King's College London sustainability score: 50/100
Better than 35% of Higher Education / Universities
Leading practice starts at 60. The highest score on SINK is 71.
King's College London is a public research university in London, UK, comprising nine campuses across central London. Among the UK's top-tier universities, KCL conducts research across law, medicine, sciences, and humanities with significant laboratory and clinical operations.
Head office GBStaff 11,655 FTE (HESA EMR 2023/24)Revenue £1.27B (HESA EMR 2023/24)Website ↗
King's College London reports Scope 1+2 emissions under GHG Protocol but lacks third-party assurance. Scope 1+2 has flatlined since 2019 while Scope 3 procurement emissions surged 80%. The institution has downgraded its net zero target three times—from 2025 to 2030 to 2045—a pattern of weakening commitments despite renewable electricity procurement via PPA.
King's College London scores 50/100 (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 September 2026.
That places King's College London joint 155th of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 38th of 67 in Higher Education / Universities.
What is King's College London doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Transparency & Accountability and Controversies & Red Flags (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where King's College London 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 chainMeasure most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions.
- 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 operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- 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 waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water4/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets5/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies7/10Points 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 King's College London's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is King's College London's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
75% of them were published by King's College London itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Total scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions: 25,968.5 tCO2e (HESA EMR Table-3, 2023/24, UKPRN 10003645)”
“King's Scope 1 & 2 emissions have remained steady in recent years.”
“King's College London's Carbon Emissions Inventory 2024-25.”
“Our Climate & Sustainability Action Plan sets out our actions towards achieving our ambitious targets on reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.”
“KCL's Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2019-20 were 24,506 tonnes, rising slightly to 24,559 tonnes in 2022-23.”
“The Carbon Sinks section has been renamed to Biodiversity and a new section on Philanthropy has been added.”
“In May of 2024, Urban Bees installed 24 bee hotels and 6 bee observations boxes across King's estate.”
“Currently we manage 24 separate waste streams with the greatest volume being general waste, mixed recycling and clinical waste.”
“The King's Climate & Sustainability water plan helps conserve water and reduce waste.”
“Our EMS is certified to the ISO14001:2015 international standard by NQA and since June 2017 has included activities across all King's directly-managed campuses.”
“signing a Power Purchase Agreement with wind farms to supply nearly one-fifth of our annual electricity baseload.”
“Over the past few years, our recycling rates at King's have dropped.”
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How does King's College London compare with other higher education / universities companies?
Where King's College London sits among higher education / universities peers.
Among the 67 major higher education / universities brands we've scored, King's College London is tied =38th of 67, with 6 others.
Who scores higher in Higher Education / Universities?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above King's College London.
Glasgow Caledonian University reports comprehensive Scope 1+2 emissions data with a verified 27.7% reduction since 2005, but remains entirely gas-powered with zero renewable energy.
See the breakdown →CCCU has cut operational emissions 51% since 2005 and ranks gold-tier for energy efficiency among UK universities.
See the breakdown →Teesside University has cut operational emissions 42% since 2005 and maintains zero waste to landfill, backed by statutory HESA reporting.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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