Kainos sustainability score: 54/100
Better than 81% of SaaS / Digital Services
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Limited independent evidence: only two independent sources cover this company. The score may change as more evidence appears.
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Kainos is a London-listed digital services and software company run from Belfast, building digital services for government and healthcare and implementing Workday software for businesses. It reported £431.1 million of revenue for the year to 31 March 2026, with about 2,947 employees.
Founded 2015Head office London, United KingdomStaff ~2,947 (2026)Revenue £431.1 million revenue (year ended 31 March 2026; 2025: £367.2 million)Website ↗
Kainos met its earlier SBTi target for Scope 1 and 2, which it says fell 75% from FY20, but its total emissions, mostly Scope 3 from purchases and travel, rose to 12,941 tCO2e in FY26, above its FY20 level. Its Scope 3 target was intensity-based, new targets are still in development, and it publishes no renewable electricity share or water data.
Kainos scores 54/100 (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 Kainos joint 81st of 1,118 companies scored, and joint 13th of 73 in SaaS / Digital Services.
What is Kainos doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Controversies & Red Flags and Carbon Footprint: Operations (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Water Impact (2/10, 2/10).
Where Kainos 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
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow its emissions are falling.
- Its effect on waterMonitor its water use and take measures to reduce it.
- How clean its energy isMove to a renewable energy tariff or make a major efficiency investment.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling2/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is3/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets6/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No 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 Kainos's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Kainos's score based on?
8 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
75% of them were published by Kainos itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Scope 1: Combustion of fuels and operation of facility 46 23 89 22”
“3.1 Purchased goods and services 4938 3.2 Capital goods 1848”
“mapped our Tier 1 upstream value chain and categorised suppliers by emissions scope—primarily Purchased Goods and Services.”
“We will procure renewable energy from reliable sources to power our business wherever practicable.”
“We will support environmental education, awareness and biodiversity through volunteering initiatives including community garden development, river clean-ups and other conservation activities.”
“air-source heat pumps, heat-recovery ventilation, and low-energy LED lighting. The building is targeting BREEAM Outstanding certification.”
“Kainos expects One Bankmore will be the first office development in Northern Ireland to achieve ‘BREEAM Outstanding’”
“In 2022 Kainos signed up for the Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism.”
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How does Kainos compare with other saas / digital services companies?
Where Kainos sits among saas / digital services peers.
Among the 73 major saas / digital services brands we've scored, Kainos is tied =13th of 73, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in SaaS / Digital Services?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Kainos.
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