Valid enrolls Andorra Telecom in its Environmental Compensation Program

Andorra Telecom, the exclusive provider of public telecommunications service in the Principality of Andorra, joins Valid's new Environmental Compensation Program to alleviate the impact of SIM card manufacturing and potentially reduce, offset or lessen the plastic footprint of your operations.

Through this program, Valid offers Andorra Telecom the possibility of financing the collection of a plastic bottle from the environment for each SIM card sold to its consumers, thanks to Valid's collaboration with Plastic Bank. Andorra Telecom will be able to collect 800 kilograms of plastic from the environment, through the sale of 40,000 SIM cards.

Valid's partner in this Environmental Compensation Program, Plastic Bank, is a social enterprise that empowers a regenerative society, builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities, and reprocesses materials for reintroduction into the global supply chain as Social Plastic® feedstock. Members of your collection receive life-enhancing benefits in exchange for the plastic they collect, such as secure income, health and job insurance, food stamps, school supplies, etc. Its certified blockchain platform secures the entire transaction and provides real-time data visualization, enabling transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability. With this objective, Plastic Bank has companies such as Valid and Andorra Telecom to support the collection of plastic.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 8 million metric tons of plastic waste is dumped into our oceans annually and more than 90% of the plastic is never recycled. They claim that, at this rate, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans.

While much remains to be done, the smart card and mobile device industry has focused on minimizing its impact on the environment. On top of that, mobile operators are becoming more selective in choosing providers and partners that share their core values ​​around sustainability and ESG.

To continue responding to that demand, Valid is complementing its portfolio of greener solutions, which already includes its mioSIM Green offering, which can be made from recycled plastic or compostable material* depending on specific requirements, plastic-free packaging for delivery, fully compliant with 3GPP and ETSI standards, which together with its new environmental compensation program offer a comprehensive compensation strategy to help companies like Andorra Telecom reduce their plastic footprint in all card deliveries.

"Andorra is a place surrounded by nature. We live our lives around nature and receives 8 million people throughout the year partly because of it. For us, the concerns for the protection of our environment are tangible and for As we continue to expand our ESG initiative, we decided to join Valid's new environmental offset program Now, we have the opportunity to actively reduce our impacts on the environment by funding the collection and recycling of plastics found in the oceans and at the same time improve the lives of those who collect them", said Inés Martí, head of corporate social responsibility at Andorra Telecom.

"The telecommunications industry is experiencing a strong process of digitization, which means that the only physical object that mobile operators currently give to their customers is the SIM card. Valid's greener wallet was created to better align and help our customers to achieve their internal agendas in terms of environmental protection and ESG, and also push the industry to offer more environmentally conscious products from start to finish, to an environmental offset program to help them reduce their plastic footprint," said Alfonso Crespo, Valid's vice president of operations.