Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) sustainability score: 45/100
Better than 81% of Food Service / Restaurants
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Beefeater is a steakhouse chain operating 140+ UK restaurants, owned by Whitbread PLC. The brand serves beef, lamb, and poultry-focused menus. Whitbread is a multinational hospitality group spanning casual dining, premium steakhouses, and budget hotels, headquartered in Dunstable and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Founded 1974Head office Dunstable, United KingdomStaff ~35,000 (Whitbread group)Revenue ~£2.1B (Whitbread group FY2024/25)Website ↗
Beefeater is a meat-heavy restaurant chain owned by Whitbread, which has achieved SBTi validation and 52.5% operational emissions reduction since 2016/17. The critical weakness: near-term targets are intensity-based, not absolute, masking whether total emissions are actually falling. Supply chain emissions (87% of total) remain largely unquantified, and the brand has no commitment to reduce meat's environmental footprint.
Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) scores 45/100 (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 May 2026.
That places Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) joint 281st of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 10th of 53 in Food Service / Restaurants.
What is Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Energy Source and Targets & Commitments (6/10, 6/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Carbon Footprint: Operations (3/10, 4/10).
Where Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) 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 natureAssess its effect on nature and publish a basic environmental policy.
- Emissions from its own operationsPublish full Scope 1 and 2 figures worked out to the GHG Protocol.
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations4/10No full Scope 1 and 2 figures worked out to the GHG Protocol.
- Emissions from its supply chain5/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- 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 nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water4/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets6/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies6/10Points 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 Beefeater (Whitbread PLC)'s SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Beefeater (Whitbread PLC)'s score changed?
Beefeater (Whitbread PLC)'s score has been reviewed 2 times and currently stands where it started, at 45.
- 45 → 457 November 2026
Correction, 7 November 2026: removed an unsourced emissions figure. Score unchanged.
- Scored 459 April 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is Beefeater (Whitbread PLC)'s score based on?
10 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
70% of them were published by Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 9 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) compare with other food service / restaurants companies?
Where Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) sits among food service / restaurants peers.
Among the 53 major food service / restaurants brands we've scored, Beefeater (Whitbread PLC) is tied =10th of 53, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Food Service / Restaurants?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Beefeater (Whitbread PLC).
Pizza Pilgrims reports a footprint of 9,095 tCO2e across Scopes 1 to 3, without independent assurance.
See the breakdown →Azzurri Group reports emissions reductions and has implemented circular economy initiatives, but lacks third-party verification of absolute figures and has critical gaps in water monitoring.
See the breakdown →Hawksmoor's footprint was 30,905 tCO2e in 2025, 96% of it from its supply chain, mostly beef.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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