Vodafone Egypt rolls out first eco-SIM card

11 / 09 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Vodafone Egypt – the largest mobile network operator in Egypt – rolled out the first eco-SIM card that is made of 100 percent recycled materials.

This falls within the framework of the company’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Vodafone adopts a strategy for promoting sustainable development in line with Egypt Vision 2030.

Under this strategy, the company depends on renewable energy, buttresses green investments and plans to reach zero emissions by 2040.

Last month, Vodafone was announced as the Principal Partner for Communications for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) which will be held in Egypt in November .

Communications and IT Minister Amr Talaat hailed the step which supports the state’s drive for achieving the sustainable development goals and protecting the environment.

For her part, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad referred to the strategic partnership with Vodafone Egypt, especially under the presidential initiative “Go Green”.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Egypt CEO Mohamed Abdullah said ” We are proud to roll out the first eco-friendly SIM card in Egypt, a step that will contribute to cutting 340 tons of plastic use annually.”

Vodafone International plans for eco-friendly SIM:

In October 2021, Vodafone International announced plans to launch eco-SIM cards made from recycled plastic as part of the company’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment.

Starting from October 2021, Vodafone said it will provide customers with new Eco-SIMs in the half-sized format made from recycled plastic, progressively replacing SIM cards that are currently made from new plastic. Eco-SIM will be rolled out in all 12 of Vodafone’s European markets, in addition to Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.

The launch of Eco-SIM builds on Vodafone’s successful global rollout of half-sized SIM card holders in 2020. By halving the size of the SIM card holder, Vodafone has reduced the amount of plastic used to provide customers with SIMs by around 340 tonnes a year – equivalent to a reduction of 1,760 tons of CO2 emissions.

Vodafone’s introduction of Eco-SIM – in the same material-efficient, half-sized card format – further eliminates the need for 320 tons of virgin plastic to be manufactured each year. This has the potential to save an additional 1,280 tons of CO2e per year from not manufacturing new plastic to be used for the cards.

Alex Froment-Curtil, Vodafone Group Chief Commercial Officer said: “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.”

Although Vodafone offers digital eSIM in every European market, supported by a growing number of compatible devices, most mobile customers still require a physical SIM card for their mobile phone until eSIM becomes more widespread.

Since 2020, Vodafone has eliminated all unnecessary plastic and disposable single-use items across all Vodafone’s retail stores and offices. Vodafone has withdrawn disposable plastic bags and removed or restricted plastic marketing or promotional materials, replacing them with low-impact alternatives.