As of April 1st, DSK Bank issues the innovative debit card Mastercard Wildlife Impact Card in all offices through online banking DSK Direct and its Call Center. Thanks to the efforts of both companies, Bulgaria becomes the first European market to join the Program for the Conservation of Biodiversity on the planet.
The debit Mastercard Wildlife is part of a new generation of eco friendly banking products, developed and certified according to global standards in the Mastercard laboratory for sustainable solutions. It is made of 85.5% recycled and recyclable materials IDEMIA, one of the innovative suppliers of materials covering the requirements of Mastercard to reduce carbon footprint.
Thus, the largest card issuer in Bulgaria - DSK Bank, implements in practice ESG policies for environmental, social and corporate governance in its card portfolio, which reaches more than 2.5 million Bulgarian users. The program raises awareness with the alarming message on every single card: "Until this card expires, many Critically Endangered species may become extinct." For each issued Mastercard Wildlife Impact card, DSK Bank and Mastercard donate one dollar to the international organization Conservation International to help to protect and restore wildlife habitats.
According to a recent Mastercard research, 85% of consumers worldwide are ready to take personal action to address the challenges of the environment and the sustainable development of the economy in 2022. Over the past two years, Mastercard's investment in materials and banking products for replacing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics with recycled, recyclable, and biodegradable materials has increased significantly.
„Mastercard environmental stewardship includes minimizing our own CO2 impact on the planet, as well as providing smart solutions that make a difference to people's everyday lives, while also advancing our business, our customers, stakeholders and cardholders. We enable our issuers to embed sustainable solutions into consumer core value propositions. Thus we contribute to the indirect green impact on millions of consumers to preserve what’s truly priceless – our planet, our home.,” said Vanya Manova, Mastercard Manager for Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.
Mastercard’s net zero goal builds upon its existing GHG commitments that align with the Business Ambition for 1.5°C pledge. Mastercard was the first in the payments industry to gain Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approval for its GHG goals, and is currently working towards its SBTi-approved goal to reduce total Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 38% and Scope 3 emissions by 20% by 2025 from a 2016 baseline. These targets reflect a long-term commitment by the company to monitor and implement best practices to reduce emissions across the business, drive operational energy efficiency, and further engage suppliers in value chain decarbonization.
Mastercard’s mission is stated in the motto “Doing well, by doing good.” and some of the company’s ESG innovative projects are:
the Greener Payments Partnership, committed to drastically reducing plastic cards pollution by Digital First and sustainable production materials approach;
the Carbon Calculator: a brand agnostic innovation that educates millions on the impact of their immediate decisions and purchases;
the Priceless Planet Coalition, committed to planting 100 mln trees by 2025 in the areas with greatest impact on Earth’s temperature raising.