Financial-services giant Visa says it has met its goal to use 100% renewable electricity by 2020 across its 131 offices in 76 countries and four global processing centers.
Since setting the renewable goal in 2018, Visa V, +1.91% pursued a sustainable mix of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Globally, the average costs to generate electricity from solar photovoltaic and onshore wind both declined 13% year-on-year in 2018, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
“At Visa, we see both a responsibility and an opportunity to make broad shifts toward a sustainable and inclusive future,” said Al Kelly, chief executive officer of Visa Inc., with the announcement out Wednesday.
Visa made local renewable electricity investments in markets where the company has major facilities, including four locations in the U.S. and the U.K. that account for 80% of its global electricity use. Specific actions by Visa included enrollments in renewable electricity programs offered by Total Energy in the U.K., Xcel Energy in Colorado, Austin Energy in Texas and Peninsula Clean Energy in the San Francisco Bay Area.
By purchasing 100% renewable electricity, Visa mitigates the greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity the company consumes, reducing its operational emissions from its facilities and data centers by almost 90% versus the company’s 2014 baseline.
Visa has been on the Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index since 2017 and a FTSE4Good Index Member, among other distinctions.
Visa shares trade up more than 45% over the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.31% , of which Visa is a component, is up roughly 20% by comparison.
Visa joins PepsiCo Inc. with its own Wednesday announcement that it will use 100% renewable electricity for its U.S. operations starting this year as part of its goal to slash 20% of its greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030. PepsiCo’s PEP, +1.72% operations in nine European countries have already reached 100% renewable electricity. Competitor Coca-Cola Co. KO, +1.25% also sources 100% renewable electricity at some European sites.
Last year, global retail giant Amazon AMZN, -0.40% , in large part because of the urging of its own employees, announced that it aims to reach the goals of the Paris Climate agreement 10 years early, and commits to operate on 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
