adidas sustainability score: 42/100
Adidas AG, founded in 1924 and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, designs and manufactures athletic footwear, apparel, and sports equipment. A global leader in the sportswear sector with €21.4bn FY2023 revenue and 59,030 employees, it competes directly with Nike and PUMA across retail and wholesale channels.
Founded 1924Head office Herzogenaurach, GermanyStaff ~59,030 (2023)Revenue ~€24.8BWebsite ↗
Adidas discloses emissions comprehensively under GHG Protocol but remains off-track for 2030 climate targets, with absolute emissions rising year-on-year despite intensity gains. A 2025 German court ruling upheld misleading climate advertising claims. Energy transition relies heavily on unbundled instruments rather than additionality; supply chain renewable penetration at 24% is weak.
adidas scores 42/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified May 2026.
That places adidas joint 357th of 934 companies scored, and joint 25th of 43 in Apparel (Durable / Outdoor).
What is adidas doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (5/10, 5/10).
Where adidas lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water6/10No water stewardship programme or verified fall in water use.
- Its climate targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies5/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is adidas's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is adidas's score based on?
19 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
68% of them were published by adidas itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 4 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does adidas compare with other apparel (durable / outdoor) companies?
Where adidas sits among apparel (durable / outdoor) peers.
Among the 43 major apparel (durable / outdoor) brands we've scored, adidas is tied =25th of 43, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Apparel (Durable / Outdoor)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above adidas.
FatFace's footprint was 49,033 tCO2e in its year to January 2026, independently assured and 93% of it the goods it buys, and it rose about 4% on the year.
See the breakdown →Ecoalf has built a genuine circular model with 294 million plastic bottles recycled and measurable ocean cleanup impact, but fails to publish Scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions figures despite rapid 20% annual growth.
See the breakdown →Prada has cut operational emissions 34% against 2019 baseline, beating its SBTi target.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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