Poundland sustainability score: 36/100
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Poundland is a UK discount retailer operating approximately 800 stores, selling food, household goods, and clothing at fixed low prices. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Willenhall, it is owned by Pepco Group and operates across the value retail sector.
Founded 1990Head office Willenhall, United KingdomStaff ~15,000Revenue ~£1.8BWebsite ↗
Poundland operates with minimal emissions transparency and no supply chain carbon quantification despite acknowledging this is where most impacts occur. A 270% spike in Scope 1 emissions after acquiring Wilko stores undermines claimed progress. Financial restructuring under new ownership creates uncertainty around sustainability commitment continuity.
Poundland scores 36/100 (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 Poundland joint 542nd of 1,023 companies scored, and 29th of 54 in Retail (non-fashion).
Limited evidence. This score rests on 7 sources, 29% of them published by the company itself. Every source cited here passed the same quality checks as any other score: all live, none from data aggregators. There is simply less of it.
What is Poundland doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Energy Source and Resource Use & Waste (5/10, 5/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (1/10, 2/10).
Where Poundland 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 natureShow it knows its main risks to nature.
- 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.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations4/10No full Scope 1 and 2 figures worked out to the GHG Protocol.
- Emissions from its supply chain2/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling3/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature1/10No evidence it knows its main risks to nature.
- How it uses materials and handles waste5/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water2/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- 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 Poundland's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Poundland's score based on?
7 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
29% of them were published by Poundland itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 5 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
This company's public sustainability disclosure is limited. This score is based on the 7 verified sources cited below, rather than padded to a standard count.
Limited data coverage. This assessment is based on 7 sources, 29% of which are self-reported by the company. Scores may change as independent evidence becomes available.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Poundland compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?
Where Poundland sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 54 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Poundland sits 29th of 54.
Who scores higher in Retail (non-fashion)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Poundland.
Lidl has achieved substantial operational emissions cuts (52–60% since 2019) through renewable electricity, but Scope 3—over 90% of its footprint—lacks year-on-year reduction evidence.
See the breakdown →Tesco has credible operational decarbonization (65% Scope 1+2 reduction, 100% renewable electricity) but supply chain emissions—98% of its footprint—remain largely unquantified and unverified.
See the breakdown →Hobbycraft has delivered measurable progress on packaging reduction but remains fundamentally opaque on carbon emissions.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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