Trader Joe's sustainability score: 18/100
Trader Joe's is a US grocery retailer founded in 1958, headquartered in Monrovia, California, operating over 600 stores. Known for private-label products and a loyal customer base, it is a major supermarket chain in the specialty grocery segment.
More about Trader Joe's
The company is privately held by the Albanese family.
Founded 1958Head office Monrovia, United StatesStaff ~50,000Revenue ~$16BWebsite ↗
Trader Joe's is a sustainability laggard masquerading as an eco-conscious grocer. The company refuses to disclose emissions, has no climate targets, operates an opaque global supply chain, and faces documented deforestation exposure. A 2016 EPA settlement for refrigerant leaks and consistent NGO criticism underscore the gap between brand image and environmental reality.
Trader Joe's scores 18/100 (Significant gaps) 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 Trader Joe's joint 912th of 934 companies scored, and 50th of 50 in Retail (non-fashion).
What is Trader Joe's doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Controversies & Red Flags and Resource Use & Waste (4/10, 3/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (0/10, 0/10).
Where Trader Joe's lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations0/10No emissions figures for its own operations, not even an estimate from energy bills.
- Emissions from its supply chain0/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling0/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is0/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature1/10No evidence it knows its main risks to nature.
- How it uses materials and handles waste3/10No active waste reduction, reuse or repair shown.
- Its effect on water1/10No figures for its water use.
- Its climate targets1/10No emissions reduction targets.
- How openly it reports0/10No sustainability information published.
- Its record on controversies4/10Points 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 Trader Joe's's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Trader Joe's's score based on?
11 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
9% of them were published by Trader Joe's itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 4 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Trader Joe's compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?
Trader Joe's sits at the bottom of the retail (non-fashion) pack.
Among the 50 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Trader Joe's sits 50th of 50.
Who scores higher in Retail (non-fashion)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Trader Joe's.
The White Company publishes no emissions figures of its own: its parent reports them only for The White Company and Charles Tyrwhitt together, so it is marked without them.
See the breakdown →Sports Direct has unverified operational emissions data but drastically underreported supply chain emissions for a £5.5B global retailer.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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