Ellen Jackowski: Mastercard’s Focus on the Circular Economy

Our current way of living uses up raw materials and impacts the environment through large amounts of emissions and waste. 

While not a silver bullet, circular economies promise to play a part in easing the impact on the planet. An Accenture report says that, by 2030, the implementation of circular economies could unlock US$4.5tn in value globally. 

Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, will be speaking at Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week NYC, focusing on The Future of Circular Economy. 

More about Ellen Jackowski

Ellen has been CSO at Mastercard for more than three years, leading a host of carbon-cutting initiatives for the company. 

On LinkedIn, Ellen says: “I joined Mastercard as Chief Sustainability Officer to further integrate sustainability into the heart of the company and activate our global network of partners, customers and consumers to create a more inclusive and sustainable world.”

She has years of experience in the sustainability field, kicking off her sustainability career at HP where she stayed for nearly 15 years, overseeing the company's Sustainable Impact strategy. 

Under Ellen’s leadership, HP achieved the world’s most sustainable PC portfolio,. 

Alongside her career, Ellen volunteers for various projects, including being on the board of directors for Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the advisory board for the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network.

What is Mastercard doing to promote a circular economy?

Mastercard has conducted research into customer spending habits, finding that circular fashion is on the rise.

The banking company found that its customers are now increasingly interested in second-hand shopping or buying upcycled products.

Ellen says: “Whenever I compliment someone on their clothing lately, it feels like half the time their response is, ‘Thanks! It’s a rental.’” 

“Mastercard’s Economics Institute recently dug into this trend to analyse spending across online merchants who resell or rent clothing and accessories. 

“The finding? Consumers’ spending at both luxury and mass circular fashion merchants has increased over the last few years, reaching new high shares of online US apparel spending in 2025 - even exceeding post-pandemic highs. 

“Today, about 27% of online apparel spend in the luxury market was at circular fashion merchants.”

In response to these findings Mastercard has used AI to create its Agent Pay, which acts as a shopping assistant. The technology browses, recommends and completes purchases for shoppers. 

The company hopes that this technology will support customers in unlocking new potential for online shopping and increase the peaked interest in second hand items. 

More about Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week NYC

Alongside Ellen’s fireside conversation, The Future of Circular Economy, Sustainability LIVE: Climate Week NYC will focus on the most pressing climate concerns in the industry. 

Hosting panels discussing spanning ESG data, corporate reporting standards, climate finance, supply chain transparency and the role of digital platforms in advancing sustainability, the event is set to highlight the challenges of the climate crisis and the solutions to combat them. 

The event, which brings together hundreds of c-suite sustainability executives and global companies, is CPD accredited, with attendees given the opportunity to earn points for every hour of learning. 

Sustainability LIVE is designed to foster insight-sharing and collaboration, and those attending will gain practical takeaways for climate action, alongside access to some of the most impactful voices in the global sustainability space.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to join the conversation, get your tickets here.