Duke Energy sustainability score: 25/100
Duke Energy is a regulated utility generating and distributing electricity across the Carolinas, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Founded in 1904 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is one of the largest power producers in the US, with 2022 revenue of $28.7 billion.
More about Duke Energy
The company operates coal, nuclear, natural gas, and renewable generation.
Founded 1904Head office Charlotte, United StatesStaff ~27,000Revenue $28.7B (FY2022)Website ↗
Duke Energy is America's largest coal ash polluter, with criminal convictions for Clean Water Act violations and documented groundwater contamination across multiple states. Its 72Mt annual Scope 1 emissions remain stubbornly high despite 48% cuts from 2005 baseline. The company lobbies against renewable standards while building new gas plants, undermining stated climate commitments.
Duke Energy 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 May 2026.
That places Duke Energy joint 808th of 934 companies scored, and joint 19th of 20 in Energy Supply / Utilities.
What is Duke Energy doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Water Impact (2/10, 2/10).
Where Duke Energy 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 chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling4/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is3/10No 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 waste3/10No active waste reduction, reuse or repair shown.
- 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 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 Duke Energy's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Duke Energy's score based on?
17 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
29% of them were published by Duke Energy 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.
12 of 17 sources are independent of the company.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Duke Energy compare with other energy supply / utilities companies?
Duke Energy is tied at the bottom of the energy supply / utilities pack.
Among the 20 major energy supply / utilities brands we've scored, Duke Energy is tied =19th of 20, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Energy Supply / Utilities?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Duke Energy.
Scored as the Eesti Energia GROUP — the oil-shale electricity generation and shale-oil business (Enefit Power) consolidated with the renewables subsidiary (Enefit Green), not Enefit Green alone (which would score far higher in isolation).
See the breakdown →British Gas operates as a major energy supplier with significant fossil fuel assets through parent company Centrica.
See the breakdown →NextEra Energy is the world's largest renewable generator but operates as a fossil-fuel utility with no climate targets after abandoning its 2045 goal in 2025.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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