Kerry Group sustainability score: 48/100
Better than 76% of Food & Beverage (non-meat)
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Kerry Group is an Irish taste and nutrition company, headquartered in Tralee, that sells food and drink ingredients to manufacturers; Kerry Group plc was registered in 1985. It had about 19,400 employees and €6.8 billion revenue in 2025.
Founded 1985Head office Tralee, IrelandStaff ~19,400 (2025)Revenue ~€6.8B (FY2025)Website ↗
Kerry has cut its own emissions 52% since 2017 and has SBTi-validated targets for net zero by 2049, but most of the fall in its total, to 7.1 MtCO2e, came from selling its dairy business. It missed its end-2025 deadline for deforestation-free palm and soy. US state regulators fined or settled with three of its plants over air and water violations between 2021 and 2024.
Kerry Group 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 October 2026.
That places Kerry Group joint 211th of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 10th of 51 in Food & Beverage (non-meat).
What is Kerry Group doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Targets & Commitments (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Energy Source and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (5/10, 5/10).
Where Kerry Group 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
- 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.
- Its effect on waterMeasure its water footprint and set reduction targets.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling6/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its 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 water5/10No 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 Kerry Group's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Kerry Group's score based on?
14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
29% of them were published by Kerry Group itself; the rest come from independent sources.
10 of 14 sources are independent of the company.
“delivering a 52% (2024: 50%) reduction in our absolute Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions”
“Kerry Group said it achieved a 52% reduction in emissions across 'Scope 1' emissions”
“In 2023, Kerry’s Scope 3 emissions totalled 8.8m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.”
“The agreements with RWE are Kerry's first PPAs in the UK and represent approximately 50 percent of Kerry's electricity volume”
“linked to renewable energy certificates produced by solar farms in central Queensland and the Tregalana Solar Farm”
“We are committed to no deforestation and conversion”
“Kerry Group also commits to no deforestation across its primary deforestation-linked commodities, with a target date of no later than December 31, 2025.”
“2025: A 54% (2024: 38%)”
“The Kerry Biofunctional Ingredients facility at 2402 Seventh St. NW was fined $28,170 for multiple industrial wastewater violations between 2018 and 2020.”
“allowed two unauthorized industrial wastewater discharges to area wetlands”
“requiring it to pay a $90,000 penalty for alleged violations of the state’s air pollution control”
“The settlement requires Kerry Inc. to pay a total of $85,000 in forfeitures, surcharges, and court costs.”
“Good progress on sustainability commitments including increasing nutritional reach to 1.46 billion consumers”
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How does Kerry Group compare with other food & beverage (non-meat) companies?
Where Kerry Group sits among food & beverage (non-meat) peers.
Among the 51 major food & beverage (non-meat) brands we've scored, Kerry Group is tied =10th of 51, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Food & Beverage (non-meat)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Kerry Group.
Nespresso has credible SBTi-validated net-zero targets and strong renewable energy at factories, but leans heavily on unverified insetting and offsets rather than real emission cuts.
See the breakdown →Tate & Lyle reports comprehensive carbon data and holds SBTi 1.5°C targets, but Scope 1 emissions flatlined year-on-year and water-use intensity worsened.
See the breakdown →Ella's Kitchen has SBTi-validated emissions targets and a genuine biodiversity partnership with the RSPB, but lacks published absolute emissions data to verify progress.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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