Environmental Impact of New Swiss Banknote Series – Complexity Offsets Savings

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has conducted a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on its 9th series of banknotes. The study looked only at those elements of the life cycle directly under the control of the SNB, the manufacture, wholesale distribution and disposal of notes.

The key findings were that the average quantity of notes produced each year was down 30% compared with the 8th series, while the Environmental Impact Points (EIP) were down 19%.

In 2021 the value and volume of banknotes in circulation increased 4.5% and 3.6% respectively. Despite that, because the 9th series is more mechanically durable and due to fewer banknotes being used in circulation, the average quantity produced is down from 115 million for the 8th series to 80 million for the 9th.