G+D launches 'Green Banknote Initiative'

This involves the principles of circular economy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the efficient use of resources in the production process and global value chains.

Together, G+D and Louisenthal, a manufacturer of banknotes and security paper, have now launched an initiative for environmentally-friendly banknotes that expands on previous endeavours. The ‘Green Banknote Initiative’ is an open dialogue platform addressed to all cash issuers. The aim is to work together to create the banknote of the future, one that is sustainable, durable, and counterfeit-proof in order to make the cash cycle more sustainable and efficient.

G+D’s research has identified that longevity alone does not make a banknote sustainable. Only a balanced interplay of security, sustainability, and longevity can achieve this. A study commissioned by G+D found that cotton-based coated banknotes have the lowest CO2 footprint of all available banknotes. Hybrid banknotes generate up to 13% less CO2 during their lifetime, up to 24% less CO2 during their production than banknotes made of polymer, and last 2.5 to 3 times longer.

G+D calls the interplay of durability, security, and sustainability 'Durability+'. The concept takes into account the entire spectrum, from product to production to end of life, and covers various fields of action over the life cycle of a banknote. This starts with security solutions for banknotes in a combination of embedded, printed, and applied security features and ends with the multitude of options for the use of natural fibre-based banknotes.