The idea that investors might incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in corporate valuations was almost heretical when first broached by the UN in 2004. Investors had to adjust their methodologies; corporations had to adjust their conduct.
Then again, it represents little more than taking a financial term like equity back to its original sense of fairness and balance. And that’s something consumers are now demanding.
Covid-19 has induced 11 percent of consumers worldwide to plan to donate more, and 85 percent of adults are willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability challenges.1
The somewhat novel idea that CEOs should step in when governments aren’t fixing society’s ails is supported by 68 percent of consumers worldwide.2
Consumers care, and providers of consumer finance need to care too. Whether through Mastercard's True Name initiative, which lets cardholders use their self-identified names, or the Mastercard Carbon Calculator, which provides snapshots of carbon emissions generated by purchases, businesses and consumers are coming together as one. Download the report to learn more.
1 Mastercard research2 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer
