Sustainability Centre Stage in Edinburgh

This year the profile of sustainability has increased, with climate volatility evident in many countries.

Last year’s white paper on the cash industry's work showed that much has been done and this industry has been doing good work for some time (Cash: a Roadmap to Sustainability). At least four central banks, including the European Central Bank (ECB), are working on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and almost every industry association now has a sustainability charter and working groups.

Despite that, a survey being carried out by Reconnaissance International, co-publisher of Currency News™, reveals that less than half of central banks have a sustainability policy, and even fewer issue departments, fewer than a third, include anything about sustainability in their procurement of banknotes, while the disposal of unfit banknotes in landfill remains a key conundrum at the end of life.

The survey also shows that nearly half of central banks are investigating new methods of disposal and nearly a third are working on putting sustainability criteria into their tenders.

Expert help and best practice

Within this context, on 14-16 November the Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum will take place in Edinburgh. The aim of the Forum is to provide the opportunity for central banks, cash producers and cash management companies to learn from external experts and from each other. The goal is sharing and exchanging knowledge and ideas.

Given this goal, a third of speakers are from outside the cash industry to bring in fresh thinking and facts. Delegates will hear from electricity suppliers, academics, consultancies and NatWest Bank about reducing carbon emissions, what and how to measure key indicators, waste management and procurement, and more.

Some leading central banks will share their work and thinking on product development, metrics, procurement and the cash cycle.

The UK’s unique Cash Industry Environmental Charter group will hold a dedicated afternoon seminar on their work, how they came to be and how they operate and what they have achieved across the cash cycle.

A range of producers will talk about their work within their own businesses, as well as for the banknote product, to reduce their own environmental impacts.

cashandpaymentsustainabilityforum.com