Mastercard has announced an acceleration of its net zero timeline by a decade, from 2050 to 2040.

It is also scaling its sustainability solutions to customers across Europe and Latin America, by including Banco de Costa Rica, ekko, Gránit Bank and Sberbank in its strategies, who have all adopted the Mastercard Carbon Calculator.

The Calculator encourages climate-conscious choices by customers through their spending.

With Mastercard, the added companies will co-create programmes that allow their customers to understand the environmental effects of their spending, and encourage them to donate to reforestation projects, for instance.

Mastercard also said that 148 financial institutions in 46 countries have now issued its cards made with more sustainable materials, including HSBC and Banco Santander.

“We continue to raise the bar for ourselves, accelerating our commitment to reach net zero emissions,” said Michael Miebach, chief executive officer of Mastercard. “We will use our technology and global network to inspire collective action that fosters a more sustainable digital economy.”

To help accelerate progress towards its sustainability goals, the company has made changes to its executive compensation model, linking it to three global ESG priorities including operational carbon neutrality.

Mastercard had already committed to science-based targets (SBTi) for greenhouse gas reduction, which are aligned to the United Nations Business Ambition of 1.5°C.

The company transitioned to 100% renewable energy in 2018 for its operations, and its emission reduction strategy primarily centres on further decarbonisation across its supply chain, including Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

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