Abel & Cole sustainability score: 48/100
Better than 88% of E-commerce / Online Retail
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Abel & Cole is a UK organic food delivery company owned by William Jackson Food Group. It delivers organic fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and other groceries to homes, mainly by subscription.
More about Abel & Cole
It reported £83.1 million turnover and an average of 562 staff in the year to 26 April 2025, and has been a certified B Corp since 2018.
Founded 2000Head office London, GBStaff ~562 (2025)Revenue £83.1M turnover (FY ended 26 Apr 2025)Website ↗
Abel & Cole last published its own emissions for 2022: Scope 1 and 2 of 2,798 tonnes and Scope 3 of 29,825 tonnes, none of it third-party assured. Its 2025 accounts leave carbon reporting to its parent group. It targets a 50% cut in Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 and net zero by 2035; it says it committed to the SBTi in 2021, but no validated target is listed. It publishes no figures for its own water use.
Abel & Cole scores 48/100 (Making progress) 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 Abel & Cole joint 211th of 1,023 companies scored, and 4th of 26 in E-commerce / Online Retail.
What is Abel & Cole doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Controversies & Red Flags and Resource Use & Waste (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Energy Source (2/10, 4/10).
Where Abel & Cole 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
- Its effect on waterMonitor its water use and take measures to reduce it.
- How clean its energy isShow at least half its energy is renewable, with a transition plan.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations5/10No full Scope 1 and 2 figures worked out to the GHG Protocol.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is4/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste7/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- 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.
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 Abel & Cole's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Abel & Cole's score changed?
Abel & Cole's score has moved from 56 to 48 across 2 recorded reviews, down 8 points.
- 56 → 48-84 November 2026
owner 2026-11-04: re-scored v2.5 (batch 3); 56→48. Own emissions published only to 2022 (FY2025 accounts defer carbon reporting to the parent group); no validated SBTi target found
- Scored 564 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Abel & Cole's score based on?
8 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
25% of them were published by Abel & Cole itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Abel & Cole's latest published emissions figures are for 2022. Its 2025 accounts leave carbon reporting to its parent group, William Jackson Food Group.
“requirement to present carbon reporting information on the”
“So we are using HVO whilst we roll out our electric fleet”
“the potential to deliver a “massive impact” in the battle against packaging waste”
“will cut the carbon footprint of Abel & Cole’s single-use milk bottles in half after just four returns”
“Abel & Cole has committed to halve scope one and two emissions by 2030”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Abel & Cole compare with other e-commerce / online retail companies?
Where Abel & Cole sits among e-commerce / online retail peers.
Among the 26 major e-commerce / online retail brands we've scored, Abel & Cole sits 4th of 26.
Who scores higher in E-commerce / Online Retail?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Abel & Cole.
Vestiaire Collective's resale model delivers inherent environmental benefit—displacing new production—but sustainability reporting lags accountability.
See the breakdown →Refurbed's business model directly addresses e-waste and resource consumption through verified lifecycle analysis, but the company lacks corporate emissions reporting, science-based targets, and formal Scope 3 inventory.
See the breakdown →Gousto's footprint was 330,508 tCO2e in 2024, 99.5% of it from its supply chain, mainly the food it buys, and 18% below 2022.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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