Mastercard advances social and environmental commitments, outlining progress in annual Sustainability and DEI Reports

With a goal to bring 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2025, the company reached more than 675 million individuals by the end of 2021, adding 25 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) since 2020

Mastercard released its 2021 Corporate Sustainability and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) reports, highlighting the company’s impact across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to build a sustainable and inclusive digital economy where everyone prospers. This work is bolstered by Mastercard’s recent announcement to link compensation for all employees to ESG priorities for the company.

“Building a more sustainable and inclusive world is both challenging and much needed,” says Michael Miebach, chief executive officer, Mastercard. “Our annual Sustainability and DEI reports show our progress in making a positive impact – as well as our path ahead to do more.” 

Highlights from the report include:

Prosperity

Ensuring everyone has the chance to succeed in the digital economy

• Reached more than 675 million people toward the goal of bringing 1 billion individuals into the digital economy by 2025.
• Added 25 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), reaching 50% of the five-year goal in less than two years.
• Advanced In Solidarity initiative toward combating racism and bridging the racial wealth and opportunity gap.
  • Made multi-million-dollar capital investments in minority-owned start-ups and other businesses.
  • Doubled spend with Black suppliers in 2021 as compared with 2020, exceeding $120 million.

• Diversified recruiting and talent pipeline, and increased training, mentorship, sponsorship and well-being programs for Black colleagues in the U.S.

• Marked the third year of philanthropic giving through the Mastercard Impact Fund which has approved more than $260 million in grants to 143 organizations across 94 countries.

People

Creating a workplace and world where everyone has the opportunity to connect their greatest passions to their fullest potential

• Continue to foster pay parity: We affirmed that Black, Hispanic and Asian employees earn $1.00 for every $1.00 earned by white employees in the U.S.; globally, women at Mastercard earn $1.00 for every $1.00 men earn.
• Expanded flexibility and well-being offerings, introducing four “work from elsewhere” weeks annually, quarterly meeting-free days, and end-of-week flextime year-round.
• Advanced inclusive card solutions: launched Touch Card for customers with a vision impairment and expanded True Name to allow transgender and nonbinary individuals to put their chosen names on their cards.
• Launched a Neurodiversity Hiring Pilot in partnership with nonprofit Neurodiversity in the Workplace (NITW) to recruit neurodivergent candidates for full-time job opportunities in our Operations & Technology function.

Planet

Reducing carbon emissions and uniting companies, communities and consumers in climate action

• Accelerated commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a decade, from 2050 to 2040.
• Engaged more than 100 partners with the Priceless Planet Coalition to restore 100 million trees ¹.
• Launched the Global Sustainability Innovation Lab to co-create sustainable commerce solutions, such as the Carbon Calculator, which is integrated across the company’s global network to help consumers understand the environmental impact of their purchases.
• Enabled 60 million Mastercard-branded cards to be produced with approved sustainable materials using Mastercard’s Sustainable Card Materials Directory – up from 10.7 million at the end of 2020.

Principles of Governance

Reinforcing a deep commitment to ethical operations and compliance with laws and regulations

• Published Cybersecurity Principles that outline Mastercard’s multi-layered, principled approach to cybersecurity.
• Published first sustainability bond report to show progress toward accelerating carbon reduction, supporting environmental choices for customers, and fostering inclusive growth.
• Expanded our commitment to data responsibility, privacy and security by extending, globally, the EU’s high consumer protection standards, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and aligning the company’s AI Governance framework with broader data responsibility principles.

For more information and to view Mastercard’s 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report, please visit www.mastercard.com/sustainability. The DEI Report is available at www.mastercard.com/inclusion.

¹ As of April 2022