GSK sustainability score: 51/100
GlaxoSmithKline is a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturer headquartered in London, with operations spanning drug development, manufacturing, and vaccines. It is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue, competing with Pfizer, Roche, and Novartis in primary care, oncology, and vaccines.
Founded 2000Head office London, United KingdomStaff ~99,300 (2016)Revenue ~$40.1BWebsite ↗
GSK has credible climate infrastructure: verified Scope 1&2 data, SBTi-validated net-zero to 2045, and sector-leading nature disclosures. But the company is tracking only 12% of its required 80% emissions cut by 2030. Supply chain data gaps, 49% waste circularity (vs 100% target), and trade association misalignment on EU climate policy expose the gap between commitment and delivery.
GSK scores 51/100 (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 GSK joint 131st of 934 companies scored, and joint 3rd of 22 in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals.
What is GSK doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Energy Source (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (5/10, 6/10).
Where GSK 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 chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is8/10Its own operations aren't shown to run on 100% renewable energy.
- Its effect on nature7/10No verified restoration beyond its own footprint, or supply chain not mapped for nature risk.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water7/10No 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 controversies7/10Points 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 GSK's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas GSK's score changed?
GSK's score has moved from 50 to 51 across 2 recorded reviews, up 1 point.
- 50 → 51+13 October 2026
Aggregator-citation sweep: broker citations replaced with the primary disclosures they mirror, re-scored through the guarded pipeline under pinned code 9196601.
- Scored 504 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is GSK's score based on?
19 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
32% of them were published by GSK itself; the rest come from independent sources.
13 of 19 sources are independent of the company.
“Total scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions (metric tonnes CO2e) 763,998 · 714,786 · 644,639 · 563,959”
“the data addresses energy, CO2 emissions, water consumption, wastewater and quality, waste and other”
“The 2024 information underlying the Responsible Business Performance Rating has been subject to limited assurance by Deloitte”
“Since then, we have been working on an annual basis to update the tool and integrate the results within a Power BI dashboard”
“GSK's scope 3 reduction targets exclude emissions related to its purchase of capital goods (buildings and equipment) and its investments”
“From our baseline year in 2020 to 2024 (latest available data), we have reduced carbon emissions by 17 % across all scopes”
“This includes a commitment as part of the RE100 initiative to 100% purchased renewable electricity by 2025”
“This agreement will facilitate the supply of 200 GWh of renewable electricity certificates per year”
“pharmaceutical giant GSK became the first corporate to officially announce it would publish disclosures in line with the TNFD recommendations”
“The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has announced that Kering, GSK, and Holcim are the first companies to publicly adopt science-based targets for nature”
“Our total estimated water footprint was 218 million m3.”
“We will achieve zero operational waste through a 20% reduction in the amount of both hazardous and non-hazardous waste we generate”
“All plastic waste including packaging is treated in line with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations.”
“GSK already met its 20% water reduction goal in 2022, but has continued to reduce its overall water use by 28% from its 2020 baseline.”
“A 624m3/d wastewater treatment plant handling discharge from the Jurong facility owned by pharmaceuticals and biochemistry giant GSK”
“The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) has approved GSK's net zero target for 2045 in line with their Corporate Net-Zero Standard”
“GSK and VW said they were aware of the greenwashing risk and the need to prioritize emission avoidance and reduction ahead of offsetting.”
“The GSK Executive Committee (ExCom) is accountable for delivering progress against the metrics and regularly reviews performance”
“GSK is a member of several influential industry associations, including the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), which takes negative positions on several key EU climate policies.”
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How does GSK compare with other healthcare / pharmaceuticals companies?
Where GSK sits among healthcare / pharmaceuticals peers.
Among the 22 major healthcare / pharmaceuticals brands we've scored, GSK is tied =3rd of 22, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals?
The 2 companies in the sector scoring nearest above GSK.
Smith & Nephew reports genuine 63% absolute emissions cuts (Scope 1+2) and 59% Scope 3 reductions since 2021, backed by third-party verification.
See the breakdown →Novartis cut its emissions to 4.36 MtCO2e in 2025, with Scope 1 and 2 down 45% and Scope 3 down 17% against 2022, under SBTi-validated targets for net zero by 2040.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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