Garanti BBVA bank cards now made of recyclable plastic
Garanti BBVA is to start producing environmentally-friendly cards from recyclable plastic. This will be first used with the bank’s Green Bonus cards, which will use the minimum possible amount of PVC.
Garanti BBVA achieved a “first” in Europe with its first environmentally conscious credit card, “Environmental Bonus”, 15 years ago, helping increase awareness amongst credit card users who want to contribute to protecting nature. Now all the components of the Green Bonus card series will be made of recyclable materials.
In addition to this new manufacturing process, the cards will continue to enable cardholders to be part of a platform that allows them to contribute to nature by turning some of the bonuses earned into donations to WWF Turkey (World Wide Fund for Nature). Moreover, Garanti BBVA will continue to contribute to the natural world by transferring an additional amount to WWF to support wildlife.
“At Garanti BBVA, we continue to work to reduce our environmental impact in line with our sustainability and climate change strategy,” said Garanti BBVA Payment Systems General Manager, Çağrı Süzer. Today, more than 290 million credit and debit cards are actively used in Turkey, said the bank executive.
Considering that these cards are renewed on average every three years and millions of old cards are thrown away on a yearly basis, the extent of the pollution from plastic and the contribution of cards produced from recycled material is now much better understood. “We plan to spread this change with all our credit card brands,” continued Süzer. The BBVA Payment Systems Manager noted how the bank’s biggest goal is to “minimize the increased risks to the environment and to contribute to sustainability with our products and services while working towards the goal of taking better care of the world and the future.”