Report explores efforts to curb environmental risks posed by identity documents

In the past couple of years, the identity industry has been involved in efforts to shift away from the use of materials that rely preponderantly on fossil carbon for the design and production of various physical identity documents.

While these efforts are facing several changes, there is however some good news that progress is being made on that shift which aligns with the global push against climate change and global warming.

This is according to a whitepaper by identity giant Thales titled “Passport to a more sustainable future: improving the environmental credentials of identity documents.”

The report takes a delve into the challenges that identity documents pose to the environment, and explores the measures that are on course to reinvent the manufacturing of these documents using eco-design principles for the use of plastics and other aspects in the ID documents production chain.

“Addressing the environmental impact of identity documents requires comprehensive, incremental action and collaboration among stakeholders. Progress is underway, but proactive engagement and collaboration are crucial for achieving meaningful results without compromising security and durability,” says Thales in a summary of the paper.

The paper acknowledges that because of the urgency to meet net zero targets, the identity industry agrees with the need to transition to a more sustainable method of producing identity documents in order to reduce their contribution to creating environmental hazards from greenhouse gas emissions and waste pollution due to the use of fossil carbon plastic material.

The report notes that while the shift towards environmentally friendly ID documents is the way to go, this comes with a number of challenges which stakeholders must look into. These include issues such as additional costs and the use of alternative materials that can effectively provide protection against fraud, counterfeiting and tampering like polycarbonate material does.

Among other issues, the paper recommends the use of certified and recycled polycarbonate material which has the likelihood to curb carbon emission and waste, the need to reduce the size and weight of ID documents including the size of the biometric chips embedded in them, decarbonizing factories, and using other methods of shipment of identity documents and deliverables other than air transport.

“Consuming fossil fuels is the root cause of the climate change crisis. Reducing the need to do so must be the focus of any effort to mitigate the environmental impact of identity documents,” the paper says.

“Governments and public agencies are in the driving seat. They define the requirements for their identity documents, including environmental characteristics, and choose suppliers. By supporting the document manufacturers that are delivering environmental improvements, governments and their agencies can build the supply chains necessary to ensure ongoing transformation.”

While Thales emphasizes collaborative efforts on the journey of introducing a new breed of ID cards that meet environmental requirements, the company says it is also making inexorable efforts as a corporate entity to meet certain net zero targets by 2030, namely the adoption of eco-design principles throughout its identity card portfolio.

It also outlines measures which it has taken to advance its low carbon future agenda. This includes its partnerships such as that with the UK government’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that is being supported in the quest to “reduce the carbon footprint of its driver’s licences as well as tachograph and resident cards.”

Thales produces driver’s licenses for many countries as well as and states in the US, the latest engagement coming from Alaska where the company has a contract to deliver licenses using translucent polycarbonate cards.

Article Topics

identity document  |  Thales  |  whitepaper