Mastercard: Planting Seeds of Change: How People and Partnerships Tackled Climate Change in 2024

In 2024, Mastercard demonstrated its commitment to combating climate change by supporting various initiatives that focused on mitigating risk from extreme weather, reforesting former mining sites, and securing economic stability for marginalized groups. Through strategic partnerships and innovative solutions, Mastercard and its allies made significant strides in addressing the global climate crisis.



Mitigating risk from extreme weather
Mastercard's climate risk and resilience team, led by Montana Eck, developed comprehensive plans to enhance the company's physical resiliency. They created a checklist to mitigate the impact of extreme weather on infrastructure and landscaping, designed to withstand both higher- and lower-than-normal temperatures for years to come. In the meantime, the team implemented immediate changes such as painting parking lots and rooftops in cooler colors to reflect rather than absorb heat, and elevating equipment in flood-prone areas. These measures aimed to protect Mastercard's people and facilities from the impacts of extreme weather events while also investing in long-term resiliency and adaptability.



Reforesting former mining sites
Green Forests Work, a non-profit organization, planted trees to regenerate forests and spur local economies that had been destroyed by coal mining. The organization worked with landowners, local communities, and organizations like the Priceless Planet Coalition, created by Mastercard in partnership with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute. The coalition aimed to fund the restoration of 100 million trees at sites around the world. In 2024, the coalition expanded its reforestation sites globally to 22, including locations in the high Andes, the eastern Himalayas of India, and Thailand's Kaeng Krachan National Park. This expansion underscored the organization's commitment to maximizing benefits on climate, communities, and biodiversity.



Securing economic stability for marginalized groups
Nearly 6 million small-scale fishers globally earn less than a dollar a day, often depleting fisheries in the process of trying to scrape a living from the sea. Rising ocean temperatures spurred by climate change are making their job even harder. The tech platform Abalobi helped fishers use technology to find sustainable and legal fishing spots, sell their catch to local restaurants and markets, and take out loans for better GPS-equipped boats and housing. This year, Abalobi received a boost from the Climate Smart Innovation Hub, a program launched by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and the Climate Innovation for Adaptation and Resilience Alliance. The hub showcased Abalobi among more than 70 banking and financial services solutions designed to drive financial resilience and promote environmental sustainability.



Inclusive climate action
Climate change disproportionately affects global populations that are hardest to reach, whether for geographic, administrative, or social reasons. Many of these communities have developed innovative solutions that offer lessons for addressing climate challenges at scale. For example, southern Kenyan villagers are restoring mangrove forests, which capture 10 times more carbon than regular forests, and selling the carbon credits to large companies. These "blue economy" projects have helped fuel a rise in prosperity in Kenya, which caught the attention of Reach Alliance. Founded in 2015 as a partnership between the University of Toronto and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the alliance looks for development strategies for climate-vulnerable communities around the world. It's made a list of five key factors for boosting inclusive climate resilience in vulnerable communities: program sustainability, repurposing existing technology and resources, local ownership, appropriate incentives, and a network of partnerships.



Mastercard's commitment to tackling climate change in 2024 demonstrates the power of strategic partnerships and innovative solutions in addressing the global climate crisis. By supporting initiatives that focus on mitigating risk from extreme weather, reforesting former mining sites, and securing economic stability for marginalized groups, Mastercard and its allies have planted seeds of change that will continue to grow and flourish in the years to come.