Arla Foods sustainability score: 32/100
Arla Foods is a farmer-owned dairy co-operative headquartered in Viby, Denmark, producing milk, cheese, butter and ingredients under brands including Lurpak, Castello and Puck. It has ~22,000 employees and EUR 15.1bn revenue (2025).
More about Arla Foods
These figures predate its merger with DMK Group on 1 June 2026.
Head office Viby, DenmarkStaff ~22,052 (2025)Revenue EUR 15,066M revenue (FY2025)Website ↗
Arla's own-site emissions are falling and well assured, but Scope 3 is 98% of its reported total and rose in 2025 as milk volumes grew. It missed its 2025 no-deforestation commitment and biodiversity plan, publishes no current group water figure, and a Swedish court banned its net-zero marketing in 2023. NGOs also document its lobbying against EU climate policy.
Arla Foods scores 32/100 (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 November 2026.
That places Arla Foods joint 665th of 1,017 companies scored, and 5th of 13 in Food & Beverage (meat/dairy).
What is Arla Foods doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (9/10, 8/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Emissions Trajectory (2/10, 3/10).
Where Arla Foods lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations9/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain8/10Its Scope 3 emissions aren't fully verified or falling year on year.
- Whether its emissions are falling3/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- 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 controversies3/10Points 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 Arla Foods's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Arla Foods's score based on?
20 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
15% of them were published by Arla Foods itself; the rest come from independent sources.
17 of 20 sources are independent of the company.
“The merger unites approximately 11,200 farmers and 28,800 colleagues”
“Arla says methane accounts for 43% of its total emissions but does not report methane emissions separately.”
“It stands out as the only firm with a methane-specific target and a plan to hit it.”
“lobbying, Arla has been involved in derailing climate policy in the EU, including”
“Arla updates Science Based Targets to align with SBTi FLAG guidance”
“The new target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C.”
“holds inventories for Water, Energy, Raw”
“Arla Foods AB, Kalmar”
“The court follows the consumer ombudsman’s line and prohibits Arla from using the expression net zero climate footprint”
“telles que Cargill, Arla et Vion”
“Final warning letter issued. No futher details are known.”
“15 companies including Arla, Lactalis, and McCafé failing to disclose methane emissions for 2024 or 2025”
“Greenpeace Denmark submitted the complaint to the Danish Business Authority”
“Examples of Arla Foods’ PPAs include a 44 GWh/year agreement from solar and wind power plants in Pronsfeld, Germany”
“Renewable electricity is supplied through a combination of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and certificates sourced on the open market.”
“we have reduced our absolute water consumption by five per cent from 20.7Mm3 to 19.8Mm3”
“Greenpeace Denmark submitted a complaint to the Danish Business Authority alleging that Arla overstated greenhouse gas emission reductions”
“It took two years before the Swedish advertising regulator - the Consumer Ombudsman - took Arla to court”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Arla Foods compare with other food & beverage (meat/dairy) companies?
Where Arla Foods sits among food & beverage (meat/dairy) peers.
Among the 13 major food & beverage (meat/dairy) brands we've scored, Arla Foods sits 5th of 13.
Who scores higher in Food & Beverage (meat/dairy)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Arla Foods.
First Milk's footprint was 1.29 MtCO2e in its year to March 2026, 98% of it from its members' farms, and the figures are independently assured.
See the breakdown →Danone's emissions fell to 18.6 MtCO2e in 2025, 21% below 2020 on its SBTi boundary against a 34.8% cut targeted for 2030. 94% of its electricity is renewable, mostly through certificates, but fossil fuels are still 56% of its energy.
See the breakdown →Butternut Box's footprint was 265,540 tCO2e in 2025, about 80% of it the ingredients it buys, mostly meat.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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