Deutsche Lufthansa sustainability score: 25/100
Deutsche Lufthansa is a German airline holding company founded in 1926 and headquartered in Cologne. With 100,290 employees and €37.6 billion FY2024 revenue, it operates passenger and freight services across Europe and globally through subsidiary carriers including Austrian Airlines, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines.
Founded 1926Head office Cologne, GermanyStaff ~100,290 (2024)Revenue 37,581,000,000 EUR (FY2024)Website ↗
Lufthansa's absolute emissions rose 16% year-on-year to 42.9 Mt CO₂e in 2024, exceeding pre-COVID levels. Intensity-only targets mask deteriorating trajectory. Multiple upheld greenwashing rulings and active climate policy lobbying against EU measures undermine credibility.
Deutsche Lufthansa scores 25/100 (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 July 2026.
That places Deutsche Lufthansa joint 808th of 934 companies scored, and joint 8th of 23 in Airlines / Aviation.
What is Deutsche Lufthansa doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (2/10, 3/10).
Where Deutsche Lufthansa 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 chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling2/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is3/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature3/10No 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 water3/10No 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 reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies3/10Points 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 Deutsche Lufthansa's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Deutsche Lufthansa's score changed?
Deutsche Lufthansa's score has moved from 26 to 25 across 2 recorded reviews, down 1 point.
- 26 → 25-118 August 2026
Re-classified Aerospace[38] -> Airlines / Aviation[28]; score 27->25
- Scored 266 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Deutsche Lufthansa's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
67% of them were published by Deutsche Lufthansa itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Scope 1 emissions of about 29,159,000,000 kg CO2e, Scope 2 emissions of approximately 124,000,000 kg CO2e”
“Scope 1 for 2024 reporting year audited with high assurance”
“The Lufthansa Group is making use of the option available under ESRS 1 Paragraph 137 to omit the disclosures required under ESRS E1-9”
“As of 2024, Deutsche Lufthansa is lagging behind on its total carbon footprint reduction target, having achieved 5.42% of the planned reduction.”
“Since 2020, the Lufthansa Group has exclusively been purchasing green electricity in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.”
“In 2024, the Lufthansa Group used around 20,000 tons of SAF, which accounted for around 0.2 per cent of the Group's total fuel demand.”
“non-CO2 data were recorded and reported per flight without these data being included in the pricing mechanism”
“preserving biodiversity and improving the living conditions of local populations by creating training and jobs”
“contribute to the circular economy through an improved recycling concept”
“target of reducing its carbon intensity, i.e. emissions in grammes of CO2 per revenue tonne-kilometre … by 30.6% from 2019 to 2030”
“regional court in Cologne found that consumers choosing the 'offset flight' option were left in the dark”
“Negative climate lobbying efforts appear to be led … by … Lufthansa (E+)”
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How does Deutsche Lufthansa compare with other airlines / aviation companies?
Where Deutsche Lufthansa sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 23 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, Deutsche Lufthansa is tied =8th of 23, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Airlines / Aviation?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Deutsche Lufthansa.
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