GEA sustainability score: 44/100
GEA is a German maker of process machinery and plant for the food, drink, dairy and pharmaceutical industries, headquartered in Düsseldorf; its roots go back to 1881. 5 billion revenue in 2025.
Head office Düsseldorf, GermanyStaff ~18,600 (FTE, 2025)Revenue ~€5.5B (FY2025)Website ↗
GEA has cut its own emissions 62% since 2019 and has SBTi-validated targets for net zero by 2040. Its footprint of 23.3 MtCO2e is 94% the modelled lifetime energy use of the machines it sells. All its electricity is covered as renewable, mostly through certificates, and it calls its own operations climate-neutral on the strength of avoidance credits.
GEA scores 44/100 (Below expectations) 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 GEA joint 299th of 900 companies scored, and joint 5th of 15 in Industrial Equipment / Machinery.
What is GEA doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Transparency & Accountability (9/10, 9/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Water Impact (5/10, 5/10).
Where GEA lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations9/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling7/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is6/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets8/10No validated long-term net zero target.
- How openly it reports9/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
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 GEA's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas GEA's score changed?
GEA's score has been reviewed 2 times and currently stands where it started, at 44.
- 44 → 4428 October 2026
Initial public score 44 (publish-draft)
- Scored 4428 October 2026
Initial public score 44 (publish-draft)
What evidence is GEA's score based on?
14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
43% of them were published by GEA itself; the rest come from independent sources.
94% of GEA's reported footprint (about 22 of 23.3 MtCO2e in 2025) is modelled: the energy the machines it sells are expected to use over a 20-year service life. We use the reported total, as we do for the use-phase emissions of oil and car makers. How to treat use-phase emissions for equipment is on our list for the next methodology review.
8 of 14 sources are independent of the company.
“greenhouse gas emissions (market-based) in Scope 1 and 2 amounted to 30,546 metric tons, down 8.6 percent”
“reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 62 percent compared to 2019 by the end of 2025”
“GEA began analyzing its impacts and dependencies on nature in 2024”
“Our goal is that all new GEA solutions will be circular-ready as of 2030”
“for acting to protect water security”
“The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has confirmed that our targets for 2030”
“Die Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) hat das Netto-Null-Ziel bis 2040 von GEA validiert.”
“GEA's own operations are already climate-neutral since the beginning of 2021.”
“only the first step on our net-zero journey”
“Der Maschinenbauer Gea will möglicherweise gegen ein von der Europäischen Kommission verhängtes Bußgeld von bis zu 3,3 Millionen Euro vorgehen.”
“Out of over 5,000 evaluated companies, it ranks 17th worldwide among 750 finalists.”
“GEA will make use of renewable energy certificates, extend its own green power generation and look into long-term power purchase agreements”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does GEA compare with other industrial equipment / machinery companies?
Where GEA sits among industrial equipment / machinery peers.
Among the 15 major industrial equipment / machinery brands we've scored, GEA is tied =5th of 15, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Industrial Equipment / Machinery?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above GEA.
SKF has cut its own emissions 79% since 2019 and 91% of its electricity is renewable, against SBTi-validated targets.
See the breakdown →Schindler reports assured emissions and has SBTi-approved targets for net zero by 2040.
See the breakdown →TK Elevator's market-based operational emissions are 31% below 2019, and its value-chain emissions fell 22% in the last year, partly because it shipped fewer units in China.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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