British Airways sustainability score: 22/100
Below expectations starts at 31. The highest score on SINK is 71.
British Airways flies passengers and cargo. In 2025 passenger tickets brought in £13,722 million, cargo £788 million and other services £169 million.
More about British Airways
British Airways Plc was incorporated in 1983; its immediate and ultimate parent is International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG), which is incorporated in Spain. The British Airways group had an average of 41,908 employees and £14,679 million revenue in 2025.
Founded 1983Head office Harmondsworth, United KingdomStaff ~41,908 average, group (2025; company 36,374)Revenue ~£14.7B revenue (£14,679M, year to 31 December 2025)Website ↗
British Airways' footprint was 20,997,274 tCO2e in 2025, up from 19,074,148 t in 2024. Scope 1 was 15,453,533 t, over 99% of it from jet fuel. Its supply-chain figure (5,533,382 t) is a single total with no categories. A footprint this size takes the heaviest scale deduction (0.70x). Sustainable aviation fuel was 4.5% of its fuel, mostly to meet UK and EU mandates, and it gives no renewable split for its electricity. Its targets are net zero by 2050, set by IAG, and intensity goals, with no SBTi validation. The charity Possible's complaint about its climate claims is before the UK National Contact Point, which has made no finding.
British Airways scores 22/100 (Significant gaps) 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 British Airways joint 989th of 1,070 companies scored, and joint 17th of 24 in Airlines / Aviation.
What is British Airways doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Controversies & Red Flags and Carbon Footprint: Operations (8/10, 6/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (0/10, 1/10).
Where British Airways 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 its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy isMove to a renewable energy tariff or make a major efficiency investment.
- Its effect on waterPublish figures for its water use.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain3/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling0/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is1/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature2/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste3/10No active waste reduction, reuse or repair shown.
- Its effect on water1/10No figures for its water use.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- 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.
How is British Airways's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is British Airways's score based on?
11 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
18% of them were published by British Airways itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“the Group discloses the following energy and carbon metrics for 2025 and 2024”
“14% reduction in the carbon intensity of our operations since 2019”
“For flights departing the UK, British Airways came in first, emitting 7.8 Mt of”
“On 16 March 2026, the UK NCP published its initial assessment partially accepting the complaint.”
“On 16 March 2026, the UK NCP decided that elements of this complaint warrant further consideration”
“British Airways (BA) is under investigation for potentially misleading climate claims made on its website and in media statements”
“parent company IAG has been accused of asking the Eu to weaken its sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate”
“the top polluters being Ryanair (16.2 Mt CO2), Lufthansa (10 Mt CO2) and British Airways (8.9 Mt CO2)”
“a project which aims to deliver improvements to vital natural habitats”
“51101 - Scheduled passenger air transport”
“emissions from jet fuel have increased year-on-year between 2016 and 2019”
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How does British Airways compare with other airlines / aviation companies?
Where British Airways sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 24 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, British Airways is tied =17th of 24, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Airlines / Aviation?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above British Airways.
Turkish Airlines' emissions have risen 19% year-on-year to 27.5 Mt CO₂e in 2023, driven by fleet expansion plans to 800 aircraft by 2033.
See the breakdown →IAG's emissions are rising in absolute terms while it claims progress via intensity metrics.
See the breakdown →Cathay Pacific discloses emissions data and publishes annual sustainability reports, but absolute emissions are rising sharply as the airline expands.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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