Diageo sustainability score: 48/100
Diageo is a London-listed spirits and beer company whose brands include Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff. Diageo plc was incorporated in 1886 as Arthur Guinness Son and Company Limited and took its current name in 1997, when Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan.
More about Diageo
It had about 27,900 employees and $19.6bn net sales in the year to June 2026.
Founded 1886Head office London, GBStaff ~27,938Revenue $19,643M (FY2026, net sales, year to 30 Jun 2026)Website ↗
Diageo cut operational emissions 25.7% since FY22 but scaled back net-zero targets in 2025, downgrading Scope 1–2 from net zero to 50% cuts and Scope 3 from 50% to 26%. A caustic soda spill killed fish in the River Spey in 2026; a 2022 emissions reporting breach was fined and upheld. Renewable energy share fell year-on-year.
Diageo scores 48/100 (Making progress) 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 October 2026.
That places Diageo joint 210th of 934 companies scored, and joint 13th of 51 in Food & Beverage (non-meat).
What is Diageo doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Controversies & Red Flags and Energy Source (4/10, 5/10).
Where Diageo lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain8/10Its Scope 3 emissions aren't fully verified or falling year on year.
- Whether its emissions are falling7/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water6/10No water stewardship programme or verified fall in water use.
- Its climate targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports8/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
- 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 Diageo's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Diageo's score changed?
Diageo's score has moved from 46 to 48 across 2 recorded reviews, up 2 points.
- 46 → 48+225 October 2026
Re-scored under v2.5.19 (RE100 UK pre-v2.5 re-score, owner-approved 2026-10-25; docs/rescore-plan-2026-10.md)
- Scored 465 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Diageo's score based on?
14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
29% of them were published by Diageo itself; the rest come from independent sources.
10 of 14 sources are independent of the company.
“we engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to provide independent limited assurance on selected non-financial information”
“Diageo (total) 350 333 295 277 260”
“These agriculture focused targets which represent 15-20% of our scope 3 footprint”
“We remain committed to our target of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 through our RE100 target.”
“In F26, we've achieved our target to replenish more water than we use across our 30 sites located in water-stressed areas.”
“This company received a CDP Water Security score of A-.”
“killing fish and other wildlife”
“said it would now aim to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030, reaching net-zero in direct operations by 2040”
“Previously aiming for net-zero carbon by 2030, the new target is a 50% reduction by 2030, with net-zero pushed back to 2040.”
“has been been fined £1.2 million for failing to report climate pollution, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa)”
“Drinks giant Diageo has been fined £1.2 million by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency”
“Diageo is being investigated by Scotland's environmental protection agency over a pollution incident”
“a toxic chemical spill into a critical spawning tributary killed thousands of fish and other wildlife”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Diageo compare with other food & beverage (non-meat) companies?
Where Diageo sits among food & beverage (non-meat) peers.
Among the 51 major food & beverage (non-meat) brands we've scored, Diageo is tied =13th of 51, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Food & Beverage (non-meat)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Diageo.
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See the breakdown →Tate & Lyle reports comprehensive carbon data and holds SBTi 1.5°C targets, but Scope 1 emissions flatlined year-on-year and water-use intensity worsened.
See the breakdown →Ella's Kitchen has SBTi-validated emissions targets and a genuine biodiversity partnership with the RSPB, but lacks published absolute emissions data to verify progress.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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