Virgin Atlantic sustainability score: 32/100
Virgin Atlantic is a UK-based airline founded in 1976, headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex. The carrier operates transatlantic and European routes with a fleet of Airbus aircraft.
More about Virgin Atlantic
Mid-size by global aviation standards, it competes with legacy carriers and low-cost operators. Emissions-intensive operations dominate its environmental footprint.
Founded 1976Head office Crawley, West Sussex, United KingdomStaff ~8,875 (2016)Revenue ~£3.3BWebsite ↗
Virgin Atlantic discloses Scope 1 and 2 emissions with assurance, but absolute emissions are rising as capacity grows. SAF uplift is negligible at 1% of fuel. The airline was sanctioned by the UK ASA for misleading climate claims and continued making those claims after the ruling. Lobbying against UK SAF policy strengthening has also been documented.
Virgin Atlantic scores 32/100 (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 July 2026.
That places Virgin Atlantic joint 620th of 934 companies scored, and 2nd of 9 in Aerospace.
What is Virgin Atlantic doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (2/10, 3/10).
Where Virgin Atlantic 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 chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling2/10No evidence its emissions are falling, not even from energy bills or mileage.
- How clean its energy is3/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- 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 water4/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets4/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies3/10Points 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 Virgin Atlantic's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Virgin Atlantic's score based on?
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
33% of them were published by Virgin Atlantic itself; the rest come from independent sources.
8 of 12 sources are independent of the company.
“Fuel consumption is calculated for every flight taken during the year, using fuel on board data collated directly from the aircraft”
“Scope 1 emissions of about 3,812,024,000 kg CO2e, Scope 2 emissions of approximately 1,291,000 kg CO2e”
“emitting 18% less CO2 per revenue tonne km than we did ten years ago, despite growing capacity by 18%”
“Virgin used only 11,688 tonnes of SAF, representing 1.0% of their total fuel use”
“Virgin Atlantic secured an offtake agreement with Gevo, which is equivalent to 216,000 tons over seven years”
“Virgin last year bought more than 600,000 litres of 'used' cooking oil from China and Indonesia to turn into SAF”
“The airline has removed millions of single-use plastic bottles and introduced sustainable alternatives”
“The ASA ruled against Virgin nine months ago for using this language in an advert, saying it was likely to lead a 'significant proportion' of people to 'overestimate' the environmental benefits”
“InfluenceMap's analysis reveals the weakened SAF mandate came after pressure from Shell, BP, the International Airlines Group, Airlines UK and Virgin Atlantic airline”
“Non-financial and sustainability statement 26 · Business as a force for good · Pages 27 to 77”
“2024 ESG Independent Limited Assurance Report · Responsible Supplier Policy · Modern Slavery Statement 2024”
“Virgin Holdings Limited commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2023 base year”
“The ASA ruled Virgin Atlantic's '100% sustainable aviation fuel' radio ad misleading — listeners would think the fuel itself was 100% sustainable.”
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How does Virgin Atlantic compare with other aerospace companies?
Where Virgin Atlantic sits among aerospace peers.
Among the 9 major aerospace brands we've scored, Virgin Atlantic sits 2nd of 9.
Who scores higher in Aerospace?
The one company in the sector scoring above Virgin Atlantic.
See the full Aerospace table →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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