PURCHASE, N.Y.–Mastercard has launched the Priceless Planet Coalition, a platform it said is aimed at uniting corporate sustainability efforts and making 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, Mastercard said.
“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,” the company stated.
‘Climate Change Affects You’
“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,” 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.
Mastercard and its customers reach nearly three-billion consumer and corporate cardholders. One of the key elements of this new commitment is empowering these people to act. Partnerships such as 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, Mastercard said.
One Early Initiative
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.
Cybersecurity Firm Acquired
Separately, Mastercard plans to acquire RiskRecon in a bid to enhance the company's cybersecurity capabilities.
RiskRecon, a Utah-based cyber risk solutions provider, uses publicly available data to construct security assessments of companies and organizations. It will now provide its artificial intelligence and data analytics solutions to financial services giant Mastercard, the Silicon Republic reported.
“The innovations from the talented team at RiskRecon will further accelerate our suite of cyber solutions designed to help financial institutions, merchants and governments secure their digital assets,” said Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence for Mastercard. “Through a powerful combination of AI and data-driven advanced technology, RiskRecon offers and exciting opportunity to complement our existing strategy and technology to secure the cyberspace.”
The deal is expected to close within the first quarter of 2020, the Silicon Republic reported.