Visa Inc.·Financial Services / Banking·San Francisco, United States·Founded 1958·Last verified 31 May 2026
51
out of 100
Making progressPending Review-2 since last review

Visa operates a global payments duopoly enabling fossil-fuel commerce at scale without restriction, despite having SBTi-approved climate targets and 100% renewable electricity. Operational emissions rose 12.2% year-on-year; the company relies on offsets for carbon neutrality claims rather than absolute reductions. Nature risk and circular economy targets are absent.

The calculation

Every score shows its working.

Same formula for every company. No curve. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
Financial Services / Banking sector ceiling.
50 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the 10 rubric questions, scored 0–10 each.
55 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 50) + (0.7 × 55) = 53.5
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on absolute emissions volume — physics-first.
× 0.95
Final score
Rounded. Making progress.
51 / 100
The ten questions

Where Visa Inc. is strong, and where it isn't.

Strongest on Energy Source and Carbon Footprint — Operations (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Controversies & Red Flags and Emissions Trajectory (3/10, 3/10).

Where the evidence comes from

Every document used, listed.

15 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.

[1]Self-reported
2024 Visa Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report
2024
Q1Q2Q3Q4Q5Q6Q9
View →
[2]Self-reported
2023 Visa CDP Response
2023
Q2
View →
[3]Self-reported
2025 Visa CDP Response
2025
Q8Q9
View →
[4]Third-party verified
Visa GHG Emissions — Tracenable
Ongoing
Q1Q3
View →
[5]Third-party verified
Visa Emissions — Ditch Carbon
Ongoing
Q1Q2Q8
View →
[6]Self-reported
Visa Newsroom: Progress on Planet, People, Communities
2024
Q3
View →
[7]Self-reported
Visa Achieves 100% Renewable Electricity — Press Release
2020
Q4
View →
[8]Self-reported
2024 Visa Green Bond Report
2024
Q6Q7
View →
[9]Self-reported
Visa Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Resources
Ongoing
Q9
View →
[10]Self-reported
Visa Planet CSR Hub
Ongoing
Q4Q5Q8
View →
[11]Public record
Payments Companies Look Towards Greener Future — Payments Dive
Unknown
Q6
View →
[12]Third-party verified
Visa Environmental and Social Impact — Green Digest
Unknown
Q7
View →
[13]Public record
Visa and Mastercard: The Global Card Network Duopoly
Unknown
Q10
View →
[14]Third-party verified
Greenpeace: Visa Is Bringing Bitcoin Pollution Everywhere
2024
Q10
View →
[15]Self-reported
Visa VisaNet Infrastructure
Ongoing
Q10
View →

If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.

Visa Inc. in context

Where Visa Inc. sits among financial services / banking peers.

Among the 29 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, Visa Inc. sits 4th of 29.

4/29
Visa Inc.'s rank
40
Industry average
23
Industry low
65
Industry high
How this score has moved

Visa Inc.'s score over time.

today

Score history begins 6 April 2026.

As Visa Inc.'s score updates, the trajectory will appear here.

We're backfilling historical scores for FTSE 100 and S&P 100 companies over the coming weeks.

What's being contested

This score is not currently being contested.

Every challenge is published. We'd rather be corrected than wrong — that's the whole point.

No challenges submitted yet. If you have evidence that contradicts this score, you can challenge any question above — cite a public source and we'll review it.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. is a global digital payments network processing card transactions across merchants and financial institutions. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in San Francisco, it forms a de facto duopoly with Mastercard controlling card payment infrastructure across developed and emerging markets, with 31,600 employees and $40 billion in annual revenue.

Founded
1958
Headquarters
San Francisco, United States
Employees
~31,600 (2024)
Annual revenue
40,000,000,000 USD (FY2025)
Company website ↗
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