Recently scored: Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, WPP
Barclays·Financial Services / Banking·One Churchill Place, United Kingdom·Founded 1690·Last verified 21 April 2026
39
out of 100
Below expectationsPending Review-3 since last review

Barclays is Europe's largest fossil fuel financier at $35.4B in 2024 and is actively lobbying against UK sustainable finance regulation. Its operational emissions reductions are genuine but largely driven by renewable certificates rather than physical cuts. The bank's core environmental impact—financed emissions—is increasing, not declining, making climate commitments greenwash.

The calculation

Every score shows its working.

Same formula for every company. No curve. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
Financial Services / Banking sector ceiling.
50 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the 10 rubric questions, scored 0–10 each.
46 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 50) + (0.7 × 46) = 47.2
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on absolute emissions volume — physics-first.
× 0.82
Final score
Rounded. Below expectations.
39 / 100
The ten questions

Where Barclays is strong, and where it isn't.

Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Energy Source (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Controversies & Red Flags and Water Impact (1/10, 3/10).

Where the evidence comes from

Every document used, listed.

14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.

[1]Self-reported
Barclays Net-Zero Operations Strategy
Ongoing
Q1Q2Q6
View →
[2]Self-reported
2024 Barclays ESG Reporting Framework
2024
Q1Q6Q7
View →
[3]Public record
ESG Today: Barclays Sustainable Finance Revenues
Unknown
Q2
View →
[4]Third-party verified
Rainforest Action Network: Banking on Climate Chaos 2025
2025
Q3Q10
View →
[5]Self-reported
Barclays Climate Strategy
Ongoing
Q3
View →
[6]Self-reported
Barclays 10-Year Power Purchase Agreement with bp
2022
Q4
View →
[7]Self-reported
H1 2025 Sustainability Investor Presentation
2025
Q4
View →
[8]Self-reported
Barclays Nature and Biodiversity Strategy (TNFD)
Ongoing
Q5Q7
View →
[9]Third-party verified
Mighty Earth: Barclays JBS Complaint and Fossil Fuel Financing
Unknown
Q5Q10
View →
[10]Self-reported
knowesg.com — barclays plc
Unknown
Q8Q9
View →
[11]Third-party verified
tracenable.com — climate targets
Unknown
Q8
View →
[12]Self-reported
Barclays Reporting and Disclosures Hub
Ongoing
Q9
View →
[13]Third-party verified
InfluenceMap: Big Four UK Banks Lobbying Analysis
2025
Q10
View →
[14]Public record
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Barclays Fossil Fuel Greenwash
2024
Q10
View →

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

Barclays in context

Where Barclays sits among financial services / banking peers.

Among the 27 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, Barclays sits 15th of 27.

15/27
Barclays's rank
40
Industry average
23
Industry low
65
Industry high
How this score has moved

Barclays's score over time.

today

Score history begins 8 February 2026.

As Barclays's score updates, the trajectory will appear here.

We're backfilling historical scores for FTSE 100 and S&P 100 companies over the coming weeks.

What's being contested

This score is not currently being contested.

Every challenge is published. We'd rather be corrected than wrong — that's the whole point.

No challenges submitted yet. If you have evidence that contradicts this score, you can challenge any question above — cite a public source and we'll review it.

About Barclays

Barclays is a British multinational investment and retail bank headquartered in London, operating across investment banking, wealth management, and consumer banking in over 40 countries. It is one of the UK's largest financial institutions by asset base and a major global capital markets player.

Founded
1690
Headquarters
One Churchill Place, United Kingdom
Employees
~90,000
Annual revenue
~£26.7B
Company website ↗
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