Protein Works sustainability score: 19/100

No formal emissions data has been published anywhere. No sustainability report exists, no CDP disclosure, and no SECR filing was located for the legal entity Class Delta Ltd (trading as Protein Works), which falls below the UK SECR mandatory threshold (~165 employees, £50.7M revenue). The company operates food manufacturing and fulfilment from a 100,000 sq ft campus in Liverpool (opened May 2025), consolidating multiple Runcorn sites. Given ~165 employees and food manufacturing operations, Scope 1+2 is estimated at 1,000–5,000 tonnes CO₂e — a small but non-negligible footprint. Scored 2: no data, estimated footprint under 10,000 tonnes, SME-scale manufacturing.

No Scope 3 data has been published. The Protein Works sources whey protein from the dairy industry, a supply chain category with significant upstream GHG emissions, land use, and water impact. The product range also includes vegan proteins (plant-based), but dairy-derived whey remains a core revenue driver. No supplier engagement programme, no Scope 3 assessment, and no value chain mapping have been disclosed. The company's e-commerce fulfilment model adds downstream logistics emissions. Supply chain complexity is moderate-to-significant given dairy ingredient sourcing. Scored 1: mid-sized company with significant upstream procurement and no supply chain disclosure.

No emissions trajectory data exists. The company has grown turnover 39.4% in FY2023, a further 18% in FY2024, and moved into a new 100,000 sq ft manufacturing and fulfilment campus in May 2025. Staff numbers rose 20% in 2024 alone. With rapidly expanding manufacturing capacity, new facility, and accelerating international growth, absolute emissions are almost certainly increasing. There is no baseline, no trajectory, and no evidence of any decarbonisation action. Scored 0: no data, large growing company in food manufacturing with demonstrably expanding physical footprint.

No renewable energy strategy or commitment has been published. No green energy tariff, on-site generation, RE100 membership, or power purchase agreement has been disclosed. The company operates energy-consuming food manufacturing and fulfilment operations, including a new large-footprint campus (100,000 sq ft in Liverpool from May 2025). No energy consumption data, no energy management programme, and no efficiency commitments appear in any public source. Scored 1: no renewable strategy and moderate-to-significant energy consumer (food manufacturing, warehouse operations).

Protein Works sources whey protein from the dairy supply chain, which is associated with land use for feed crops, risk of soy-linked deforestation (as feed ingredient), and animal agriculture's broader biodiversity impacts. No nature risk assessment, no deforestation-free commitment, no TNFD disclosure, and no supplier environmental requirements have been published. No biodiversity policy is referenced on the company website (none of the 60 verified URLs link to a nature, environment, or sustainability page). The company offers vegan protein options, which carry lower nature impact than dairy, but this is a product portfolio choice rather than an active nature stewardship commitment. Scored 1: significant nature exposure via dairy supply chain with no mitigation disclosed.

One third-party blog (4ocean.com) states that The Protein Works has made its protein powder packaging 'entirely recyclable', but no primary source, certification, or independent verification for this claim was found. No circularity targets, no waste reduction data, no supplier sustainability requirements, and no public reporting on materials or waste have been identified. The company's e-commerce model generates packaging waste through delivery. A claim of recyclable packaging — if accurate — represents a basic step; however, recyclability without verified recycling rates, recycled content data, or collection infrastructure is a minimum bar. Scored 2: some awareness of packaging waste (recyclable claim), but no verified data or formal programme.

No water consumption data, no discharge reporting, and no water stewardship programme have been disclosed. The company operates food manufacturing which involves water use in production and cleaning processes. Whey protein upstream supply (dairy) is water-intensive. No water bills, utility data, or reduction targets are publicly available. No pollution incidents or regulatory actions were found. Scored 1: no water data, manufacturing operations with non-negligible water consumption, and significant upstream water footprint via dairy ingredient sourcing.

No environmental targets of any kind have been published. Protein Works is not listed on the SBTi database (committed, validated, or otherwise). No net-zero commitment, no interim reduction target, no offset policy, and no science-aligned pathway have been disclosed. No CDP submission found. The company has no public sustainability commitments visible on its website or in any third-party registry. Scored 0: no targets, no commitments, no disclosure.

No sustainability report, ESG disclosure, impact report, or TCFD filing has been published. None of the 60 verified URLs on theproteinworks.com include a sustainability, environment, impact, or ESG section. No dedicated sustainability role is publicly identified. No board-level sustainability governance is disclosed. The company is privately held (though recently acquired by Lactalis) and has not published environmental data voluntarily or under regulatory compulsion. Scored 1: private company with no environmental reporting infrastructure visible and no public sustainability data.

No environmental controversies, regulatory fines, greenwashing rulings (ASA or otherwise), climate litigation, or credible NGO criticism were found in any search. Protein Works is not on InfluenceMap's LobbyMap, has no known trade association memberships linked to anti-climate lobbying, and has made no public climate policy interventions. No structural fossil-sector enablement applies. The company is an SME in the food sector with a clean environmental record — no deductions warranted. Starting score of 8 with no deductions applies. Score: 8.