NatWest Group sustainability score: 40/100
Better than 67% of Financial Services / Banking
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
NatWest Group is a UK-based retail and commercial bank headquartered in Edinburgh. The current company was incorporated in 1968, and its roots go back to 1727, when the Royal Bank of Scotland was founded.
More about NatWest Group
It operates across personal finance, business banking, and investment services across the UK and Republic of Ireland, serving millions of retail and corporate customers. A major player in UK deposit-taking and lending.
Founded 1968Head office Edinburgh, GBStaff ~62,100Revenue ~£14.6BWebsite ↗
NatWest has cut operational emissions 66% since 2019 and achieved 100% renewable electricity, but undermined these gains by voluntarily withdrawing SBTi validation in 2025 and weakening oil & gas lending policy in February 2026. Fossil fuel financing rose 31% year-on-year; financed emissions remain the dominant unresolved impact.
NatWest Group scores 40/100 (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 October 2026.
That places NatWest Group joint 421st of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 18th of 61 in Financial Services / Banking.
What is NatWest Group doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Energy Source (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Resource Use & Waste and Water Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where NatWest 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 it uses materials and handles wasteReport measurable waste or recycling targets publicly.
- Its effect on waterMeasure its water footprint and set reduction targets.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
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 falling7/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is8/10Its own operations aren't shown to run on 100% renewable energy.
- Its effect on nature5/10Its 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 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 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 NatWest Group's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas NatWest Group's score changed?
NatWest Group's score has moved from 47 to 40 across 3 recorded reviews, down 7 points.
- 40 → 4014 October 2026
Founded-year rule, score unchanged. founded 2000 -> 1968: Companies House SC045551 NATWEST GROUP PLC, incorporated 1968-03-25 as National and Commercial Banking Group Limited (renamed The Royal Bank of Scotland Group 1979, NatWest Group plc 2020; https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC045551). Roots 1727 confirmed on NatWest Group's heritage hub, "Founding charter, 1727" (https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage/history-100/objects-by-theme/turning-points/founding-charter-1727.html).
- 47 → 40-73 October 2026
Aggregator-citation sweep: broker citations replaced with the primary disclosures they mirror, re-scored through the guarded pipeline under pinned code 9196601.
- Scored 478 February 2026
Initial score at platform launch
What evidence is NatWest Group's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
58% of them were published by NatWest Group itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Scope 1 · 0.01 MtCO2e · Natural gas and fuel; Scope 2 (location-based) · 0.05 MtCO2e”
“details the scope, approach and controls relating to the sustainability metrics included within EY's 2024 Sustainability Limited and Reasonable Assurance Engagement”
“Nine of these sectors have been included within the scope of EY's assurance”
“161 suppliers were deemed net-zero-aligned, representing 44% of 2025 supply chain emissions of 0.3 MtCO2e”
“In 2025 we achieved a 66% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against the 2019 baseline and a 47% reduction in Scope 3 emissions”
“We have also achieved our energy productivity (EP100), electric vehicles (EV100) and renewable energy (RE100) commitments”
“Deforestation risk-related commodities requiring certification under our FFA E&S RAC include raw wood/timber, lumber, pulp and paper, natural rubber and latex, palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, leather and beef”
“NatWest Group is helping to drive collective action on nature and biodiversity through number of exploratory collaborative groups including but not limited to: The Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)”
“we recognise that our approach to nature-related risk is not as mature as our approach to climate-related risk”
“NatWest provided $9.6 bn in financing to the fossil fuel industry between 2021 and 2024. In 2024 only, NatWest provided $2.7 bn, including $1.3 bn for oil, gas and coal companies expanding fossil fuels”
“NatWest, for one, helped BP raise almost $500m last year in an apparent breach of its climate commitments”
“NatWest Group appears to be actively engaged on climate policy in the UK, taking supportive positions on both climate-related financial policies and policies impacting the real economy”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does NatWest Group compare with other financial services / banking companies?
Where NatWest Group sits among financial services / banking peers.
Among the 61 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, NatWest Group is tied =18th of 61, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Financial Services / Banking?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above NatWest Group.
Lloyds reports material financed emissions (18.6 MtCO2e) and owns a 36% reduction since 2018, but relies heavily on estimated data, supply-chain emissions are rising, and an ASA ban for misleading climate advertising exposes credibility gaps.
See the breakdown →Schroders has decarbonised operations rapidly—56% Scope 1 cuts since 2019, 100% renewable electricity achieved—but its core financed-emissions footprint remains unabated.
See the breakdown →ICG has delivered measurable operational decarbonisation—85% Scope 1+2 reduction, SBTi-validated targets, 100% renewable electricity—but material financed emissions lack absolute quantification.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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