As Earth Day celebrates its 50th anniversary¹, Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform, has marked the day by announcing its recently achieved carbon neutral company status.
The milestone forms part of its ongoing commitment to the environment, a key program within its overall corporate responsibility approach, which was accelerated last year when CEO, Philip McHugh, joined the business.
Paysafe’s carbon neutral certification has been backdated to cover its carbon footprint in 2019 as well as 2020 and was achieved following an extensive data gathering and third-party verification process. The impact of its carbon footprint for the two years was then offset by financing several sustainability projects in developing countries. To conduct the independent assessment and identify suitable projects, Paysafe partnered with Natural Capital Partners, a leader in this field and partner to multiple blue-chip organizations including Microsoft and Sky.
The three sustainability projects that Paysafe has committed to are water filtration and improved cookstoves in Guatemala; community reforestation in East Africa; and renewable energy development through wind power in West India.
In addition to supporting carbon offsetting projects in developing countries, Paysafe is also working with employee ambassadors to identify ongoing initiatives to reduce and offset its carbon footprint in addition to the emissions reduction generated by the overnight curtailment of business travel as a result of the current COVID-19 crisis.
Commenting on the accreditation, Philip McHugh, CEO at Paysafe, said, “Achieving carbon neutrality was a critical milestone for us and part of our environmental program, as well as our holistic approach to corporate responsibility and doing business the right way. We set out to achieve this milestone several months ago and I’m very proud to be announcing it today on Earth Day as people around the world discuss the importance of climate action.
McHugh added: “In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, like many other international organizations, our carbon footprint has dramatically reduced overnight. However, we will still offset at the higher 2020 carbon footprint level which we committed to ahead of the lockdown. It’s the right thing to do and it’s only a matter of time before international movement starts again. We have to consider the long-term perspective of the world we live in.”
Rebecca Fay, Chief Marketing Officer at Natural Capital Partners, added: “We are very pleased to work with Paysafe as it meets this important milestone as a carbon neutral business. While the pandemic is rightly dominating everyone’s thoughts, the need for climate action has not diminished. We hope that other companies will follow the example set by businesses like Paysafe to be environmentally responsible and contribute to the transformation of a low carbon economy.”