Invites consumers and companies to join in to plant 100 million
trees in five years
Mastercard today announced the launch of the Priceless Planet
Coalition, a platform to unite corporate sustainability efforts and
make meaningful investments to preserve the environment.
Together with partners who share a commitment to doing well by
doing good, the Priceless Planet Coalition is pledging to plant 100
million trees over five years. Founding partners in the coalition
include Citibank, Santander UK, IHS Markit, bunq, Saks Fifth
Avenue, L.L. Bean, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
Transport for London, and American Airlines, with more to be
announced.
It is crucial for companies to help reduce carbon emissions by
investing in energy efficient workplaces and operations, sourcing
renewable energy and maintaining a sustainable supply chain. But
the responsibility for business today extends far beyond their own
efforts. Mastercard believes the private sector can do more and
make real impact by combining efforts and engaging consumers.
“No matter who you are or what you do, climate change affects
you. But, it has the biggest negative impact on those who are
socially and economically vulnerable. The time for just negating
our environmental footprint has passed. Our best chance at changing
the course we’re on and setting us all up for better futures is for
companies and consumers to pull in the same direction towards a
shared goal, real change can happen,” said Ajay Banga, president
and chief executive officer of Mastercard.
“We are committed to help advance change. We have an incredible
network of reach. We have an incredible network of partners. We can
put them to work to help deliver positive impact for the
environment in the form of a Priceless Planet Coalition,” Banga
added.
Core to their own missions, these partners have for a long time
placed significant emphasis on their own sustainability efforts.
The goal of this initiative is to deliver a true network effect,
where collaboration makes the value of the whole greater than the
sum of its parts, enabling the entire ecosystem to benefit.
Mastercard and its customers reach nearly 3 billion consumer and
corporate cardholders. One of the key elements of this new
commitment is empowering these people to act. Partnerships like
that between Mastercard and Doconomy help people to make informed,
climate-friendly choices, and make it simple, fast and easy to make
contributions to the climate cause.
Empowering Consumers &
Corporations
Participating companies will continue to implement their own
sustainability strategies, as well as collaborate across the
Coalition for joint campaigns. One early initiative will see the
Coalition encourage consumers to use mass transportation, rewarding
public transport riders for taking journeys with the planting of a
tree. The campaign will be launched in partner cities around the
world, including London, New York, Stockholm, Helsinki, Ankara,
Barcelona and others.
In parallel, Mastercard’s corporate card customers will be able
to contribute to the Coalition’s forestation initiatives worldwide
whenever and wherever their employees use their cards for travel,
goods and services. This complements these businesses’ own
environmental sustainability goals and enables their employees to
actively support these commitments through the business purchases
they make. Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions will be our first
issuer partner in promoting this initiative with its corporate
customers, with IHS Markit, a London-based global information
provider, as the first corporation to participate.
Interested financial institutions, merchants, consumers, and
digital partners from around the world are invited to join in this
effort and engage consumers and employees to contribute to the tree
planting program. Mastercard's global payment infrastructure
provides additional ways for cardholders to contribute, like
‘round-up’ campaigns at a range of leading retailers, allowing
consumers to add a tree-planting donation at the point-of-sale.
Establishing Roots
Trees are one of the critical networks on which the earth runs.
Current levels of carbon emissions, use of natural resources and
pollution are exceeding limits that are environmentally sustainable
or safe. In turn, people across the globe see and feel these
realities affecting their communities today and potentially for
generations to come.
It is recognized that natural climate solution and in particular
tree planting programs are an effective mechanism to respond to
climate change. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), limiting the rise in average
temperature to the critical target of 1.5C by 2030 requires an
extra 1bn hectares of trees1.
Large scale reforestation programs need to be executed
carefully, with consideration given to a number of factors
including local climate, adverse biodiversity impacts, lax or poor
forest management practices, unintended future deforestation, risk
of reversal, and unintended social impacts. Mastercard has selected
global environmental organizations Conservation International and
World Resources Institute (WRI) to lead the tree planting efforts.
