Burberry takes the top position in Earthmark’s UK consumer-brand leaderboard with an Earthmark Score of 4.5 out of 5.0, followed by WH Smith PLC at 4.3, and The Gym Group plc, Tesco and J Sainsbury, all tied at 4.0.

This leaderboard evaluates the availability, consistency and quality of publicly available, company-level environmental disclosures. It is drawn from a comprehensive benchmark of 2,459 UK consumer brands evaluated alongside 10,757 global consumer peers across the Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors.

To maintain strict reporting integrity, this edition requires 100% primary data extracted directly from the latest 2025 or 2026 sustainability and annual reports. Modelled proxy data, parent-company estimates and inherited group figures were excluded.

Top 10 UK Consumer Brands by Earthmark Score 2026 Leaderboard

Just outside the Top 10, several major UK consumer brands demonstrate robust primary reporting and clear operational decarbonisation in their latest 2025/2026 filings:

Notes on Reported Figures

* WH Smith’s reported multi-year reduction spans an organisational change, including the disposal of its high-street business to Modella on 30 June 2025, involving approximately 480 stores. The change in organisational boundary means this reduction reflects both portfolio changes and energy-efficiency measures.

** Tesco’s reported reductions since 2016 reflect estate-level decarbonisation alongside historical overseas portfolio changes.

*** Sainsbury’s reported Scope 1 reductions are driven largely by extensive natural-refrigerant replacement programmes across its supermarket estate.

Figures reflect public information disclosed by the companies in their 2025/2026 filings. Earthmark did not independently measure the underlying physical emissions.

Key Findings

• 100% Primary Data Standard: Every company in this top 10 is an independent UK corporate group reporting on its own operating footprint, preventing group-to-subsidiary attribution artifacts.

• Material outperformance against sector medians: The Consumer Discretionary peer-group median is 0.5 / 5.0, while the Consumer Staples median is 0.9 / 5.0. The top 10 brands perform substantially above average across disclosure depth and governance rigour.

• High operational circularity: Leading retailers in the cohort reported operational waste-diversion rates exceeding 90%, led by WH Smith at 99.1%, Unilever at 99.0% and NEXT at 97.5%.

• Clean-energy adoption: Leading brands are increasingly backing their electricity footprints with Corporate Power Purchase Agreements, or CPPAs, and high-share renewable contracts, led by Tesco with 2.67 million MWh, Unilever with 3.24 million MWh and Whitbread with more than 353,000 MWh.

Top Initiatives Driving Strong Environmental Performance

High Earthmark scores reflect not just disclosure volume, but the execution of concrete operational, product, logistics and supply-chain initiatives. Across emissions, clean energy and waste circularity, the leaders in this cohort demonstrated specific commercial actions.

These are examples of relevant initiatives these companies have undertaken that may have contributed to strong environmental performance when compared to sector peers.

1. Heating Electrification, Heat Pumps and Refrigerant Transition

Gas-boiler elimination via commercial heat pumps: Whitbread

As part of Premier Inn’s “Force for Good” strategy, Whitbread’s newly disclosed 2026 report highlights the accelerated replacement of natural gas boilers with commercial air-source heat pumps across its UK hotel estate, alongside solar photovoltaic installations.

Whitbread's report attributes this direct operational shift to a 16.5% year-on-year drop in Scope 1 emissions, down to 48,810 tCO₂e.

Natural CO₂ refrigeration upgrades: Sainsbury's and Tesco

Supermarket refrigeration historically accounts for the vast majority of commercial direct emissions due to fugitive fluorinated gases. Sainsbury’s reporting highlights the key role played by transitioning hundreds of stores from hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, to transcritical CO₂ natural-refrigerant systems, to the 53.6% Scope 1 reduction since 2019.

2. Corporate PPAs, Logistics Hubs and Clean Power

Long-term off-site wind and solar PPAs: Tesco and Sainsbury’s

Leading food retailers have transitioned from purchasing unbundled green certificates to underwriting new clean-energy capacity via Corporate Power Purchase Agreements, or CPPAs.

Tesco reported more than 2.67 million MWh of clean electricity in 2026, sourcing power from dedicated offshore wind and solar farms.

Automated logistics and on-site solar: THG and NEXT

THG has reported major efficiency gains at its flagship Omega logistics hub in the North West. Advanced automation, intelligent lighting controls and dedicated clean-tariff contracts drove renewable electricity to 55.4% of its footprint.

Similarly, NEXT reported 184,103 MWh of renewable electricity powering its warehouse operations.

Smart estate scheduling: The Gym Group

Operating 24/7 fitness facilities requires consistent air exchange and heating. The Gym Group shared that they have achieved an 82.8% renewable-electricity share, equivalent to 44,557 MWh, alongside automated building-management systems that adjust ventilation and climate control based on real-time gym-occupancy data.

