Worldline becomes the first company to neutralize its CO² emissions

Bezons — 25 / 04 / 2019

Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European market leader in payment and transaction services, announces that in 2018 it achieved a major objective by becoming the first company in the payment industry to neutralize its CO2 emissions. The milestone applies to the company’s activities across its data centers, offices, business travel and the lifecycle of its payment terminals.

La Défense, Paris, France

Worldline’s carbon neutrality commitment is part of an overall environmental strategy to reduce energy use as much as possible, switch to decarbonized and renewable energy and finally, to offset its remaining CO2 emissions by investing in a CO2 offset program.

This achievement is an industry first and a result of Worldline’s ongoing improvement program which began in 2015 with the launch of the Trust 2020 CSR program when Worldline took the important decision to focus on energy efficiency at its data centers, offices, payment terminals, and optimize its business travel arrangements. Following that important decision, Worldline has remained committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 2% each year. Worldline also embarked on an ambitious renewable energies plan in order to achieve powering its data centers and offices solely with 100% renewable energy.

Worldline is now able to provide carbon neutral solutions to its clients, supporting them on their journey towards becoming more sustainable. Put simply, Worldline allows its customers to declare "zero" on emissions from Scope 3 in their GHG balance sheet for services hosted by Worldline. Worldline’s energy efficient and carbon neutral strategy aims to have a positive influence within its ecosystem which includes clients, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

In addition, as part of its environmental strategy, Worldline also launched the GreenIT@worldline initiative in late 2018 following its participation to the WeGreenIT study initiated by WWF France and Club Green IT.

This study enabled Worldline to quantify the environmental footprint of its information system and has brought together the new methods, tools and best practices. Largely due to the sustainable management of its data centers and eco-design of its payment terminals, Worldline was rated with a global maturity index at 70% (compared to the average index from the 24 other major French companies surveyed which was 59%).

In order to offset the impact of CO2 emissions that could not be avoided, Worldline has implemented a carbon offset program. As part of this program, the Company has invested in a wind farm project in India, enabling the development of renewable energy within this geography. The power generated is directly supplied to the state electricity grids to meet locals’ increasing energy needs. This project is certified by the best internationally recognized standards - the “Verified Carbon Standard” and the “Gold Standard” in a partnership with Ecoact, a company specializing in carbon strategy. For more details on this project, refer to Worldline CSR Report 2017, p.44.

"We are proud to be the first company in the payment industry to neutralize its CO² emissions. Along with the growth of digital uses and data, the energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions are increasingly significant. As a major data processor in the IT sector, Worldline is constantly looking at ways to reduce its energy use and carbon impact. By achieving our TRUST2020 environmental objectives and by becoming a carbon-neutral company, we demonstrate both our commitment to fight climate change and our ability to meet its stakeholders’ expectations."

Sébastien Mandron, Worldline CSR Officer

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payment and transactional services industry. With innovation at the core of its DNA, Worldline’s core offerings include pan-European and domestic Commercial Acquiring for physical or online businesses, secured payment transaction processing for banks and financial institutions, as well as transactional services in e-Ticketing and for local and central public agencies. Thanks to a presence in 30+ countries, Worldline is the payment partner of choice for merchants, banks, public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies, delivering cutting-edge digital services. Worldline’s activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline and Mobility & e-Transactional Services. Worldline employs circa 11,000 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of circa 2.3 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company. worldline.com

Press contact

Susanne Stoeger
+43 171 7016524
susanne.stoeger@worldline.com