Smith & Nephew sustainability score: 53/100
Limited independent evidence: only two independent sources cover this company. The score may change as more evidence appears.
Smith & Nephew is a London-headquartered medical technology manufacturer founded in 1856, employing 11,000 people globally. It designs, manufactures and distributes surgical products, wound care, orthopaedic reconstruction, trauma devices, and advanced wound bioactives across 90+ countries.
More about Smith & Nephew
Mid-cap healthcare equipment supplier with diversified geographic footprint.
Head office United KingdomStaff ~17,500Revenue ~$5.8BWebsite ↗
Smith & Nephew reports genuine 63% absolute emissions cuts (Scope 1+2) and 59% Scope 3 reductions since 2021, backed by third-party verification. Energy transition is real but hampered by reliance on unbundled renewable energy certificates. Nature impact, water stewardship, and SBTi validation remain underdeveloped.
Smith & Nephew scores 53/100 (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 Smith & Nephew joint 87th of 934 companies scored, and 1st of 22 in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals.
What is Smith & Nephew doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Emissions Trajectory (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Water Impact (3/10, 4/10).
Where Smith & Nephew 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 chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling8/10Not shown to be on a 1.5°C path across all its emissions.
- How clean its energy is6/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water4/10No 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 reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- 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 Smith & Nephew's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Smith & Nephew's score changed?
Smith & Nephew's score has moved from 51 to 53 across 2 recorded reviews, up 2 points.
- 51 → 53+23 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 512 August 2026
Initial public score 51 (publish-draft)
What evidence is Smith & Nephew's score based on?
8 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
38% of them were published by Smith & Nephew itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“In 2024, the total market-based Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions footprint was 24,662 tonnes of CO2e.”
“Data independently assured by ERM CVS; more details and the full assurance report are available in the 2024 Sustainability Report on pages 46–47.”
“Smith+Nephew received an A rating in the assessment, which evaluates corporate supply chain engagement practices on climate issues.”
“We are developing our Scope 3 emissions reduction roadmap in preparation for submitting this to the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) for validation.”
“we are mindful of the importance of biodiversity, particularly in some of the countries in which we operate including Costa Rica and Malaysia.”
“environmental violation $12,500 1 — Smith & Nephew Inc. — EPA — 2025”
“Smith & Nephew Inc., agreed to pay a $16.8 million fine to settle parallel criminal charges announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
“The 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F was filed with the SEC earlier today.”
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How does Smith & Nephew compare with other healthcare / pharmaceuticals companies?
Smith & Nephew is the highest-scoring healthcare / pharmaceuticals company we've rated.
Among the 22 major healthcare / pharmaceuticals brands we've scored, Smith & Nephew sits 1st of 22.
Who comes next in Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals?
Smith & Nephew leads its sector. These are the next 3 down.
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.
See the breakdown →Nemera's total footprint has risen for two years, to 126,000 tCO2e in 2025, after falling from its 2019 level.
See the breakdown →GSK has credible climate infrastructure: verified Scope 1&2 data, SBTi-validated net-zero to 2045, and sector-leading nature disclosures.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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