Recently scored: Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, WPP
Costa Coffee·Food Service / Restaurants·Dunstable, United Kingdom·Founded 1976·Last verified 22 April 2026
39
out of 100
Below expectationsPending Review

Costa's sustainability claims rest on partial disclosure and intensity-based targets that mask rising absolute emissions. The company failed its own cup recycling pledge by 80%, lacks water strategy despite high supply-chain water demand, and inherits reputational damage from parent Coca-Cola's persistent plastic pollution litigation and greenwashing criticism.

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
Food Service / Restaurants sector ceiling.
45 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the 10 rubric questions, scored 0–10 each.
40 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 45) + (0.7 × 40) = 41.5
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on absolute emissions volume — physics-first.
× 0.95
Final score
Rounded. Below expectations.
39 / 100
The ten questions

Where Costa Coffee is strong, and where it isn't.

Strongest on Energy Source and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Emissions Trajectory (2/10, 2/10).

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
Costa Coffee Climate Roadmap
Unknown
Q1Q9
View →
[2]Third-party verified
Statista Costa Coffee Carbon Emissions
Ongoing
Q1Q3
View →
[3]Self-reported
Costa Coffee Sustainability Climate
Ongoing
Q2Q4Q7Q8Q9
View →
[4]Public record
Food Service Equipment Journal: Costa Suppliers Carbon Management
Unknown
Q2
View →
[5]Public record
Edie: Costa Coffee 2040 Net Zero Target
Unknown
Q3Q8
View →
[6]Public record
TUCO: Costa Coffee Crafting Sustainable Coffee
Unknown
Q4
View →
[7]Self-reported
Costa Coffee Sustainability Coffee Sourcing
Ongoing
Q5
View →
[8]Third-party verified
Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee
Ongoing
Q5
View →
[9]Public record
Trellis: Costa Coffee Grounds Circular Economy
Unknown
Q6
View →
[10]Public record
Ethical Marketing News: Costa Recyclable Fibre Lids
Unknown
Q6
View →
[11]Public record
ethicalmarketingnews.com — costa coffee commits to halving carbon emissions per coffee serving by 2030
Unknown
Q7
View →
[12]Third-party verified
The Good Shopping Guide: Costa Coffee
Ongoing
Q10
View →
[13]Self-reported
en.wikipedia.org — Costa Coffee
Unknown
Q10
View →
[14]Third-party verified
InfluenceMap: Coca-Cola Lobbying
Ongoing
Q10
View →

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

Costa Coffee in context

Where Costa Coffee sits among food service / restaurants peers.

Among the 46 major food service / restaurants brands we've scored, Costa Coffee sits 15th of 46.

15/46
Costa Coffee's rank
34
Industry average
19
Industry low
50
Industry high
How this score has moved

Costa Coffee's score over time.

today

Score history begins 4 April 2026.

As Costa Coffee'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 Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee is a global coffee chain with 3,900+ stores operating in over 30 countries. Headquartered in the UK and owned by Coca-Cola since 2019, it is one of the world's largest coffee retailers by volume, serving both company-owned and franchised locations across Europe, Asia, and North America.

Founded
1976
Headquarters
Dunstable, United Kingdom
Employees
~17,809 (2022)
Annual revenue
~£1.23B
Company website ↗
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