• Half a Celsius degree can make a shocking difference
• 6 trillion euro to be lost in European GDP until 2070, due to sea level rise, damaged capital, heat stress, worse health, tourism and agriculture loss
• In Mastercard’s understanding, doing the right things for society is what drives the business
• We are moving from the CSR (pure social responsibility and donations) era to the Sustainability era – where companies are part of the problem OR of the solution
• Mastercard’s Sustainable Cards Initiative and the new Mastercard sustainability logo boost transformation of debit and credit payment cards forever
Mastercard has a strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility, aiming to be at the cutting edge of ESG achievements in the next 5 to 10 crucial years. The first of a kind event in Bulgaria – The Mastercard Innovation Day, brought at the spotlight technology and innovation strategies to deal with ecology issues.
In just the last couple of years, we’ve seen sever wildfires around the world, floods, hurricanes, even volcanos erupting. The pandemic didn’t stop all that. If anything, it made it even more difficult to fight them away. Protecting the environment and “doing well” for Mastercard’s business by “doing good” for our planet is – today – more important than ever.
The company seeks to consult, engage and support its huge network of financial partners and join forces to drive meaningful sustainability initiatives. Leveraging its unique Business-to-Business-to-Consumer “nature” and truly global reach, Mastercard is best positioned to contribute to the relevant efforts and to literally help change the world. The first Mastercard Innovation Day Bulgaria, dedicated to technology and ESG*, raised an alarming awareness on the “P&L**” of the ecology crisis.
Mastercard Innovation Day Bulgaria hosted several key note speakers who are keeping sustainability and social responsibility very high in their corporate agenda. With their contribution the discussion covered the topic of a more sustainable and data-driven digital economy which will shape the world towards tomorrow, in Bulgaria and around the globe. This included Zero Net emissions commitments, new technology and digital products with unique proposition and UX, sustainable materials and R&D, data-driven purpose brand marketing strategies and the alarming financial impact of the ecology crisis we are facing.
Here are some important insights from the event and the video you can watch in full length: Access the Replay - Mastercard Innovation Day Bulgaria 2021 (cvent.com)
Ms. Kristina Kloberdanz, Mastercard’s Chief Sustainability Officer, pointed out that ESG commitments should not be forgotten by the companies in difficult times. Actually, in Mastercard’s understanding, doing the right things for society is what drives the business. Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition has been raising awareness and ensuring engagement of the global partnership network of Mastercard with the commitment to fight de- forestation and 2000 critically endangered species. Since a collective effort is needed for de-carbonization, companies should engage in massive campaigns, still insuring no “green washing” in any way. How? Businesses
has to make sure that the ESG initiatives are aligned with the strategical differentiation and the very essence of the business itself.
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How half a Celsius degree can make a shocking difference - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zOvpSLXG18 was the intro to the presentation of Mr. Peter Barath, Regional Director of Marketing and Partnerships of WWF in Central and Eastern Europe. He spoke about the alarming financial impact of the ecology crisis – 6 trillion euro to be lost in European GDP until 2070, due to sea level rise, damaged capital, heat stress, worse health, tourism and agriculture loss. He also deep dived in different types of biodiversity-related financial risk – credit, market and operational risk and how they meet transitional, physical, litigation and systemic risk.
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The future of marketing and data driven purpose brands, was covered by Ms. Marta Zycinska, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Mastercard. We live in a new era – young consumers from Gen Z already demand green action from companies and brands – 77% of people globally believe brands have a greater ability to create positive change than the governments; 84% believe only companies that have a positive impact on society should make a profit; 75% of people do not care if brands disappear – brands will be easily rejected or hold accountable. Social activism is the next big thing and we are moving from the CSR (pure social responsibility and donations) era to the Sustainability era – where companies are part of the problem OR of the solution. Let us think what are we going to leave for the “Silver generation”, our kids.
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Mr. Matias Wikstrom, CEO of Doconomy, spoke about the Swedish startup with the unique vision on measuring and tackling climate change – the carbon footprint calculator. Doconomy is a Mastercard partner for implementing this important tool against climate change, enabling consumers to become part of Mastercard’s environmental efforts and have a constant insight on how they contribute to the planets burdеn. The calculator is also linked to the UN Carbon Offset Platform, enabling the application users to take immediate climate action by contributing to green projects that are vetted by the United Nations and that work towards achieving the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Mr. Gerald Gruber, Chief Commercial Officer of Bunq - an Amsterdam based challenger bank with a commitment to make our planet a greener place and its customers CO2 free in less than 2 years, without any effort – shared how top User Experience and gamification can be connected to planting trees, fun, tribes and competitions, so that green acts are fully integrated part of human life. ESG should be managed holistically, involving consumers, employees, suppliers and last but not least – investments.
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Mr. Joe Pitcher, Director of Industry Standards at Mastercard presented Mastercard’s Sustainable Cards Initiative and the new Mastercard sustainability logo, showing in detail how company’s sustainability R&D labs and science boost transformation of debit and credit payment cards forever.
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* ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities. In 2016, over 190 countries created the Paris Agreement, which is a legally binding global framework aimed at limiting the increase in the average global temperature to 2°C. Among a lot of regulations, it states that companies that release carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases as part of their production processes need to identify alternatives, such as wind or solar power, to reduce their carbon footprint. The Paris Agreement has bolstered companies’ recognition that improving their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance will make them better corporate citizens. As a result, investors are seeking out companies that prioritize the Paris Agreement’s objectives
in the context of their ESG concerns and climate change actions.
** P&L – profit/loss – the summary of a company's revenues, expenses, and profits/losses over a given period of
time