Retail (non-fashion)

B&Q sustainability score: 47/100

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About B&Q

B&Q is a UK home improvement and DIY retailer founded in 1976, headquartered in Eastleigh. Operating ~370 stores across the UK and Ireland, it sells building materials, tools, garden products, and home décor.

More about B&Q

The company is owned by Kingfisher plc and competes in the non-fashion retail sector alongside Wickes and Screwfix.

Founded 1976Head office Eastleigh, United KingdomStaff ~25,000Revenue ~£3.7BWebsite ↗

Our verdict

B&Q reports strong operational decarbonization (66% since 2016/17) and near-complete renewable electricity (99%), but Scope 3 emissions—99.5% of its footprint—rose 6% last year despite intensity gains. Water impact is entirely unreported. New absolute Scope 3 targets (46% by 2030) shift away from greenwashing metric frames, but delivery remains unproven.

B&Q scores 47/100 (Making progress) 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 B&Q joint 237th of 934 companies scored, and 6th of 50 in Retail (non-fashion).

The ten questions

What is B&Q doing well, and where does it fall short?

Strongest on Energy Source and Controversies & Red Flags (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Emissions Trajectory (2/10, 5/10).

What's missing

Where B&Q 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 chain6/10No 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 is8/10Its own operations aren't shown to run on 100% renewable energy.
  • Its effect on nature7/10No verified restoration beyond its own footprint, or supply chain not mapped for nature risk.
  • 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 reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.

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.

The calculation

How is B&Q's SINK score calculated?

Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
Retail (non-fashion) sector ceiling.
48 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the ten questions, each scored 0 to 10.
61 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 48) + (0.7 × 61) = 57.1
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on total emissions. Bigger polluters lose more.
× 0.82
Final score
Rounded. Making progress.
47 / 100
Where the evidence comes from

What evidence is B&Q's score based on?

16 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.

50% of them were published by B&Q itself; the rest come from independent sources.

Scored on 5 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.

8 of 16 sources are independent of the company.

[1]Self-reported
Kingfisher plc Responsible Business Performance Data Appendix 2024-25
2025
Q1Q2Q3
View →
[2]Independent source
Kingfisher Group Slashes Carbon Emissions
Unknown
Q1Q3
View →
[3]Independent source
DitchCarbon: Kingfisher
Ongoing
Q2Q3
View →
[4]Public record
B&Q Smashing Emissions Targets
Unknown
Q2Q6
View →
[5]Self-reported
Kingfisher Announces Vendor Decarbonisation Targets
2024
Q2
View →
[6]Self-reported
B&Q's 2025 Build a Life Report Highlights Sustainability Progress
2025
Q4Q5Q6
View →
[7]Public record
GXO and B&Q on Track to Meet Ambitious Zero Emissions Targets by 2040
2025Archived copy from 2026-02-15: the original link no longer opens for us.
Q4
View →
[8]Self-reported
B&Q Responsible Business: Responsibly Sourced Timber
Ongoing
Q5
View →
[9]Self-reported
Kingfisher: Our Priorities — Planet
Ongoing
Q5
View →
[10]Self-reported
B&Q Careers: Why B&Q — Sustainability
Ongoing
Q5Q6
View →
[11]Self-reported
B&Q Responsible Business Overview
Ongoing
Q7Q9
View →
[12]Independent source
KnowESG: Kingfisher plc ESG Ratings
Ongoing
Q8Q9
View →
[13]Self-reported
Kingfisher Announces New Net Zero and Interim Science-Based Emissions Targets
2024
Q8Q10
View →
[14]Independent source
Bioregional: How We Helped Kingfisher Set Ambitious Science-Based Targets
Unknown
Q8
View →
[15]Public record
Torque Expo: Kingfisher Reports Progress Sustainability Targets
Unknown
Q3
View →
[16]Public record
Electrical Times: B&Q's Build a Life Project Report
Unknown
Q9
View →

If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.

For B&Q

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    B&Q: SINK sustainability score 47/100.

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B&Q in context

How does B&Q compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?

Where B&Q sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.

Among the 50 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, B&Q sits 6th of 50.

6/50
B&Q's rank
38
Industry average
18
Industry low
52
Industry high
See all 50 in Retail (non-fashion) →
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