Environmental Policy

This policy documents environmental practices already in place across Cardology's operations. We reduce our environmental impact through renewable electricity, responsible equipment recovery and efficient use of materials.

Renewable electricity

Our Isando premises receive all their electricity from our own solar system. We sell surplus electricity to our production partner, Card Technology Services.

Since 2022, we have invested over R8 million in solar generation, battery storage and associated infrastructure. We continue to upgrade and renew our systems as technology advances and resources allow, reducing reliance on grid electricity and reinforcing our commitment to responsible business.

Our solar generation is currently estimated to avoid over 130 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions per year by reducing reliance on grid electricity, based on the latest 12 months of monitored production.

Printer recovery and recycling

Our printer return programme has completed substantial trade-ins and equipment retirements. We disassemble retired printers, separate components into their respective recycling categories and arrange recycling through third parties where possible, reducing the amount of material sent to landfill.

Reduced ribbon consumption

We work closely with customers to implement effective ribbon-saving solutions, including supplying pre-printed cards. These solutions reduce the need for ribbon consumables, associated waste, printing costs and equipment wear.

SMART printers provide a monochrome ribbon-saving, or partial-printing, mode. When enabled, the ribbon advances only by the width of the printed area rather than a full card width, preserving unused ribbon and reducing consumable waste. See IDP's monochrome ribbon information.

For suitable double-sided print jobs, compatible printers and ribbon combinations also support ribbon splitting, using the colour and overlay panels on the front and the black panel on the reverse from one YMCKO ribbon set. See IDP's SMART Ribbon Choosing Guide.

For compatible SMART printers, IDP offers half-panel colour ribbons (HYMCKO), combining half-size cyan, magenta and yellow panels with full-size black (K) and protective overlay panels. These suit high-volume colour photo ID printing, particularly on pre-printed cards where colour is needed only for the photograph or another limited area. The full-size black panel prints text and barcodes across the card. Matching ribbon choice to the card design reduces material use and cost and can reduce printing time and printer wear. See IDP's half-panel ribbon guide.

Responsible operations

We comply with applicable environmental requirements, work to prevent pollution and reduce unnecessary resource consumption, and extend equipment life through maintenance, repairs and training. We consider environmental impact when selecting products, packaging and suppliers, and continually improve our recovery practices.

Manufacturer environmental approach

IDP Corp., Ltd., the manufacturer of SMART printers, publishes an Environmental Statement covering energy-efficient design, equipment durability, component recovery, recycled or recyclable materials and recyclable packaging. IDP describes these considerations as applying where applicable and feasible. These manufacturer considerations complement Cardology's local servicing, recovery and resource-saving practices.

Responsibility and review

The Managing Director is responsible for maintaining these practices, communicating this policy to employees and reviewing progress and improvement objectives annually. This policy is available to customers and other interested parties.