Where the Cash Industry is on Sustainability

The Cash Sustainability Forum, which took place in Frankfurt last month, concluded with a panel discussion exploring who should lead and drive environmental change in the cash area.

The panel comprised:

• Antonio J Arrieta, Senior Lead Banknote R&D Expert, European Central Bank (ECB)
• Tendamudzimu Nemusombori, Product Manager, Currency Management Department, South African Reserve Bank (SARB)
• Ian Woolford, Director of Money and Cash, Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)
• Alexandra Peppmeier, Sustainability Engineer, G+D.

The discussion explored the levers for change controlled directly by central banks, primarily setting the specification of their banknotes, items that they buy and how they dispose of unfit banknotes at the end of life. It also discussed what happens to cash once it is issued and the extent to which central banks can control this.