Vodafone’s small-size SIM cards have saved the Planet more than 1.5 tons of plastic last year

In April, Vodafone Hungary announced that it would replace its credit card-sized SIM card holders with ones half the size. The measure aimed at protecting our planet has saved 1.6 tonnes of plastic since April. The initiative is part of Vodafone’s existing sustainability programme. The operator has agreed to phase out old SIM card holders by the end of 2020.

In December 2019, Vodafone set the target of reducing the use of non-essential plastics in its shop network and office premises by half, by April 2020. As part of this sustainability strategy, the operator committed to cutting the size of SIM card holders by half, thus helping safeguard the planet. The measure produced incredible results: by December 2020, the company had saved 1.6 tonnes of plastic by introducing half-size card holders.

Vodafone started the introduction of new, small SIM cards and the phasing out of old, larger cards in most European countries in the spring of 2020, including in Hungary, in April. This initiative alone reduces Vodafone Group’s plastic waste by more than 340 tonnes per year globally. In addition to cutting back on plastic waste, this measure also significantly reduces the Group’s CO2 emissions, as the production and transportation of smaller SIM card holders also results in lower CO2 emissions. For each tonne of plastic, 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide are saved, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 5000 tonnes per year.