How the ID industry can become more sustainable – and help to raise awareness for greener travel

By Tobias Nuessle, COO of Veridos

The travel and tourism industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions. Various studies and reports in recent years have estimated that the industry is responsible for approximately 8-11 % of the global emissions. While the biggest part comes from high-emitting sectors such as air travel, cruises, road transport and hotels, the ID industry has a role to play as well.

A clear responsibility, but also a great opportunity

The sourcing of raw materials, the manufacturing processes, and the eventual disposal of ePassports all generate carbon emissions. Additionally, because ePassports contain sensitive personal information, they cannot be recycled through conventional means due to privacy and security concerns. As a result, when ePassports expire or are invalidated, they often end up incinerated or sent to landfills, further exacerbating environmental issues. If you put all the ePassports wasted each year side by side, they would stretch from Paris to Zurich. In terms of weight, that would be the equivalent of 637,500 8kg carry-on bags. Stakeholders in the ID industry therefore have a clear responsibility to be more sustainable. But they also have a great opportunity to act as catalysts for change by raising awareness of greener travel.

Consumers around the world are already making more conscious travel choices. According to Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report, 83 percent of global travelers consider sustainable travel to be “important”, while 61 percent say the pandemic has made them want to travel more sustainably in the future. However, there is still a significant gap between consumers’ intentions and their actual behavior, known as the “say-do gap”. According to the World Economic Forum, lack of awareness is one of the most important barriers to sustainable travel behavior.

Veridos pioneers more sustainability in the ID industry

Veridos is a leading global provider of integrated identity solutions and a pioneer of more sustainability in the ID industry. The company belongs to the Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) group, which aims to reduce its emissions to net zero by 2040. G+D’s voluntary climate targets meet the highest scientific standards and are based on the criteria of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Therefore sustainability is an integral part of Veridos’ strategy. It continuously looks for ways to optimize its production, infrastructure and supply chain to reduce its environmental impact.

Case in point, the production facility Veridos Matsoukis is not only a major producer of global identity documents, it’s also a beacon of more environmental friendliness. It’s sourcing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and implementing a robust waste management system, that’s designed for maximum efficiency and minimum environmental impact. The facility recycles as much as possible, and any waste that can’t be recycled is disposed of responsibly. Veridos aims at implementing this system across the board. In addition, the company now operates most of its sites with electricity that comes 100 percent from renewable energy sources.

Developing a more sustainable ePassport

As part of its holistic approach, Veridos is also focusing on more sustainable technologies and transitioning to more eco-friendly products and solutions. The development of a more sustainable ePassport plays an important role in this. From the analysis Veridos conducted, it learned a lot about the CO2 emissions of the ePassport in its production. Looking at the entire life cycle of an ePassport, less than 10 percent of the CO2 emissions are caused by production. The other 90 percent comes from the lifecycle components of raw material sourcing, transportation and disposal. But collecting the right data is still a challenge, especially when it comes to third-party data. That’s why Veridos is looking to form an alliance and join forces with other stakeholders in the ePassport ecosystem to work together for more sustainability.

Taking into account the data at its disposal, Veridos has gained a valuable insight: the carbon footprint of an ePassport is evident. This finding is shaping the company’s efforts to create a more sustainable ePassport, using low-carbon transportation, efficient manufacturing techniques and more eco-friendly materials. By using recycled PVC, for example, the company can avoid virgin PVC. However, Veridos recognizes that its ability to create such a product is highly dependent on the offerings of its suppliers. It actively works with them to ensure that they are aligned with its environmental goals. This collaborative approach is an important step in reducing its environmental impact and a testament to its belief that more sustainability can go hand in hand with functionality.

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Article Topics

best practices  |  biometric passport  |  identity document  |  sustainability  |  travel and tourism  |  Veridos