Unilever sustainability score: 29/100
Unilever is a multinational FMCG conglomerate headquartered in London, operating across personal care, home care, foods, and refreshment categories. With €60bn annual revenue and 148,000 employees, it ranks among the largest consumer goods manufacturers globally, making its supply chain sustainability material to millions of tonnes of agricultural commodities annually.
Founded 1929Head office London, United KingdomStaff ~148,000 (2021)Revenue 60,073,000,000 EUR (FY2022)Website ↗
Unilever has reduced operational emissions 77% but Scope 3 is rising, missing 1.5°C targets by 45%. Plastic targets revised downward with 700kt annually still in use. Two regulatory greenwashing findings and a credible NGO report on insufficient climate ambition expose gaps between stated commitments and measurable outcomes.
Unilever scores 29/100 (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 Unilever joint 706th of 934 companies scored, and 40th of 45 in FMCG / Consumer Goods.
What is Unilever doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Resource Use & Waste (4/10, 5/10).
Where Unilever lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- 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 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 nature6/10No verified restoration beyond its own footprint, or supply chain not mapped for nature risk.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No 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 controversies5/10Points 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 Unilever's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Unilever's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
50% of them were published by Unilever itself; the rest come from independent sources.
6 of 12 sources are independent of the company.
“Independent limited assurance is performed by KPMG LLP in accordance with ISAE (UK) 3000”
“In 2024, the total Scope 1 emissions of Unilever were 480,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e)”
“In 2024, we engaged with 291 suppliers…who account for approximately 42% of our Scope 3 GHG emissions”
“The direct Scope 3 emissions were only 1.4% lower compared to 2022”
“We have reduced our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 77% vs 2015”
“missing emission targets set by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by 45% when total GHG emissions were considered”
“by the end of 2024, this had helped to protect and restore 430,000 hectares of natural ecosystems”
“We reduced our use of virgin plastics for our product packaging by 29% versus 2019”
“Unilever reported 53% of its packaging was reusable, recyclable or compostable in 2023, far from the 100% goal”
“In 2025, we implemented nine additional water stewardship programmes, bringing our total to 29 active programmes in water-stressed areas in 14 countries”
“The self-regulated Advertising Standards Authority banned a video ad for Unilever's Persil laundry detergent in 2022”
“The CMA has decided as a matter of administrative priority to close this investigation”
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How does Unilever compare with other fmcg / consumer goods companies?
Where Unilever sits among fmcg / consumer goods peers.
Among the 45 major fmcg / consumer goods brands we've scored, Unilever sits 40th of 45.
Who scores higher in FMCG / Consumer Goods?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Unilever.
Rentokil Initial discloses Scope 1 & 2 emissions but covers only 2 of 15 Scope 3 categories, masking ~58% of estimated value-chain emissions.
See the breakdown →Kraft Heinz reports emissions data with third-party assurance but Scope 3 remains 95% of total with qualified audits and unverified categories.
See the breakdown →Method Products hides behind parent SC Johnson's vague sustainability claims while dodging material disclosure.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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