The long-term impact of the global Coronavirus pandemic will be that much more of day-to-day and business life, such as home deliveries, online shopping, mobile payments, etc., will go digital based on the internet. They won’t go back to the old ways of working.
Chris Skinner asks: “Why would you need to go to a meeting, fly to a conference, connect face-to-face when you can do it on a smartphone now?” BUT working-at-home does always work, Mayer, Yahoo’s CEO believes that “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”
Face-to-face contact is still needed. It is all a matter of balance. However, it is clear that there will be much more digitisation in the coming years and far less global travel.

MasterCard invites consumers and companies to join in to plant 100 million trees

Other initiatives are reducing global warming such as Mastercard’s announcement of the launch of their Priceless Planet Coalition, a platform to unite corporate sustainability efforts and make meaningful investments to preserve the environment.
Together with partners who share a commitment to doing well by doing good, the Priceless Planet Coalition is pledging to plant 100 million trees over five years. Founding partners in the coalition include Citibank, Santander UK, IHS Markit, bunq, Saks Fifth Avenue, L.L. Bean, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Transport for London, and American Airlines, with more to be announced.
MasterCard believes that it is crucial for companies to help reduce carbon emissions by investing in energy-efficient workplaces and operations, sourcing renewable energy and maintaining a sustainable supply chain. But the responsibility for business today extends far beyond their own efforts. They believe the private sector can do more and make a real impact by combining efforts and engaging consumers.
Another part of this programme is their partnership with bunq Green Card to 30 European markets who plant a tree for every £100 / 100 Euros spent with Green Card. 100,000 trees planted to date.

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CTMfile take:  Some good may come out of the Coronavirus pandemic: the world cuts global travel…… maybe. But at least planting trees is a positive step in the fight against global warming.