Starling Bank sustainability score: 42/100
Starling Bank is a UK-based digital retail and SME bank founded in 2014, headquartered in London. Branchless and app-first, it holds £12.1B in customer deposits and a £2.3B+ mortgage portfolio.
More about Starling Bank
With 4,158 employees, it operates as a software-driven fintech bank competing against traditional lenders and other digital challengers.
Founded 2014Head office London, GBStaff ~3,231Revenue ~£714MWebsite ↗
Starling Bank reports low operational emissions but excludes financed emissions entirely—the material impact for any lender. Absolute emissions rose in 2023–2024 despite intensity improvements. SBTi commitment was removed; net-zero target lacks credibility. A £29M FCA fine for financial crime controls in October 2024 compounds governance concerns.
Starling Bank scores 42/100 (Below expectations) 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 Starling Bank joint 357th of 934 companies scored, and joint 13th of 59 in Financial Services / Banking.
Limited evidence. This score rests on 7 sources, 29% of them published by the company itself. Every source cited here passed the same quality checks as any other score: all live, none from data aggregators. There is simply less of it.
What is Starling Bank doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Controversies & Red Flags (6/10, 6/10). Weakest on Targets & Commitments and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (2/10, 3/10).
Where Starling Bank lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain3/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling3/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- 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 water3/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets2/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports4/10No dedicated sustainability role, board oversight or public report.
- Its record on controversies6/10Points 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 Starling Bank's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Starling Bank's score based on?
7 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
29% of them were published by Starling Bank itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 6 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
This company's public sustainability disclosure is limited. This score is based on the 7 verified sources cited below, rather than padded to a standard count.
Limited data coverage. This assessment is based on 7 sources, 29% of which are self-reported by the company. Scores may change as independent evidence becomes available.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Starling Bank compare with other financial services / banking companies?
Where Starling Bank sits among financial services / banking peers.
Among the 59 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, Starling Bank is tied =13th of 59, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Financial Services / Banking?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Starling Bank.
Halifax's parent, Lloyds Banking Group, reports comprehensive operational emissions and 100% renewable electricity, but financed emissions dwarf these efforts at 32.8 MtCO2e.
See the breakdown →Coventry Building Society's footprint was 1.02 MtCO2e in 2025, almost all of it from the homes it lends on, which it measures on the standard PCAF basis.
See the breakdown →Lloyds reports material financed emissions (18.6 MtCO2e) and owns a 36% reduction since 2018, but relies heavily on estimated data, supply-chain emissions are rising, and an ASA ban for misleading climate advertising exposes credibility gaps.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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