Cathay Pacific Airways sustainability score: 23/100
Cathay Pacific Airways is Hong Kong's flag carrier, operating long-haul and regional services across 100+ destinations. Founded in 1946, it is one of Asia's largest full-service airlines and a major hub operator.
More about Cathay Pacific Airways
The airline has recovered strongly from COVID-19 and is expanding capacity aggressively, making decarbonisation a critical challenge for the sector.
Founded 1946Head office Hong KongStaff ~30,100Revenue ~$13.4BWebsite ↗
Cathay Pacific discloses emissions data and publishes annual sustainability reports, but absolute emissions are rising sharply as the airline expands. Its 2030 target is intensity-based, not absolute—a classic greenwashing marker. SAF uptake is negligible (0.3% of fuel), and net-zero claims face ClientEarth warnings. The company aligns with IATA's opposition to binding aviation climate regulation.
Cathay Pacific Airways scores 23/100 (Significant gaps) 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 Cathay Pacific Airways joint 849th of 934 companies scored, and joint 15th of 23 in Airlines / Aviation.
What is Cathay Pacific Airways doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (1/10, 2/10).
Where Cathay Pacific Airways lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain5/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling1/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is2/10No 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 waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports5/10No dedicated sustainability role, board oversight or public report.
- Its record on controversies5/10Points 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 Cathay Pacific Airways's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Cathay Pacific Airways's score changed?
Cathay Pacific Airways's score has moved from 25 to 23 across 2 recorded reviews, down 2 points.
- 25 → 23-218 August 2026
Re-classified Aerospace[38] -> Airlines / Aviation[28]; score 25->23
- Scored 256 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Cathay Pacific Airways's score based on?
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
62% of them were published by Cathay Pacific Airways itself; the rest come from independent sources.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Cathay Pacific Airways compare with other airlines / aviation companies?
Where Cathay Pacific Airways sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 23 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, Cathay Pacific Airways is tied =15th of 23, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Airlines / Aviation?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Cathay Pacific 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 →Norwegian Air Shuttle discloses emissions under GHG Protocol and CDP, but absolute emissions rose 18–20% year-on-year despite intensity improvements.
See the breakdown →Ryanair's 20.1 Mt CO₂e footprint rose 7.8% year-on-year, driven by capacity growth to 300 million passengers by 2034.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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