HP Exec Ellen Jackowski Joins Mastercard as Chief Sustainability Officer

Ellen Jackowski joined Mastercard on Monday (July 25) as the company’s chief sustainability officer, responsible for “further integrating Mastercard’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy into the organization,” according to the company press release.

Jackowski joins Mastercard from HP, where she was the chief impact officer and head of sustainable impact, developing programs focused on climate action, human rights and digital equity. Earlier in her career, Jackowski served in several management and consulting roles.

“We are excited to welcome Ellen as our new chief sustainability officer,” said Mike Froman, vice chairman and president of strategic growth for Mastercard, in the company press release. “She is widely regarded as a leader and innovator on ESG, and we look forward to her working with partners across the company to take Mastercard to the next level in our ESG efforts.”

Mastercard’s decade-plus focus on ESG initiatives includes financial inclusion, inclusive growth and data responsibility, evolving in the past five years to also feature stewardship of the environment and high standards of corporate governance.

The company’s ESG activities “are rooted in a belief of doing well by doing good in order to have true impact and enable both people and the planet to thrive,” the press release said.

“I’m a big believer that actions carry much more weight than words,” Jackowski said. “Mastercard has shown over the past several years just how seriously it takes its commitments and the immense impact it can deliver. I’m excited to be joining a team that’s rising to the moment and creating a more just and inclusive world.”

Jackowski serves on the advisory board of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, is a deputy adviser on the World Economic Forum’s Champions for Nature community and has served as a faculty member of The Prince of Wales’ Business & Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge.

Related: Earth Day 2022: Payments and Products Are Getting Cleaner and Greener

In April, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in a letter on the company’s website that it’s expanding its program of linking employee bonuses to achieving environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals after piloting the effort in 2021 that “met or exceeded” carbon neutrality, financial inclusion and gender pay parity goals.

In November, Mastercard accelerated its “net zero” carbon emissions goal by 10 years from 2050 to 2040, coming two months after establishing its Sustainability Innovation Lab.