Fighting the good fight: How Orange Belgium aims to reduce 2 tons of plastic consumption every year

|

|

Last update:

With fossil fuels being our primary fuel source for years, It’s not surprising that our environment has come under tremendous pressure. However, the amount of plastic we are pumping out is also worrying. Multiple companies are taking concrete steps to reduce their carbon footprint and plastic production. One such company is the Belgian telecom provider Orange Belgium, who has now introduced Half ID SIM cards.

Half ID SIM cards will reduce tons of plastic consumption

Orange Belgium is taking another step towards reducing the amount of plastic it consumes. The company has introduced new Half ID SIM cards and as the name suggests, these new SIMS are half the size of regular SIM cards. They are estimated to reduce Orange Belgium’s plastic consumption by more than 2 tons a year. The company will completely switch over to Half ID SIMs by early 2021, which are now available in Orange Belgium’s Smart and Concept stores. 

Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Belgium, says, “As a responsible telecom operator, we adopt a 360 degree approach to reduce our impact on the environment, looking at our network, our data centers, our shops, our customers’ devices, and our employees’ mobility. Reducing our plastic consumption is part of our commitment for the planet, as with these new Half ID SIM cards.”

Small cog in a big plan

Introducing Half ID SIM cards was just one part of the plan for Orange Belgium. The company is vying to further reduce its impact on the environment with the aim of remaining CO2 neutral for its operations. It is also aiming to reduce the remaining CO2 emissions related to its employees’ mobility by 30 percent, by 2023. As per the company, this will be achieved via 5G and RAN sharing implementation, increased emphasis on refurbishing and recycling of technical hardware, employees’ mobility plans, increased deployment of teleworking, efforts on paper consumption and more. 

Tech giants pledge to reduce their environmental impact

Orange Belgium’s move to reduce plastic consumption is commendable. Alongside the telecom operator, there are many other companies that have similar pledges to reduce their environmental impact. Apple, for example, has largely held its pledge to power its data centers with 100% renewable energy and says all of its final assembly sites for its devices such as iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods, iPads, Macs, and HomePods, are now certified Zero Waste to Landfill, which the company says conserves billions of gallons of water and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Similarly, Google ranked first in As You Sow’s 2019 Q1 Carbon Clean 200 list. “From a carbon emissions perspective, Google’s decision to go 100 percent renewable as compared to a business-as-usual scenario, removes five million tonnes of carbon emissions from the atmosphere every year,” Google wrote in their ranking.

Main image credits: Orange

Topics:

Follow us:

Shubham Sharma

Grew up reading tech magazines and comic books. I binge on books, manga, movies, anime, and everything in between. Nothing makes my day like an innovative idea and a good tech story. You can reach him via [email protected]

Partner eventsMore events

Current Month

02apr(apr 2)8:00 am04(apr 4)6:00 am0100 Europe 2025

Share to...