AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announced an expanded portfolio of eco-friendly products that are available for banking, telecom and government customers worldwide. This portfolio underscores Gemalto’s long-standing commitment to develop innovative digital security solutions, which enhance and protect everyday digital interactions, including through production and logistics processes designed to reduce the company’s overall environmental impact.

“Gemalto has a long track record of environmentally friendly practices and is committed to these in all aspects of our business,” stated Paul Beverly, executive vice president of Gemalto. “For years Gemalto has been developing eco friendly products, such as chlorine free or bio sourced cards, implementing new production practices to reduce water and energy consumption and minimizing waste production. These continuous efforts contribute to our corporate goal of sustainability. Today we are grouping all of our new and existing eco friendly product innovations into one portfolio to provide our customers with clear visibility on our environmentally sensitive product options. This will allow us to partner with our customers toward the mutual goal of sustainability.”

Gemalto’s eco friendly product portfolio reduces environmental impact in three key areas:

• Chlorine free manufacturing materials

In 1997 Gemalto began to move to non-chlorine polymers resulting in the majority of current manufactured products being chlorine free. Some examples of these non-chlorine based products include:

• Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) based card products - PETG is a chlorine-free alternative to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with similar properties, which can be incinerated without creating harmful gases or air pollution.
• ABS molded cards – These cards are PVC free and significantly reduce the amount of waste during the manufacturing process.
• PC TWIN Reader - The first smart card reader which satisfies eco-design criteria, anticipates legal requirements on hazardous substances and is easier to recycle.
• Small form factor cards – Innovative card designs which reduce the amount of material required in production of cards for the telecommunications and banking industries.

• Hazardous substance reduction

Gemalto evaluates and actively looks for ways to reduce the use and disposal of hazardous substances in manufacturing processes. Some examples of this effort include:

• In Gemalto’s U.S. Advanced Card Center in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania the Environmental, Health and Safety team succeeded in completely eliminating ink jets used in marking cards during production, replacing them with laser inscription. This shift eliminated both the ink itself and the associated solvent based cleaners, both considered volatile organic compounds and hazardous solutions.
• Rags which previously were discarded in the process of cleaning manufacturing equipment are being treated and recycled for reuse.
• Increased used of vegetable based inks in the printing process.

• Promote renewable and recycled material

Gemalto is active in use and promotion of renewable and recycled materials reducing the overall environmental footprint of the production processes. The following are some examples of how Gemalto has promoted these materials in product development and company programs.

• Polylactic acid (PLA) card - A new bio-sourced renewable material derived from corn, sugarcane or potato starch. This material is easily recyclable and compostable through small scale industrial units.
• Paper-based materials for short-term use, such as scratch cards.
• ECOPack - Eco friendly packaging made of 100% recyclable materials for Gemalto fulfillment services. This line of packaging products also includes smaller package size options for overall reduction in material use.
• Waste material from manufacturing process is being recycled and used in the production of sailboat masts.

Gemalto is committed to ongoing compliance with international environmental guidelines and has developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy which extends to all business practices. The following certifications are examples of the deliberate steps towards achieving the goal of sustainable business practices.

• ISO 14001:2004 certification: Gemalto has been in compliance with this process since 2001 and has certified 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide. This international environmental management system standard requires the establishment of company specific goals to make continuous improvements and monitor progress against the defined goals.
• KEMA certification for power consumption. Gemalto obtained this voluntary certification, demonstrating its commitment to promote energy efficiency in all aspects of its production processes

The efforts toward sustainable practices and products are part of Gemalto’s overall belief in being a responsible global corporate citizen. These practices, coupled with products that provide security for digital interactions and identity protection ensure that the billions of users of Gemalto products experience a convenient and safe digital life. In an increasingly connected society, Gemalto is leading the way in making digital interactions secure, easy and eco friendly.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2008 annual revenues of €1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries.

Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.

Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.

As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.