Delta Air Lines is a major US carrier operating scheduled passenger and cargo flights globally. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Atlanta, it is one of the world's largest airlines by revenue (FY2024: $61.6B) and fleet size.
More about Delta Air Lines
Aviation's carbon intensity and scale make decarbonization a sector-defining challenge.
Founded 1924Head office Atlanta, United StatesStaff ~100,000Revenue $61.6B (FY2024)Website ↗
Delta reports verified emissions but absolute totals are rising sharply—60.6Mt in 2024 versus 48.6Mt baseline, negating intensity gains. Jet fuel dominates at 90% of footprint with minimal renewable energy penetration. A greenwashing lawsuit and weak climate lobbying alignment reveal a company talking sustainability while opposing meaningful regulations.
Delta Air Lines 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 Delta Air Lines joint 849th of 934 companies scored, and 9th of 9 in Aerospace.
What is Delta Air Lines doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (1/10, 1/10).
Where Delta Air Lines lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- 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 nature1/10No evidence it knows its main risks to nature.
- 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 targets4/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies4/10Points 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 Delta Air Lines's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Delta Air Lines's score based on?
15 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
67% of them were published by Delta Air Lines itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 4 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Delta Air Lines compare with other aerospace companies?
Delta Air Lines sits at the bottom of the aerospace pack.
Among the 9 major aerospace brands we've scored, Delta Air Lines sits 9th of 9.
Who scores higher in Aerospace?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Delta Air Lines.
TAP Air Portugal reports Scope 1 and 2 emissions but withholds Scope 3 data entirely.
See the breakdown →Air Europa discloses intensity-based CO₂ claims against a 2015 baseline while withholding absolute emissions figures—a 3–5 million tonne annual footprint sits entirely unquantified.
See the breakdown →Boeing's footprint is dominated by the emissions from flying the airplanes it sells: 646 million tonnes CO2e for commercial airplanes delivered in 2025, up from 352 million in 2024.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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