Sustainability – a Better Way to do Business

One of the major challenges facing every business today is to operate sustainably. But it’s not enough simply to have a stack of policies, fine words, and good intentions to hand. Actions need to demonstrate that the policies are being put into action.

As the world’s leading provider of polymer banknote technology, CCL Secure has investigated the whole issue of sustainability in depth, not least because some people still cling to the idea that paper is more environmentally friendly than polymer. In fact, as numerous studies carried out for central banks around the world show, polymer has a far lower environmental impact than paper.

The fact is that only 25% of the environmental impact of a banknote can be related to the production of substrate and printing. A massive 68% of the impact comes from the notes simply being in circulation. This includes the electricity used to run ATMs, transport to move banknotes around, and the distribution of banknotes from commercial banks to retailers and other outlets.