Mastercard Marks Year Of Collective Action In Annual Sustainability Report

Mastercard released its 2020 Corporate Sustainability report, highlighting how the company has responded to the challenges of the last year through innovation and trusted partnerships and is delivering on its mission to build a more inclusive, sustainable world with a digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere.

“This unprecedented year reinforced how important it is for us to help those in need today and continue to build a more inclusive and sustainable world,” said Michael Miebach, chief executive officer, Mastercard. “For us, sustainability means ensuring everyone has the same opportunities to grow and thrive in alignment with the planet. This year’s report is a reflection of all that we have achieved and marks an important moment to share the progress we continue to make together."

Highlights from the report include:

Inclusive Growth

• Made a five-year $250 million commitment to provide small businesses with financial tools, technology, products, funding, and data insights necessary to weather the pandemic.
• Committed $500 million over five years to help close the wealth and opportunity gaps faced by Black communities in the U.S.
• Achieved our goal of financially including 500 million people and expanded our commitment to reach a total of 1 billion people, 50 million micro and small merchants, with an emphasis on 25 million women entrepreneurs, by 2025.
• Launched more than 100 government relief programs in response to COVID -19 to assist with inclusive recovery around the world.

Our People and Culture

• Tied executive compensation to ESG goals and priorities, including carbon neutrality, gender pay parity and financial inclusion.
• Supported workforce with no COVID-related layoffs in 2020 and invested in new mental and physical wellbeing policies and programs.
• Launched Investing in You program, increasing our employer 401K match to 10% for every 6% contributed by employees.
• Reached the million-girl milestone since the start of our STEM-based Girls4Tech program, leading us to commit to engaging five million girls by 2025.

Ethical and Responsible Standards

• Committed to increase annual spending with Black suppliers by more than 70%, to $100 million annually by 2025.
• Extended our Specialty Merchant Registration program that require banks to certify strong control measures related to materials published on adult content sites.
• Announced the new Enhanced Contactless (Ecos) specifications, applying the latest quantum-resistant technologies to deliver enhanced privacy, security and trust for the next generation of contactless payments.

Environmental Stewardship

• Disclosed the results of our initial Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures analysis.
• Committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across our operations and value chain, building on our existing science-based targets.
• Issued a $600 million sustainability bond to support carbon reduction, supporting environmental choices for customers, and fostering inclusive growth.
• Launched the Priceless Planet Coalition with now more than 60 partners with a goal to restore 100 million trees over five years.
• Exceeded 10 million cards made from approved sustainable materials using Mastercard’s Sustainable Card Materials Directory.

“Building a more inclusive and sustainable world is not a matter of corporate social responsibility, but one of economic necessity and opportunity”, said Ling Hai, Co-President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “As technological advancement speeds ahead, accelerated by the pandemic, we have much work left to do to address the disparity of digital and financial access in order to ensure the rising tide lifts all boats.”

A recent survey commissioned by Mastercard titled “Global Environmental Insight Research” reveals a boom in personal environmentalism in India as consumer attitudes about the environment shift in the wake of COVID-19. This signals a growing trend toward eco-conscious spending and consumption among people who want to turn their purchases into meaningful action for the planet.

According to the report;

• Four out of five Indians (78%) said they are more mindful of their impact on the environment since COVID-19.
• Nearly all respondents (95%) are now more willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability issues as compared to pre-pandemic.
• Almost half (41%) of people surveyed in India believe companies should reduce their air and water pollution while 25% want companies to use less plastic in packaging and products.
• 41% respondents expressed a wish to recycle more, 38% want to learn more about the environment and 35% intend to travel less in future.