Ulta Beauty sustainability score: 38/100
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
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Ulta Beauty sells cosmetics, skincare, haircare and fragrance, and offers salon services, in its stores and online; in fiscal 2024 cosmetics were 39% of net sales, skincare 23%, haircare 19% and fragrance 13%. In fiscal 2025 it had 1,591 stores globally, and it has newly acquired the beauty retailer Space NK.
More about Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc. is a Delaware corporation based in Bolingbrook, Illinois; its roots go back to 1990, when the business was founded as a beauty retailer. It reported about 65,000 associates and $12.4 billion net sales in fiscal 2025.
Head office Bolingbrook, United StatesStaff ~65,000 associates (fiscal 2025, as printed in the 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report)Revenue ~US$12.4B net sales (fiscal 2025 to 31 January 2026)Website ↗
Ulta Beauty's footprint was 2,182,557 tCO2e in fiscal 2025, the sum of its printed Scope 1, market-based Scope 2 and Scope 3 lines, up from 2,118,520 t; it covers U.S. operations only. Goods it buys make up 80% of Scope 3. Its 37% renewable electricity figure rests mostly on certificates. SBTi approved its 2030 targets to cut absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90% and emissions from the use of products it sells by 28%, both from 2019; it has no net-zero target. It missed its 2025 sustainable-packaging goal, reaching 40% against 50%, and landfill waste has risen for three years. In 2024 Delaware's environment department assessed a $750 penalty after a store broke the state's plastic carryout bag ban.
Ulta Beauty scores 38/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified November 2026.
That places Ulta Beauty joint 530th of 1,118 companies scored, and joint 28th of 67 in Retail (non-fashion).
What is Ulta Beauty doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Targets & Commitments (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (0/10, 2/10).
Where Ulta Beauty lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow its emissions are falling.
- Its effect on natureAssess its effect on nature and publish a basic environmental policy.
- How clean its energy isMove to a renewable energy tariff or make a major efficiency investment.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling0/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is3/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature2/10No 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 targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No 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 Ulta Beauty's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Ulta Beauty's score based on?
10 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
20% of them were published by Ulta Beauty itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Scope 1 Natural gas, propane, diesel, refrigerants 10,047”
“Emissions within this report reflect only our U.S. operations for fiscal year 2025”
“Increasing use of renewable energy by purchasing Green-e certified renewable energy credits (RECs)”
“Uses renewable energy in its stores ? : Yes - some”
“has agreed to disclose its plastic footprint for its own brand packaging in 2026 and set a new sustainable packaging goal”
“Ulta Beauty earns the distinction as the most improved retailer of 2024, nearly doubling its score from 2021 to 2024”
“We continually work to reduce emissions across our operations and supply chain”
“Providing a plastic carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale violates 7 Del. C. Chapter 60 § 6099A(e)”
“The legal claims span California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, its False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and the Environmental Marketing Claims Act”
“Ulta Beauty is being forced to pay up over hazardous waste violations at five stores in Contra Costa County”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Ulta Beauty compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?
Where Ulta Beauty sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 67 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Ulta Beauty is tied =28th of 67, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Retail (non-fashion)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Ulta Beauty.
Ingka cut its own operational emissions sharply and has SBTi-approved targets, but for FY25 it left out the product and food emissions that make up about 81% of its footprint, so progress on its headline target can't be shown.
See the breakdown →John Lewis Partnership's own emissions fell to 88,598 tCO2e in its year to January 2026, about 40% below 2020/21, and KPMG assures them; its electricity is renewable under certificates and most of its heavy trucks run on biomethane.
See the breakdown →Morrisons reports Scope 1 and 2 emissions of about 404,000 tCO2e, down about 5.5% year on year, but Scope 3 totals remain unpublished.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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