Hershey sustainability score: 48/100
Better than 75% of Food & Beverage (non-meat)
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
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Hershey makes chocolate, sweets, mints and salty snacks under brands including Hershey's, Reese's and Kisses. In 2025 its North America Confectionery segment brought in $9,479.7 million, North America Salty Snacks $1,271.3 million and International $941.6 million.
More about Hershey
The Hershey Company was incorporated in Delaware on 24 October 1927; its roots go back to 1894, when Milton S. Hershey founded the business. It had about 17,550 full-time and 2,045 part-time employees at the end of 2025 and $11,692.6 million net sales in 2025.
Founded 1927Head office Hershey, United StatesStaff ~17,550 full-time and ~2,045 part-time employees (31 December 2025)Revenue ~US$11.7B net sales (US$11,692.6M, 2025)Website ↗
Hershey's footprint was 5,821,245 tCO2e in 2025, down from 6,623,403 t in 2024; purchased goods and services, mainly ingredients such as cocoa and dairy, account for 4,650,715 t. Its own operations are flat. Its 85% renewable or zero-emission electricity figure rests mostly on certificates, including unbundled renewable certificates and zero-emission credits; it has solar power purchase agreements but does not say how much they supply. SBTi approved its absolute 2030 targets: cuts of 50% in Scope 1 and 2, 36.4% in land-related Scope 3 and 30.0% in other Scope 3 from 2018. It missed its 2025 deforestation-free sourcing target, and its water use is rising.
Hershey scores 48/100 (Making progress) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified November 2026.
That places Hershey joint 233rd of 1,118 companies scored, and joint 12th of 60 in Food & Beverage (non-meat).
What is Hershey doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Energy Source and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where Hershey lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- How clean its energy isShow at least half its energy is renewable, with a transition plan.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles wasteReport measurable waste or recycling targets publicly.
Every question that lost points
- 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 falling6/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is4/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its 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 water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets8/10No validated long-term net zero target.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
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 Hershey's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Hershey's score based on?
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
31% of them were published by Hershey itself; the rest come from independent sources.
9 of 13 sources are independent of the company.
“Direct (Scope 1) emissions MTCO2e 190,815 190,984 178,001”
“Our review was conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants”
“Category 1 – Purchased goods and services 4,650,715”
“Whilst our Scope 2 emissions decreased, our Scope 1 emissions increased.”
“oversees our sustainability strategies, priorities, progress, risks and opportunities”
“In 2025, The Hershey Company identified two instances of non-compliance.”
“Net sales $ 9,479,709 $ 1,271,299 $ 941,568 $ 11,692,576”
“are exposed to deforestation in Liberia through their "mass balance" purchasing practices”
“Global Witness has mapped supply chains it claims has left Mars, Nestlé, Mondelez International, Hershey and Unilever exposed to deforestation”
“important market actors such as General Mills, Hershey’s and Storck must also do more to fully map their cocoa supply chains”
“Green and yellow companies are the ones doing the harder work on child labor, farmer income and forests.”
“European Brands Association (AIM) 63% Business Roundtable 64%”
“Hershey’s also received an “F” grade on As You Sow’s recent report evaluating corporate packaging sustainability”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Hershey compare with other food & beverage (non-meat) companies?
Where Hershey sits among food & beverage (non-meat) peers.
Among the 60 major food & beverage (non-meat) brands we've scored, Hershey is tied =12th of 60, with 4 others.
Who scores higher in Food & Beverage (non-meat)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Hershey.
Pernod Ricard cut its total emissions 9% in FY26 and 18.5% since FY22 against SBTi-validated net-zero targets, though part of the fall came from lower volumes.
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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