3. Circular Raw Materials, Take-Back and Zero Waste

Lower-impact luxury materials and resale: Burberry

Burberry’s Scope 3 reductions and 4.2 Environmental Score are driven by material innovation. These include transitioning core products to certified organic cotton, responsible wool and recycled nylon, including ECONYL®, complemented by circular customer repair, rental and luxury-resale services.

Closed-loop packaging and landfill elimination: WH Smith, NEXT and Unilever

• WH Smith achieved a 99.1% recycling rate across operations through standardised transit packaging and backhaul recycling networks.

• NEXT recycled 97.5% of its waste, equivalent to 34,690 tonnes, driven by automated warehouse cardboard baling and closed-loop garment-hanger reuse systems.

• Unilever maintained a 99.0% zero-waste-to-landfill benchmark across its global manufacturing footprint, coupled with extensive packaging light-weighting and post-consumer recycled, or PCR, plastic integration.

Why Primary Company-Level Data Matters

Consumer brands are frequently subsidiaries of multinational holding companies. A parent conglomerate may publish group-wide emissions, energy use and climate targets, while its child operating brands publish no standalone data.

When parent-group figures are automatically copied onto child brands, stakeholders cannot distinguish between:

• Data disclosed directly by the brand operating in the UK.

• Disclosures copied from a parent company with vastly different international operations.

• Third-party certifications that apply only to specific subsidiaries.

Earthmark prioritises primary, company-level reporting. Every company in this leaderboard publishes standalone, direct environmental metrics, ensuring that the disclosures reflect the actual operational boundaries of the UK business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Earthmark score?

Earthmark provides a 0–5 score that assesses publicly available, company-level environmental data, including greenhouse-gas emissions, waste circularity, net-zero targets and selected third-party assessments. It is not an absolute measure of overall sustainability.

Which UK consumer brand has the highest Earthmark score in 2026?

Burberry holds the highest Earthmark score among UK consumer brands in this 2026 leaderboard, with a score of 4.5 / 5.0, supported by 247 assessed datapoints and an SBTi-validated 1.5°C net-zero target.

How is the Earthmark score calculated?

Earthmark evaluates primary, first-party reported public data across three pillars: environmental performance, governance and selected third-party assessments. Intensity metrics (for example, emissions per unit of revenue) enable like-for-like comparison across brands of different sizes. Scores are dynamic and may change as new disclosures are processed.

What data sources are used in this ranking?

The ranking uses publicly available sustainability and annual reports, ESG disclosures and relevant third-party registries from the 2025 and 2026 financial reporting periods. Data is extracted using proprietary trained AI, which may introduce errors or omissions. Earthmark did not independently measure the underlying physical emissions.

Why are some well-known brands not in the Top 10?

Brands may be excluded if they rely on inherited parent-group figures, have incomplete public environmental data, or have not published the required 2025/2026 disclosures. Only companies with 100% primary, company-level data from the latest reporting periods are included.

Does a high Earthmark score mean a company is sustainable?

No. A high Earthmark score reflects both strong public data availability and stronger benchmarked environmental performance within the areas assessed, including emissions, waste circularity and climate targets. It is not a complete measure of overall sustainability and should be used alongside other due diligence.

How does Earthmark help prevent greenwashing?

Earthmark uses only clear, unambiguous and quantitative data from source-traceable, publicly available disclosures, aligned with anti-greenwashing guidelines. By applying sector-specific and intensity-based benchmarking to company-level data, Earthmark enables fair comparisons and reduces the risk of misleading or inflated sustainability claims.

What sectors are included in the UK consumer leaderboard?

The leaderboard covers brands in the Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors, benchmarked against global peer groups. The Consumer Discretionary median is 0.5 / 5.0; the Consumer Staples median is 0.9 / 5.0.

How often is the Earthmark Score updated?

Earthmark scores are updated quarterly as new corporate disclosures and data are processed. All scores and underlying data are correct as of the published date and may change in future updates.

How can a brand improve its Earthmark score?

Brands can improve their score by publishing complete, current and consistent public data on emissions, waste, energy and climate targets; linking verified third-party assessments; and ensuring disclosures are attributed to the correct legal entity. Brands can claim their free Earthmark profile to review and update their information.

Claim Your Earthmark Profile

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Methodology note: Earthmark’s ranking assesses publicly available, company-level primary data on greenhouse-gas emissions, waste circularity, net-zero targets and selected third-party assessments against sector peers. Intensity metrics (e.g. emissions per unit of revenue) enable like-for-like comparison across brands of different sizes. Subsidiaries inheriting parent-group figures are excluded to prevent double-counting. Scores are dynamic and may change as new disclosures are processed; all data and scores are correct as of the published date. This is not an absolute measure of sustainability. Read the full methodology and findings in the article linked in the comments. Figures reflect public disclosures from the 2025 and 2026 financial reporting periods.