Sustainability

Payments Canada is committed to sustainably meeting today’s needs and the needs of future generations. We incorporate honest and transparent sustainable thinking and actions into our culture and decision-making.

Measuring performance

We are dedicated to the delivery, operations and governance of payment systems that are innovative, secure and globally connected. Responsible business practices enhance the sustainability of our economy and support those who rely on it.

We have over 20 sustainability-related metrics in our sustainability strategy that we track and report on as we work to make our organization more sustainable.

Sustainability priority areas

Sustainability comes to life at our organization across the three-pillar framework of environment, social and governance (often referenced as ESG). We will fulfill our sustainability strategy by focusing on material topics that represent our most significant impacts on the economy, environment and people:

Social: Focus on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) and talent engagement and retention.
Governance: Continue to emphasize security, risk management and compliance.

These topics were chosen as a result of an assessment that captured the views of our internal and external stakeholders while incorporating guidance provided by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Each year we reassess our material topics to update our priorities.

2026 key sustainability focus

Payments Canada integrates sustainability into our work through a three-pillar framework of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. We execute our sustainability strategy by concentrating on key areas that reflect our most substantial impacts on the economy, the environment and people:

Social

Responsible artificial intelligence: Implement a governing framework that ensures use of AI is ethical, transparent, and unbiased, directly supporting our commitment to operational integrity.
Talent engagement and retention: Continued investment in professional development to ensure our people have the capacity and skills needed to execute complex organizational priorities.

Governance

Compliance: Continue to proactively align our internal procedures with evolving regulatory initiatives and industry standards to mitigate the high impact of non-compliance.
Security and risk management: Continued emphasis on security and risk management by identifying potential threats and maintaining the resiliency of critical payment systems.