New business alliance to encourage one billion consumers to support sustainability causes

A new alliance of banking firms, consumer goods giants and digital platforms, including Mastercard and BBVA, has launched to encourage individuals around the world to deliver positive actions that improve biodiversity and sustainable behaviours.

The ‘Every Action Counts’ (EAC) coalition was launched today (28 June) by the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA), funded by the Finance for Biodiversity (F4B) initiative of the MAVA Foundation.

The new coalition is aiming to encourage one billion consumers across the globe to use their spending habits to fund conservation initiatives such as ocean and beach cleans and tree planting projects.

The network features a mixture of banking firms, consumer-facing organisations and digital platforms, to ensure consumers have multiple methods of contributing to the initiative. Members include BBVA, FNZ, the Lazada Group and Mastercard, representing countries ranging from Spain and the UK to China and South Africa.

The GDFA’s executive director Marianne Haahr commented: “This new coalition wants to creatively leverage technology and partnerships to enhance green awareness and catalyse green action for one billion people by 2025. We want to encourage consumer behaviour that can become a driver of nature conservation and regeneration.

“We see a future where economic growth can coexist with, and even support, nature conservation and climate action, which is why we are bringing together partners who can help champion this vision for our global economy.”

The initiative will aim to assist shoppers globally to support sustainability programmes. In the Philippines, for example, the GCash forest rewards app will allow users to plant trees in partnership with groups such as WWF.

As for US-based Mastercard, it will work with businesses and consumers through the Priceless Planet Coalition. In October 2020, businesses including Barclays Bank US, HSBC and Frontier Airlines joined Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition – aimed at reforesting more than 100 million trees.

The Coalition believes it will reach its 100 million trees target by 2025. It is taking advice from Conservation International, the WRI and a new advisory panel to ensure that tree planting delivers the intended climate, biodiversity and social sustainability impacts without generating unintended negative consequences. Advisory panels include former international climate negotiators Bo Lidegaard and Todd Stern and Brazil’s former Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira.

Mastercard’s chief sustainability officer Kristina Kloberdanz said: “At Mastercard, we are delighted to join forces with like-minded companies through the Every Action Counts coalition. This reinforces our commitment to build an inclusive and sustainable digital economy – where people and the planet can thrive – as we bring innovations and initiatives to market that help people understand the environmental impact of their behaviour.”

Matt Mace