Iceland Foods sustainability score: 42/100
Better than 62% of Retail (non-fashion)
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Iceland Foods is a frozen food specialist retailer founded in 1970, headquartered in Deeside, UK. Operating over 900 stores across the UK and online, it sells primarily frozen, chilled, and ambient foods including own-label products.
More about Iceland Foods
It is privately owned by the Walker family and is a significant player in the UK discount grocery segment.
Founded 1970Head office Deeside, United KingdomStaff ~26,830Revenue ~£4.11BWebsite ↗
Iceland Foods has cut operational carbon 40% since 2011 but remains the UK's most carbon-intensive supermarket by intensity. Scope 3 emissions—over 95% of total footprint—are unquantified. The company abandoned plastic and palm oil pledges in 2022 while continuing to market them, drawing NGO criticism for greenwashing.
Iceland Foods scores 42/100 (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 Iceland Foods joint 362nd of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 18th of 54 in Retail (non-fashion).
What is Iceland Foods doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Emissions Trajectory (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain and Water Impact (3/10, 3/10).
Where Iceland Foods 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
- Emissions from its supply chainAssess where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Its effect on waterMonitor its water use and take measures to reduce it.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain3/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less 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 waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water3/10No 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 reports4/10No dedicated sustainability role, board oversight or public report.
- 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 Iceland Foods's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Iceland Foods's score based on?
11 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
45% of them were published by Iceland Foods itself; the rest come from independent sources.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Iceland Foods compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?
Where Iceland Foods sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 54 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Iceland Foods is tied =18th of 54, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Retail (non-fashion)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Iceland Foods.
Halfords' emissions rose across all scopes in FY26 despite validated net-zero targets.
See the breakdown →Sainsbury's has cut operational emissions 53% since 2018 and achieved 100% renewable electricity, but Scope 3 emissions—98% of total—are flat.
See the breakdown →Kingfisher has reduced operational emissions 66% since 2016/17 and sourced 95% of electricity from zero-carbon sources, but Scope 3 coverage remains partial—only 2 of 15 categories disclosed.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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