Continental sustainability score: 28/100
Below expectations starts at 31. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Continental is a German maker of tyres and rubber and plastics products, headquartered in Hanover; its roots go back to 1871. After spinning off its automotive business as AUMOVIO in 2025, it had about 90,100 employees and €19.7 billion sales from continuing operations.
Head office Hanover, GermanyStaff ~90,094 (31 Dec 2025, continuing operations)Revenue ~€19.7B continuing operations (FY2025)Website ↗
Continental's 2025 footprint was 83.5 MtCO2e, most of it from tyres in use. In 2025 it replaced its absolute climate target with an intensity target, has no net-zero or Scope 3 target, and its tyre emissions rose slightly. It was fined €100 million in 2024 over diesel emissions manipulation and settled a greenwashing claim by Deutsche Umwelthilfe in 2026.
Continental scores 28/100 (Significant gaps) 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 Continental joint 783rd of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 20th of 36 in Automotive.
What is Continental doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Targets & Commitments (3/10, 3/10).
Where Continental 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.
- Its climate targetsSet specific targets with dates.
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- 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 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 water3/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- 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 Continental's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Continental's score changed?
Continental's score has been reviewed 2 times and currently stands where it started, at 28.
- 28 → 287 November 2026
Correction, 7 November 2026: removed a related-company note naming a customer, supplier or partner without a source. Score unchanged.
- Scored 2827 October 2026
Initial public score 28 (publish-draft)
What evidence is Continental's score based on?
18 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
39% of them were published by Continental itself; the rest come from independent sources.
11 of 18 sources are independent of the company.
“Definitions and calculations according to GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (version 2004).”
“Combined own Scope 1 and market-based Scope 2 GHG emissions, in million tCO2e”
“Continental is a member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR).”
“We support the introduction of binding limits for tire abrasion as part of Euro 7.”
“increase the share of purchased renewable and recycled production materials for its tires to at least 40% by 2030”
“Long-term remuneration components (long-term incentive – LTI) are linked to sustainability matters”
“The public prosecutor's office in Hanover issued a fine totaling EUR 100 million against Continental AG”
“Im Rahmen eines Vergleiches hat Continental eine entsprechende Unterlassungserklärung abgegeben.”
“Continental spricht sich gegen das aktuell diskutierte generelle Verbot per- und polyfluorierter Chemikalien (PFAS) in Europa aus.”
“Since 2020, Continental has reduced its water withdrawal per ton of product at all locations by more than ten percent”
“The company also performed well in the water management category”
“has decided to spin off its Automotive division as a newly independent company”
“Continental bases the quality characteristics of its energy attribute certificates on the criteria of the RE100 initiative, which the company joined in June 2020.”
“Since 2020, Continental has been sourcing green electricity as part of its participation in the RE100 initiative.”
“die Zukunftsversprechen des Autozulieferers Continental AG über „100 % Klimaneutralität bis 2050“”
“The independent environmental disclosure organization CDP awarded Continental an A-”
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How does Continental compare with other automotive companies?
Where Continental sits among automotive peers.
Among the 36 major automotive brands we've scored, Continental is tied =20th of 36, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Automotive?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Continental.
XPeng's footprint was 10,288,670 tCO2e in 2025, mostly from the parts it buys and the electricity its cars use, up from 6,091,947 t in 2024 as deliveries grew from 190,068 to 429,445 cars.
See the breakdown →Hyundai's footprint was 201,615,337 tCO2e in 2025, 2.2% below 2024 on a restated basis, and most of it comes from the fuel and electricity its vehicles use. 35% of its electricity was renewable in 2025, 88% overseas, but its Korean plants still run mostly on grid power.
See the breakdown →Mercedes-Benz's footprint was 119.4 million tCO2e in 2025, down from 134.2 million in 2024, but the company says the fall came mainly from lower sales, and its average EU new-car CO2 rose from 103 to 106 g/km.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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