agendas of MNOs and MVNOs.

An even more sustainable approach is to make the entire SIM process digital. G+D’s embedded SIM (eSIM) management solution saves on the use of extra materials and reduces waste and logistics, by replacing traditional, removable SIM cards with an embedded SIM chip, thus eliminating the need for extra plastic. Instead of transporting physical SIM cards, eSIM management allows for digitally loading SIM data anywhere around the globe. We all inhabit the same planet, after all.

Smart partnerships

The right partner, with global experience and local expertise, and with the right product mix across the SecurityTech sphere, can be invaluable. Commitment to sustainability would also be a key factor. 

G+D Mobile Security has targeted of its own accord to using only 100% recycled plastics in SIM cards for the European market by 2026, and 100% recycled plastic in SIMs worldwide by 2030. G+D’s Eco Card grows out of its technical background and commitment to the environment. This card is made from recycled ABS material, and produced using 100% renewable electricity. G+D also produces half-sized SIM card bodies, which require fewer materials and less energy to produce, less fuel to move, and create less waste. This means fewer CO₂ emissions across the entire cycle.

In fact, G+D’s global card production is powered by 100% renewable electricity. In addition, by setting up new card production in the larger EU region for its local markets, we further reduce our CO₂ emissions. 

While we have proactively met the requirements of LkSG, our commitment to local manufacturing provides operational gains through shorter transport routes. Proximity to other European countries reduces the risk of geopolitical disruptions to those supply chains, providing long-term security.

G+D has been working on sustainable SIM products for more than 15 years. Our sustainable SIM cards are part of that commitment to the environment. 

“With our climate transition plan, we now have a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2040,” said Ann-Kathrin Röndigs, Head of Sustainability & Management Systems at G+D.

Our Eco Card signals our willingness to accept responsibility for achieving our climate goals.