IoT provider KORE is trying to cut waste and support sustainability by reducing the size of card bodies in its SIM shipments.

SIM cards power cellular connectivity in everything from smartphones to connected vehicles and are a vital part of consumer technology, as well as the IoT. Since the first commercial launch of SIM cards three decades ago, approximately 4.5 billion SIM cards are sold and shipped each year industry-wide, accounting for more than 560,000 tons of carbon dioxide and more than 18,000 tons of plastics waste annually.

“KORE consistently looks for ways to leverage IoT to help organisations with their sustainability and environmental goals,” said KORE CEO Romil Bahl. “We also evaluate our own processes and products to find ways to have a positive impact on global sustainability initiatives. “

While the SIM card has reduced in size over the past three decades, the packaging – the card body – that holds the SIM has not. The KORE initiative reduces the card body by half and, relating to SIM cards, is expected to halve shipping costs due to the weight reduction and reduce KORE’s carbon footprint by 16 per cent. It should also help KORE’s customers halve plastics waste.

In addition to reducing the overall form factor of the SIM card, KORE is also a provider of eSIM with its OmniSIM, which takes environmental goals to a new level. Traditional SIM cards need to be swapped when network changes occur, whereas an eSIM can be provisioned remotely and used the entire device lifecycle.

Eliminating the need to physically swap SIM cards reduces both plastics and the carbon emissions associated with manufacturing and shipping new SIM cards. Overall, KORE says it saves 24 tons of CO₂ in its eSIM shipments.