Visa Inc. sustainability score: 51/100
Better than 88% of Financial Services / Banking
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
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 1958Head office San Francisco, United StatesStaff ~31,600 (2024)Revenue 40,000,000,000 USD (FY2025)Website ↗
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.
Visa Inc. scores 51/100 (Making progress) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified May 2026.
That places Visa Inc. joint 129th of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 7th of 61 in Financial Services / Banking.
What is Visa Inc. doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Energy Source and Carbon Footprint: Operations (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Controversies & Red Flags (3/10, 3/10).
Where Visa Inc. lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow its emissions are falling.
- Its record on controversiesDeal with the findings under question 10, in public.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling3/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is8/10Its own operations aren't shown to run on 100% renewable energy.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies3/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Visa Inc.'s SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Visa Inc.'s score based on?
15 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
60% of them were published by Visa Inc. itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 22 May 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Visa Inc. compare with other financial services / banking companies?
Where Visa Inc. sits among financial services / banking peers.
Among the 61 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, Visa Inc. is tied =7th of 61, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Financial Services / Banking?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Visa Inc..
LSEG publishes detailed carbon and resource data with third-party assurance, but Scope 3 lacks binding absolute targets for its largest emission source (purchased goods, 78% of total).
See the breakdown →Klarna has built credible climate infrastructure—SBTi-validated net-zero target, internal carbon pricing, and $8.5M+ channeled into carbon removal.
See the breakdown →Mastercard met its SBTi-approved 2025 targets and publishes PwC-assured emissions data, but its Scope 1 and 2 emissions rose in 2025 and its total fell only 1%. 27% of its 100% renewable electricity comes from unbundled certificates, and its carbon-neutral operations claim relies partly on carbon credits.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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