Novartis sustainability score: 52/100
Novartis is a Swiss medicines company headquartered in Basel. Novartis AG was incorporated in 1996, and the Sandoz generics business was spun off in 2023.
More about Novartis
It had about 75,300 full-time employees and USD 54.5 billion net sales in 2025.
Founded 1996Head office Basel, SwitzerlandStaff ~75,300 FTE (2025)Revenue ~$54.5B net sales (FY2025)Website ↗
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. Its electricity is 100% renewable, though only 49% of all its energy is. Its waste rose in 2025, its 'carbon neutral' claim rests on removal credits and certificates, and old chemical landfills near Basel are still being cleaned up.
Novartis scores 52/100 (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 Novartis joint 110th of 934 companies scored, and 2nd of 22 in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals.
What is Novartis doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (9/10, 9/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Resource Use & Waste (5/10, 5/10).
Where Novartis lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations9/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain9/10Its Scope 3 emissions aren't fully verified or falling year on year.
- Whether its emissions are falling8/10Not shown to be on a 1.5°C path across all its emissions.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its 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 water6/10No water stewardship programme or verified fall in water use.
- Its climate targets8/10No validated long-term net zero target.
- 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 Novartis's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Novartis's score changed?
Novartis's score has moved from 50 to 52 across 3 recorded reviews, up 2 points.
- 50 → 52+228 October 2026
Europe RE100 re-score under v2.5.21 (owner rulings 2026-10-28)
- 50 → 5028 October 2026
Bio correction, score unchanged. Headquarters "Prague, Czech Republic" -> "Basel, Switzerland" per the Novartis AG Form 20-F for FY2025 cover page (principal executive offices: Lichtstrasse 35, 4056 Basel; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001114448/000111444826000004/nvs-20251231.htm).
- Scored 504 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Novartis's score based on?
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
46% of them were published by Novartis itself; the rest come from independent sources.
7 of 13 sources are independent of the company.
“Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions 198.4 210.6”
“KPMG AG has provided limited assurance in accordance”
“Assess the impact on nature at Novartis sites close to nature-sensitive areas”
“have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)”
“Novartis discloses the global total of fees related to membership fees paid to trade associations”
“adding more than 275 megawatts of clean power”
“collectively add more than 275 megawatts of clean power to the electrical grid”
“implemented on-site solar panels generating 3,000 megawatt-hours annually”
“Novartis does not publicly disclose audit results containing antibacterial discharge levels”
“reflecting an A rating in both CDP Climate Change and CDP Water Security in 2024”
“Konkret düften Novartis, BASF und Syngenta 50 Millionen zahlen”
“Damit dürfte sich die Sanierung des mit Lindan belasteten Geländes um ein weiteres halbes Jahr verzögern”
“has transitioned to 100 percent renewable electricity across its global operations under its RE100 commitment”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Novartis compare with other healthcare / pharmaceuticals companies?
Where Novartis sits among healthcare / pharmaceuticals peers.
Among the 22 major healthcare / pharmaceuticals brands we've scored, Novartis sits 2nd of 22.
Who scores higher in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals?
The one company in the sector scoring above Novartis.
See the full Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals table →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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