On Monday 11 December, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a study measuring the environmental footprint of euro banknotes. The study, which covers all activities in the full cycle of these notes, is based on the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint methodology.
For the ECB, the results of the study show that the average environmental footprint of payments made with euro banknotes in 2019 amounted to 0.01% of the total environmental impact of the annual consumption activities of a European citizen.
The main contributions to this environmental footprint are linked to the energy consumption of ATMs and transport, followed by the impact of processing by national central banks, the manufacture of paper and the authentication of banknotes in shops.
The study explains the low environmental impact of banknote production compared to transport and distribution, in particular by the long life of banknotes and the fact that they are used for numerous payments.
On the retail side, the study also highlights the progress made by banks and ATM manufacturers in improving their energy efficiency, which is estimated to have contributed to a 35% reduction in their environmental footprint between 2004 and 2019.
The ECB stresses that the Eurosystem is working to further reduce the ecological footprint of euro banknotes. For example, in 2014, a “Sustainable Cotton” programme was implemented to gradually replace all conventional cotton fibres with 100% sustainable cotton fibres by the end of 2023. The Eurosystem had also launched an initiative to ban the landfilling and burning of banknotes by the end of 2022.
Finally, the Eurosystem is exploring ways to further reduce the environmental footprint of euro banknotes. In particular, the Eurosystem is examining new methods of banknote disposal and the use of other materials and components in the printing process.
Link to the study: https://aeur.eu/f/a31 (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)