Mastercard, a global leader in the financial sector, recently announced that from January 1, 2028, all its payment cards will be made from more sustainable materials, such as recycled or bio-based plastics, and will undergo certification, a breakthrough in the field of payment networks. In addition, it also plans to assist its global partners in moving away from primary PVC. The company launched the “Sustainable Card Program” back in 2018, but recently updated it, saying it is accelerating its initiative.

It wants to be CO2 neutral

As part of its focus on sustainability, the company wants to achieve zero emissions in its business. It first announced that it planned to achieve this goal by 2050, but later revised it to 2040. For the past five years, its operation has been running exclusively on electricity from renewable sources.

Mastercard in numbers

Mastercard is the second largest payment processor in the world, processing nearly $8 trillion in transactions in 2022. It operates in more than 200 countries, processes transactions in more than 150 currencies and employs nearly 30,000 employees. In terms of financial results, the company's revenue for Q2 2023 was $6.3 billion and profit was $2.8 billion. Q3 data was not yet available at the time of writing.

Shares are steadily rising

Over the past year, NYSE-listed shares have risen 12 percent to $369 per share, and Mastercard's five-year performance is up 85 percent.*

Chart: Development of Mastercard's share value over the last 5 years (Source: Investing.com)*

The best of the best

According to the latest available data, the companies with the best ESG rating at the AAA level include the manufacturer of processors for graphics cards and chipsets for motherboards NVIDIA, the technology giant Microsoft, but also its competitor - the software company Adobe.

Especially during the pandemic, ESG investments have proven to be more resilient to market fluctuations than traditional assets, and this is one of the reasons why they have built an important place in the composition of investors' portfolios. In addition, the demand for sustainable products is constantly growing, which is also reflected in higher sales of companies and benefits the development of their shares.[1]

Olívia Lacenová, chief analyst at Wonderinterest Trading Ltd.

* Past performance is no guarantee of future results

[1] Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and current expectations, which may be inaccurate, or the current economic environment, which may change. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks and other uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.