The organizations were selected based on their science-based and
holistic approaches to reforestation and their successful track
records.
1 IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report:
Global Warming of 1.5°C, Oct. 2018
Working closely with local and indigenous communities,
Conservation International has protected or restored over 6 million
square kilometers of land and sea across more than 70 countries.
With experts and staff in place in 29 countries and 2,000 partners
worldwide, Conservation International will implement and ensure the
project’s long-term success. WRI will bring sound science, robust
monitoring practices and a landscape approach to the project. WRI
will leverage a global network of financial, technical and
government partners through platforms like AFR100 and Initiative
20x20 and will collaborate with partner One Tree Planted to direct
on-the-ground resources to each stage of the planting process and
provide project reporting and quality storytelling.
As the climate continues to change, remediation mechanisms may
also need to change and advances in science may present new
opportunities. In order to ensure that Mastercard’s efforts are
informed and remain appropriate, the company is appointing an
Advisory Committee. These experts will inform and guide the
program, bringing the benefit of the latest scientific data and
insights.
“We believe business must play a significant role in helping the
planet thrive, because economic growth cannot come at the expense
of the planet. Mastercard cares about the planet, as do our
partners, consumers and employees, so we're committed to using the
power of our network to enable a sustainable and prosperous
economy,” said Kristina Kloberdanz, chief sustainability officer,
Mastercard.
Building on A Proven Track
Record
In 2013, Mastercard established the Center for Inclusive Growth
to advance sustainable and equitable economic growth and financial
inclusion around the world. The Center’s research and programs have
underlined independent evidence that the impacts of climate change
are felt particularly by the most vulnerable, making the fight
against climate change an essential part of inclusive growth and,
therefore, a necessary part of our “doing well by doing good”
mission.
Notes to editors:
Members of the Priceless Planet Coalition had the following to
say:
Gonca Latif-Schmitt, Managing Director, Global Head of
Commercial Cards, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions: “As one of
the world's leading financial services companies, Citi is working
to incorporate sustainability principles into everything we do to
help ensure business success contributes to a strong global
economy. A critical part of this work involves delivering
client-focused solutions that have the potential to achieve a
global impact on the sustainability challenges facing the world.
With that in mind, Citi Commercial Cards is excited to work with
Mastercard on the Priceless Planet Coalition to help us execute
under a singular effort for a greater impact.”
Matt Hall, Head of Customer Solutions, Santander UK:
“We’re committed to being a responsible bank and are excited to be
joining forces with a partner that shares our common vision for a
better world. In order to effectively respond to the climate crisis
we need everyone to take action and work together to find
solutions, and this partnership with Mastercard is an important
step in the right direction.”
Lance Uggla, Chairman and CEO of IHS Markit: “The effects
of climate change are very real, and companies have a
responsibility to lead by example to protect our planet. Trees play
an important part in reaching the Paris Climate Accord and working
with others we can have a bigger impact in achieving a more
sustainable future.
Ali Niknam, founder and CEO of bunq: Together with our
users we figured out an easy way for everyone to become CO2
positive. We launched the bunq Green Card that plants trees as you
spend, so you can contribute to a greener world with zero effort.
Naturally, we’re very excited to be a Priceless Planet Coalition
founding partner.”
Patrick J. Foye, Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority: "The MTA is delighted that the
Priceless Planet Coalition will be planting trees when New York
City subway or bus customers tap to pay their fare with a
Mastercard. The MTA is committed to delivering sustainable public
transportation and reducing our region’s carbon footprint. This
promotion will accelerate use of OMNY contactless payments and
reduce the number of plastic MetroCard fare cards we produce …a
win-win for transit riders and the planet.”
To learn more about Mastercard’s sustainability efforts, please
visit:
https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/global/aboutus/Sustainability/masterc
ard-sustainability-report-2018.pdf.
About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology
company in the global payments industry. Our global payments
processing network connects consumers, financial institutions,
merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries
and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday
commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a
business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more
efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join
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the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.
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Will O’Connor Will.O'Connor@mastercard.com +1 (914) 249-2121
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