Zalando sustainability score: 43/100
Better than 40% of E-commerce / Online Retail
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Zalando is a German online fashion retailer and platform, headquartered in Berlin, which took over About You in 2025. It had about 16,600 employees and €12.3 billion revenue in 2025.
Head office Berlin, GermanyStaff ~16,582 (average, 2025)Revenue ~€12.3B (FY2025)Website ↗
Zalando's total footprint rose 20% in 2025 to 2.5 MtCO2e, mostly from adding About You, which sits outside its targets. Its electricity is 100% renewable, mainly through green tariffs. In 2024 it agreed with the European Commission and Dutch regulators to drop misleading sustainability labels, and Greenpeace has linked its packaging to old-growth logging.
Zalando scores 43/100 (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 Zalando joint 336th of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 15th of 26 in E-commerce / Online Retail.
What is Zalando doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Targets & Commitments (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Water Impact (3/10, 3/10).
Where Zalando 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 natureAssess its effect on nature and publish a basic environmental policy.
- Its effect on waterMonitor its water use and take measures to reduce it.
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
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 falling4/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- 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 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 Zalando's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Zalando's score based on?
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
15% of them were published by Zalando itself; the rest come from independent sources.
11 of 13 sources are independent of the company.
“For scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, we disclose emissions for the consolidated Zalando group.”
“having achieved an 82.0% reduction compared to 2017”
“Amazon, Zalando, HelloFresh and other big players are connected to the destruction of old-growth forests in Sweden.”
“returns worth 40 million francs are being destroyed at Zalando partner MS Direct in Arbon TG. Those responsible deny the allegations.”
“Zalando committed to removing broad “sustainability” flags and vague leaf or tree icons displayed next to its products on its websites”
“It follows intervention from the European consumer authorities, including the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).”
“Zalando will not be fined for the decision, but it has been required to put more straightforward sustainability-related information on each product.”
“Les Vert-e-s demandent une «Lex Zalando»”
“Umsatzerlöse (in Mio. EUR) 12.346,1”
“Zalando has admitted mixed success in meeting its environmental targets in its newly published 2023 Sustainability Progress Report”
“Das starke Wachstum war nicht zuletzt auf die im Sommer 2025 vollzogenen Übernahme des Wettbewerbers About You zurückzuführen.”
“the first online platform globally to set its own science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, and have them approved”
“Zalando unterstützt die Abschaffung der 150 € Zollfreigrenze”
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How does Zalando compare with other e-commerce / online retail companies?
Where Zalando sits among e-commerce / online retail peers.
Among the 26 major e-commerce / online retail brands we've scored, Zalando is tied =15th of 26, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in E-commerce / Online Retail?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Zalando.
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See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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