Mastercard has reported a 7% year-on-year drop in total greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 while increasing net revenues by 12%, according to its latest impact report—marking the second consecutive year the payments company has decoupled financial growth from emissions.
The company confirmed it is on track to meet its 2025 interim climate targets, having already surpassed them. By 2024, Mastercard had reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 48% and Scope 3 emissions by 45% compared to 2016 levels. The official targets set for 2025 are a 38% reduction for Scope 1 and 2, and 20% for Scope 3.
Mastercard, which has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2040 under Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) guidance, reported a combined 46% reduction in emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 since 2016. The company said it has maintained carbon neutrality for its Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2020 through decarbonisation measures, the use of 100% renewable energy, and the purchase of what it describes as “high-integrity” carbon credits to compensate for residual emissions.
Despite increased energy demand—largely driven by data centre expansion—operational emissions remained flat in 2024. Mastercard reported procuring or producing 112,910 megawatt hours of renewable energy over the year. Data centres accounted for 60% of the company’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
“We’re very excited about the progress we’ve been able to make,” said Ellen Jackowski, Mastercard’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “We certainly recognise that the pathway to net zero is not linear, and—especially as we look at some of the increasing compute power, data centres and AI capabilities that we need to continue to build—we’re watching very carefully and managing how to add the compute capability that we need, while managing to stay very actively on track towards our net-zero goal.”
Jackowski also noted Mastercard’s role in enabling environmentally conscious behaviour at scale, given its network of over 150 million merchants and more than 3.5 billion cards in circulation.
The company’s supply chain remains its largest source of emissions, accounting for 76% of its total carbon footprint. However, Scope 3 emissions declined 10% in 2024. The report revealed that 71% of Mastercard’s suppliers now have science-based emissions targets.
Earlier this year, Mastercard announced new clean energy initiatives for its tech hub in O’Fallon, Missouri, and its headquarters in Purchase, New York. These include the acquisition of 40 acres of land for a solar array and the replacement of gas-powered systems with geothermal heating and cooling.
