We scored every UK supermarket on sustainability
We scored every UK supermarket on sustainability, from the Co-op and Sainsbury's to Tesco and ASDA. See the live scores and what holds each one back.
UK supermarkets feed nearly 70 million people. The choices they make about what to stock, where to source it, and what to report shape the country's food system more than any other private sector decision.
We scored 11 UK supermarkets from 0 to 100 using the same formula we apply to every company in the SINK database, from public data with an open method.
Scores are out of 100. The bands: Near the frontier 86+ · Exceptional 75–85 · Leading practice 60–74 · Making progress 46–59 · Below expectations 31–45 · Significant gaps 16–30 · Critical concern 0–15.
The scores
Live scores, highest first:
When we published this on 29 May 2026, the Co-op led the table and ASDA was at the bottom. Scores move as evidence changes, so the table above is always today's.
For context, Patagonia scores 50. Ørsted, the Danish energy company, scores 61. UK supermarkets, collectively, score in a similar range to outdoor clothing brands, and well below companies built around clean energy.
Why the Co-op led
Two structural factors help explain the gap.
Ownership. The Co-op is owned by its members, not by shareholders. The cooperative structure may help explain part of the gap, without quarterly pressure from stock market investors, long-term sustainability spending faces fewer obstacles. It is the only mutually owned business in the UK supermarket sector, and it has a long history of ethical positioning that predates the current sustainability era.
Scale. Most of a supermarket's emissions don't come from running its stores. They come from the food, packaging, and supply chain behind what it sells. This is called Scope 3, and it dwarfs everything else. The bigger the supermarket, the bigger that footprint. SINK applies a penalty for total emissions volume, because the climate feels total tonnes, whatever the revenue behind them. Tesco alone emits roughly 59 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent a year, more than any other UK retailer by an order of magnitude. The Co-op, with a far smaller estate and turnover, faces a much lighter penalty.
The Co-op's score (50/100) isn't strong on its own. In this sector, when we published, it was the highest there was.
The middle of the table
When we published, Sainsbury's, M&S, Waitrose, Ocado, Iceland and Tesco sat close together in the middle of the table. These supermarkets have substantive sustainability programmes and detailed reporting. They aren't failing. They are being pulled down by the sheer volume of emissions they are responsible for, and in some cases by missed commitments or unresolved supply chain problems.
Sainsbury's, at 43, has more than halved its operational emissions since 2018 and holds a CDP A rating for climate for the tenth consecutive year. Its SBTi-validated targets are absolute. The main blemish is a 2019 Earthsight investigation linking Sainsbury's corned beef to JBS supply chains tied to Amazon deforestation, a governance gap not yet closed.
M&S, at 46, has cut operational emissions by around a third since 2016, but its total footprint is not falling. Its long-term net-zero commitment was removed from the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5°C list in 2024 for missing a submission deadline. Changing Markets found that 88% of M&S's sustainability claims for clothing would not meet CMA guidelines.
Iceland, at 42, moved up after renewable electricity procurement, a power purchase agreement plus REGO certificates, lifted its energy score. Iceland reversed its 2018 palm oil ban in 2022, and separately abandoned a pledge to remove own-label plastic by 2023; both commitments remained on its sustainability website after the reversals. Iceland is also the most carbon-intensive UK supermarket: 38.33 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per million pounds of sales, more than three times Aldi and Lidl.
Tesco, at 38, has cut store and electricity emissions by 65% since 2015, holds SBTi-validated net-zero targets, and is the leading corporate power purchase agreement buyer in Great Britain. The constraint is Scope 3: with 59 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in its supply chain footprint, no amount of operational progress closes the volume gap.
The bottom of the table
ASDA was alone at the bottom when we published, and scores 31 today. ASDA's SBTi targets were removed from the public registry in 2024 following rapid expansion of its convenience format. The company has only self-set commitments in their place, a 50% operational emissions cut by 2025, on track at 48%, but the loss of independent validation matters. In March 2024, the CMA secured binding undertakings from Asda over misleading green claims in its George fashion range. The Environmental Investigation Agency separately criticised Asda for installing HFC refrigerants while competitors were reducing their use.
See the full breakdowns
- Co-op: 50/100
- Sainsbury's: 43/100
- Marks & Spencer: 46/100
- Waitrose: 42/100
- Ocado: 46/100
- Iceland Foods: 42/100
- Tesco: 38/100
- Lidl: 38/100
- Morrisons: 39/100
- Aldi UK: 35/100
- ASDA: 31/100
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