HSBC Holdings plc sustainability score: 32/100
HSBC Holdings is a multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in London. With 219,697 employees and $62.4bn revenue (FY2024), it operates as a universal bank across retail, commercial, investment banking and wealth management globally.
More about HSBC Holdings plc
Founded in 1865, it ranks among the world's largest banks by assets.
Founded 1865Head office 8 Canada Square, United KingdomStaff ~219,697 (2021)Revenue $62.4B (FY2024)Website ↗
HSBC's operational emissions have genuinely declined 76% since 2019, but financed emissions — the bank's true environmental footprint — have worsened. Targets were systematically weakened in February 2025: net-zero operations pushed to 2050, oil & gas reduction halved to 14–30%, power utilities switched to intensity metrics. The bank exited SBTi validation and the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, and faces an upheld ASA ruling for greenwashing. Leadership position on climate regulation is actively obstructive.
HSBC Holdings plc scores 32/100 (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 HSBC Holdings plc joint 620th of 934 companies scored, and joint 36th of 59 in Financial Services / Banking.
What is HSBC Holdings plc doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Energy Source (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain and Targets & Commitments (2/10, 2/10).
Where HSBC Holdings plc lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain2/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is6/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets2/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports5/10No dedicated sustainability role, board oversight or public report.
- 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 HSBC Holdings plc's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas HSBC Holdings plc's score changed?
HSBC Holdings plc's score has moved from 35 to 32 across 2 recorded reviews, down 3 points.
- 35 → 32-33 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 358 February 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is HSBC Holdings plc's score based on?
10 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
40% of them were published by HSBC Holdings plc itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“In 2024 we achieved a reduction in absolute operational greenhouse gas emissions (energy and business travel) of 66.1% from our 2019 baseline”
“75.4% of HSBC's Energy consumption in KWh before uplift and scale up [from renewable sources]”
“Total water consumption 1,712 [2025] 1,654 [2024] 1,568 [2023] thousand m³”
“76% reduction in our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions in 2024 from our 2019 baseline”
“Spain's Santander, France's BNP Paribas, Germany's Deutsche Bank, and the UK's HSBC each contributed between $14 and $17.3 billion to the industry in 2024”
“we continue to focus on the reduction and recycling of all waste”
“the ASA found the ads to be misleading as per rules 3.1, 3.3 and 11.1 of the CAP code”
“Barclays and HSBC actively advocated to weaken the UK's climate-related policy ambition”
“HSBC could now finance transactions that were prohibited under the previous version of its policy”
“HSBC, on its website, has not disclosed its trade association memberships since 2020, despite retaining membership to industry associations engaged on climate-related policy”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does HSBC Holdings plc compare with other financial services / banking companies?
Where HSBC Holdings plc sits among financial services / banking peers.
Among the 59 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, HSBC Holdings plc is tied =36th of 59, with 6 others.
Who scores higher in Financial Services / Banking?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above HSBC Holdings plc.
Commerzbank has cut emissions from its own banking operations 47% since 2021, but its financed emissions rose 24% in 2025 to about 92 MtCO2e.
See the breakdown →Jupiter's financed emissions rose 48% year-on-year to 26.2 MtCO2e while operational emissions fell marginally.
See the breakdown →SJP's emissions are rising sharply across Scope 3 (up 603% since 2016), its 2025 net zero operations target has failed, and multi-year trajectory data is corrupted by perimeter re-baselining.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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