Big Yellow sustainability score: 54/100
Better than 85% of Construction / Real Estate
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Limited independent evidence: only two independent sources cover this company. The score may change as more evidence appears.
Big Yellow Group is a UK self-storage company, owning and operating Big Yellow self-storage stores. It reported £209.1 million of revenue for the year to 31 March 2026, with about 484 employees.
Founded 1998Head office Bagshot, United KingdomStaff ~484 (2026)Revenue £209.1 million revenue (FY ended 31 Mar 2026; £209,084k; 2025: £204,495k)Website ↗
Big Yellow reports SGS-assured Scope 1 and 2 emissions that it says are 54% below its 2019/20 baseline, helped by on-site solar and removing gas, and has SBTi-aligned targets. Its Scope 3, which it reports category by category, is rising, led by capital goods from new stores. It reports waste by cost rather than tonnes and has no portfolio-wide nature assessment.
Big Yellow scores 54/100 (Making progress) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified November 2026.
That places Big Yellow joint 77th of 1,070 companies scored, and joint 5th of 49 in Construction / Real Estate.
What is Big Yellow doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (9/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where Big Yellow lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles wasteReport measurable waste or recycling targets publicly.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations9/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling4/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports8/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
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 Big Yellow's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Big Yellow's score based on?
8 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
50% of them were published by Big Yellow itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Big Yellow prints its 2025/26 Scope 3 emissions category by category but no Scope 3 total. The Scope 3 figure shown (35,088 tCO2e) is our sum of its own printed lines: purchased goods and services 2,289 and 2,387 tCO2e, water 4, capital goods 19,772, fuel- and energy-related activities 562, waste 62, business travel 212, employee commuting 398, downstream transport and distribution 9,333 and end-of-life treatment 69. The total adds its Scope 1 (22.6 tCO2e) and market-based Scope 2 (0.0 tCO2e; location-based 1,443.1 tCO2e).
“Total Scope 1 Emissions (location based) store and non-store 53.5 22.6*”
“the Group’s stated target of a 70% reduction in Scope 1 and 2”
“overseeing ESG-related disclosures, including external assurance.”
“which has taken the total number of stores with solar to 85”
“including with a 200-kilowatt-peak solar array with electric vehicle chargers and battery storage”
“The news of another self-storage facility being built in Slough has been met with cries of frustration from residents.”
“an inspector has allowed an appeal against the refusal of planning permission by Camden Council for a Big Yellow Self Storage facility in Kentish Town”
“exploring solar panels and other energy-efficiency measures to reduce utility expenses”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Is this your company? Claim this profile (free)
Use this score in tenders
Send the link, or the one-page score sheet. It links back to this page and every source. Free.
Open the score sheet →Send new evidence, free
Scored low because little is published? Publish what you do and send us the link, free. If it holds up, your score changes, and the change is logged on your page.
How to send evidence →Put your score on your website, free
It shows the current band, sector rank and score, and links to this page, so it changes when the score does.
Track this score
Bidding for a public contract? Check if you need a Carbon Reduction Plan, free →
Want your own page like this?
Free, independent, every source shown. Send it to any buyer who asks about your sustainability.
How does Big Yellow compare with other construction / real estate companies?
Where Big Yellow sits among construction / real estate peers.
Among the 49 major construction / real estate brands we've scored, Big Yellow is tied =5th of 49, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Construction / Real Estate?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Big Yellow.
Shaftesbury Capital publishes independently verified emissions data and 2030 targets it reports as SBTi-validated, and its total emissions are 54.0% below its 2019 baseline, helped in part by property sales.
See the breakdown →Kier has cut operational emissions 81% since FY19 through HVO switching and electrification pledges, and holds SBTi-validated net-zero targets.
See the breakdown →Berkeley's footprint was 499,880 tCO2e in its year to April 2026, almost all from the materials it buys and the energy used in the homes it sells.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
One email, every Sunday. Score changes, new research, the stories behind the numbers. Free.
We'll send one email to confirm. No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.
Checking a company?
Search free →Asked to prove you're sustainable?
Get your business scored, free →Been scored?
Find your page and claim it, free →Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it.