Mastercard Sustainability Academy concludes consumer study

The pandemic has made consumers and brands more environmentally conscious.

Across the globe, carbon footprint reduction, renewable energy and other green approaches are becoming increasingly important to a sustainable environment. A study conducted by the Mastercard Sustainability Academy shows that consumers are not only interested in environmentally conscious brands, but are pushing them to work in this area.

Mastercard, which is developing technologies to achieve the ideal of a cash-free society, is also undertaking many projects to offer such technologies in the service of a more sustainable world. One of these is the Sustainability Lab, which was established in September 2021. The lab raises consumer awareness by developing products for the sustainability of the planet and people in a rapidly digitizing global economy.

The pandemic has made us more environmentally conscious

Mastercard's sustainability survey conducted in 24 countries found that consumers' environmentally conscious attitudes increased during the pandemic. In the survey, 54 percent of respondents said the impact of the pandemic has helped them recognize the importance of environmental and sustainability issues, while 85 percent said they are willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability issues. The survey results show that consumers in Turkey also developed a similar tendency.

Environmental awareness has increased among 86 percent of Turkish society following the pandemic, and 93 percent are taking action as part of an individual fight against environmental and sustainability issues, according to the results.

The survey also proved that social media campaigns on sustainability play an important role in positively influencing society. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they have come across such campaigns in documentaries, while 36 percent have found them in YouTube content and 33 percent in social media channels.

Zero carbon emissions goal

The Sustainability Laboratory explores how rapidly changing technologies such as 5G, quantum, blockchain and artificial intelligence can be used to solve the world's most pressing environmental problems. Mastercard has set a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050 and in collaboration with a Swedish FinTech startup under the umbrella of the Sustainability Laboratory, the Mastercard Carbon Calculator was developed to integrate people on the path to this goal.