Mastercard is Committed to Promote ESG Goals For the Long Term

Mastercard aims to improve its commitment towards ESG by sharing accountability and success. 

The company will link all employee bonuses to environmental, social and corporate-governance (ESG) initiatives, expanding an earlier program which was limited to its senior executives.

Positive social impact correlates with higher job satisfaction. Building a strong connection with ESG creates an even stronger connection with stakeholders.

What is Mastercard Doing To Promote ESG?

Mastercard Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in the Mastercard International Global Headquarters in Purchase, New York. The Global Operations Headquarters is located in O'Fallon, Missouri, a municipality of St. Charles County, Missouri.

Last year, Mastercard introduced a new compensation model for its executives at the executive vice president level and above. Their bonus was determined in part by the company’s performance on three Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance priorities: carbon neutrality, financial inclusion and gender pay parity. 

Mastercard's mission is to power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere, by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Mastercard understands how interconnected the world is, and it sees firsthand how its commitment to environmental and social responsibility – and its core values of operating ethically, responsibly and with decency – is directly connected to its continuing success as a business.

The Importance of ESG in the Modern World

A strong ESG proposition can help businesses attract and retain quality employees, enhance employee motivation by instilling a sense of purpose, and increase productivity overall.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments.

• Environmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature.

• Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates.

• Governance deals with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights.

Our planet faces a number of global challenges: climate change, transitioning from a linear economy to a circular one, increasing inequality, balancing economic needs with societal needs.

A strong ESG proposition helps companies tap new markets and expand into existing ones. ESG can also drive consumer preference.

ESG is Popular More Than Ever

Investors, regulators, as well as consumers and employees are now increasingly demanding that companies should not only be good stewards of capital but also of natural and social capital and have the necessary governance framework in place to support this. 

Paying attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns does not compromise returns—rather, the opposite.

More and more investors are incorporating ESG elements into their investment decision making process, making ESG increasingly important from the perspective of securing capital, both debt and equity.