AkzoNobel sustainability score: 37/100
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
AkzoNobel is a Dutch paints and coatings company headquartered in Amsterdam; its roots go back to 1792. It had about 31,500 employees and €10.2 billion revenue in 2025.
Head office Amsterdam, NetherlandsStaff ~31,500 (FTE, 2025)Revenue ~€10.2B (FY2025)Website ↗
AkzoNobel has cut its own emissions 47% since 2018 and its total footprint from 14.9 to 12.2 MtCO2e, but value-chain emissions are down only 19%. In 2025 it stopped reporting group water use, and it has no nature footprint. Its subsidiary International Paint was fined £650,000 in 2023 for pollution of the Yealm estuary in England.
AkzoNobel scores 37/100 (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 October 2026.
That places AkzoNobel joint 507th of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 7th of 17 in Chemicals.
What is AkzoNobel doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (9/10, 8/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Water Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where AkzoNobel 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 natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
- Its effect on waterMeasure its water footprint and set reduction targets.
- Its record on controversiesDeal with the findings under question 10, in public.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations9/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain8/10Its Scope 3 emissions aren't fully verified or falling year on year.
- Whether its emissions are falling7/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is6/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water4/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets8/10No validated long-term net zero target.
- How openly it reports8/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
- 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 AkzoNobel's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is AkzoNobel's score based on?
15 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
47% of them were published by AkzoNobel itself; the rest come from independent sources.
8 of 15 sources are independent of the company.
“Scope 1 - Direct emissions million tons CO2eq”
“Scope 1 54,664”
“auditor’s report and limited assurance report of the independent auditor included in this PDF”
“69% renewable electricity in our own operations”
“none of our production sites are located in areas of significant biodiversity value”
“100% circular use of materials in our own operations by 2030”
“Offence Type : water pollution violation”
“The estuary is a Special Area of Conservation due to its rich flora and fauna.”
“absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 42% by FY2030 from a FY2020 base year.”
“We monitor association behavior and act when any misalignment with our interests occurs.”
“Between 2018 and 2022, AkzoNobel paid around 5 million USD in penalties for environmental violations”
“It includes companies such as Unilever, AkzoNobel, Iberdrola, Nestlé, Tesla and IKEA.”
“AkzoNobel has strengthened its position as a sustainability leader by making substantial progress toward its long-term climate goals.”
“AkzoNobel is now operating on 100% renewable electricity across three continents”
“confirming its status as the first paints and coatings company to receive this endorsement”
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How does AkzoNobel compare with other chemicals companies?
Where AkzoNobel sits among chemicals peers.
Among the 17 major chemicals brands we've scored, AkzoNobel is tied =7th of 17, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Chemicals?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above AkzoNobel.
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See the breakdown →Givaudan has halved its own emissions since 2015 and has SBTi-validated net-zero targets, but its supply-chain emissions are still 4% above their 2020 baseline.
See the breakdown →MANE's absolute emissions rose in 2025, its total up 3.9% to 917,000 tCO2e, and all its reported progress is per tonne of product.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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