Telefónica sustainability score: 51/100
Telefónica is a Spanish telecoms group headquartered in Madrid. Spain is 37% of its revenue, Brazil 27% and Germany 23%, and it owns half of Virgin Media O2 in the UK; it sold its operators in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador in 2025.
More about Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. was incorporated in 1924. It had 82,655 employees and €35.1 billion revenue in 2025.
Founded 1924Head office Madrid, SpainStaff ~82,655 (end 2025)Revenue ~€35.1B (FY2025)Website ↗
Telefónica's own emissions are 91% below 2015, but its supply-chain emissions, 96% of its 2.93 MtCO2e footprint, rose 0.9% in 2025. 93% of its electricity is renewable, 37% of it through unbundled certificates. Its net-zero-by-2040 targets are SBTi-validated, but it counts carbon credits as cancelling out its own emissions in its main markets, and by its own account 38% of them came from avoided-deforestation projects rather than removals.
Telefónica scores 51/100 (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 Telefónica joint 131st of 934 companies scored, and joint 5th of 19 in Telecommunications.
What is Telefónica doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Targets & Commitments (9/10, 8/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 5/10).
Where Telefónica 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 chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling4/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is6/10Less 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 waste7/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- 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 Telefónica's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Telefónica's score changed?
Telefónica's score has moved from 54 to 51 across 2 recorded reviews, down 3 points.
- 54 → 51-329 October 2026
Re-scored under the current methodology (v2.5); owner ruling 2026-10-29
- Scored 544 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Telefónica's score based on?
11 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
18% of them were published by Telefónica itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“In 2025 scope 1 emissions were 12% lower than in 2024”
“las emisiones de alcance 3 habían disminuido un 28,2 por ciento respecto de 2016”
“CALCULO, REDUZCO Y COMPENSO”
“an intermediate target of reducing absolute GHG emissions in Scope 1 and 2 by 80% and 56% in Scope 3 (value chain) by 2030.”
“includes decarbonisation targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)”
“In 2025, 93 percent of the electricity consumed across Telefonica’s own facilities came from renewable sources”
“In 2023-25, Telefonica has engaged with both positive and negative positioning on climate change policy.”
“Telefónica ha sido reconocida, por duodécimo año consecutivo, como compañía líder global por su acción contra el cambio climático”
“de las cuales solo 877 han logrado formar parte de la”
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How does Telefónica compare with other telecommunications companies?
Where Telefónica sits among telecommunications peers.
Among the 19 major telecommunications brands we've scored, Telefónica is tied =5th of 19, with 4 others.
Who scores higher in Telecommunications?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Telefónica.
Proximus cut its total emissions 15% from 2020 to 2025 and has SBTi-validated targets for net zero by 2040, but in 2024 it replaced its near-term targets with weaker ones and expects to miss its 2030 supply-chain target by 11%.
See the breakdown →Telefônica Brasil has delivered measurable emissions reductions and 100% renewable electricity, backed by verified GHG accounting and SBTi targets.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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