PA Push for Standardized Carbon Measurement in Digital Payments

The digital payments industry, vital to global commerce, is facing increasing scrutiny about its environmental footprint. In response, The Payment Association launched an initiative that aims to create a standardized method to measure carbon emissions throughout the digital payments value chain.

This strategic move seeks to align the payments sector with global sustainability goals by integrating environmentally responsible practices into its core operations.

The report titled Sustainable Digital Payments: Measuring Carbon Emissions in the Payments Chaindetailing the initiative, developed by the Association’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Working Group.

The document addresses the broad impact on the industry, pointing out that while emissions per transaction may be small, the overall impact of billions of transactions is also significant.

Tony Craddock, director general of The Payments Association, said: “It is a privilege to be part of a sector that is driving the conversation about managing carbon emissions.

“We started this initiative in advance of any legal direction or international competition. We did it for the sole purpose of providing better payments and environmental standards for consumers and the payment sector in long time.

Collaborative efforts

The report calls for collaborative efforts to develop a comprehensive framework that ensures data integrity and equality. Such a framework would facilitate significant reductions in the industry’s carbon footprint, leveraging collective action for greater impact.

“Agreement on a standard way to measure emissions when people pay or get paid would provide a useful starting point for meaningful discussion,” Craddock is also added. “And it will help us decide which tools are needed to finally reduce carbon emissions, too. We believe it will contribute to increasing shareholder value, improving customer outcomes and reducing environmental impact of payments.

Next steps

By creating this standard, the Payment Association hopes to not only improve the sustainability of the payment industry but also to encourage other sectors to adopt similar measures, which will contribute to broader environmental goals.

It recommends the establishment of baseline emissions data to ensure consistent tracking and the development of a roadmap for action, which includes identifying as well as assessing emission sources at each stage of the process. to pay and set measurable reduction targets.

The report also calls for continuous evaluation of the impact of these initiatives, ensuring that they adapt over time to address evolving challenges and sustainability opportunities within the digital payments industry. .