International Business Machines Corporation sustainability score: 56/100
IBM is a diversified information technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, operating across cloud computing, enterprise software, quantum computing, and professional services. With 352,600 employees and $62.8 billion in annual revenue, it ranks among the world's largest IT and consulting firms.
Founded 1911Head office Armonk, United StatesStaff ~270,000Revenue $62.8B (FY2024)Website ↗
IBM has cut operational emissions 68.5% since 2010 and sources 79.6% renewable electricity, meeting near-term targets early. But Scope 3 reporting is absent—a critical gap for a hardware and services company at this scale—and IBM actively lobbies against climate policy through the US Chamber of Commerce and NAM while serving fossil fuel clients.
International Business Machines Corporation scores 56/100 (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 May 2026.
That places International Business Machines Corporation joint 39th of 934 companies scored, and joint 9th of 29 in Consulting / Professional Services.
What is International Business Machines Corporation doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Emissions Trajectory (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where International Business Machines Corporation 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 chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling7/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less 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 waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets5/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies5/10Points 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 International Business Machines Corporation's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas International Business Machines Corporation's score changed?
International Business Machines Corporation's score has been reviewed 2 times and currently stands where it started, at 56.
- 56 → 5625 April 2026
Session 2a cleanup: recomputed performance from sum(questions[].score). performance 56→57, score 56→56.
- Scored 568 February 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is International Business Machines Corporation's score based on?
11 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
36% of them were published by International Business Machines Corporation 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.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does International Business Machines Corporation compare with other consulting / professional services companies?
Where International Business Machines Corporation sits among consulting / professional services peers.
Among the 29 major consulting / professional services brands we've scored, International Business Machines Corporation is tied =9th of 29, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Consulting / Professional Services?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above International Business Machines Corporation.
Cooper Parry's footprint rose 31% in two years to 8,545 tCO2e in its 2025 financial year, almost all of it from its supply chain, even though its direct emissions fell 94% and its electricity is now renewable under certificates.
See the breakdown →Birketts's footprint was 4,632 tCO2e in its 2024/25 year, 16% below its 2023/24 baseline, though its direct emissions rose and its carbon plan and its accounts give different figures for them.
See the breakdown →Hymans Robertson's footprint was about 5,200 tCO2e in 2025/26, mostly from its supply chain, and its core emissions fell 13% in the year after two years of rises.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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