ByteDance (TikTok)·Media / Entertainment / Publishing·Beijing, People's Republic of China·Founded 2012·Last verified 31 May 2026
20
out of 100
Significant gapsPending Review

ByteDance operates at massive scale—150,000 employees, $155B revenue, 1B+ TikTok users—with almost no public emissions data. The company claims carbon neutrality by 2030 but has disclosed neither Scope 1/2 nor Scope 3 figures, makes no interim progress, and faces active Indigenous land complaints in Brazil. This is greenwashing without substance.

The calculation

Every score shows its working.

Same formula for every company. No curve. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
Media / Entertainment / Publishing sector ceiling.
60 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the 10 rubric questions, scored 0–10 each.
16 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 60) + (0.7 × 16) = 29.2
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on absolute emissions volume — physics-first.
× 0.7
Final score
Rounded. Significant gaps.
20 / 100
The ten questions

Where ByteDance (TikTok) is strong, and where it isn't.

Strongest on Controversies & Red Flags and Energy Source (7/10, 2/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (0/10, 0/10).

Where the evidence comes from

Every document used, listed.

12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.

12 of 12 sources are third-party verified or public record.

[1]Public record
TikTok's carbon footprint: Doomscrolling and environmental impact
2024
Q1Q8
View →
[2]Third-party verified
TikTok & ByteDance climate commitments and sustainability
Unknown
Q1Q2Q8
View →
[3]Third-party verified
Ditch Carbon: ByteDance organization profile
Unknown
Q1Q9
View →
[4]Third-party verified
ByteDance commits to 100% renewable energy by 2030 — Greenpeace response
Unknown
Q2Q4
View →
[5]Public record
ByteDance pledges operational carbon neutrality by 2030
Unknown
Q4Q8
View →
[6]Public record
TikTok owner ByteDance criticized in Greenpeace report on Chinese cloud providers
Unknown
Q4
View →
[7]Public record
Brazilian Indigenous community files complaint to halt TikTok data center
Unknown
Q5Q7
View →
[8]Public record
Brazil Indigenous group sues TikTok data center
2025
Q5Q10
View →
[9]Public record
Sacra: ByteDance company profile and financials
Unknown
Q3
View →
[10]Public record
Who's worse for carbon emissions: TikTok or Greece?
Unknown
Q3Q9
View →
[11]Public record
TikTok announces $37 billion Brazil data center amid Indigenous water dispute
Unknown
Q7
View →
[12]Public record
TikTok environmental impact and resource consumption
Unknown
Q6
View →

If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.

ByteDance (TikTok) in context

ByteDance (TikTok) sits at the bottom of the media / entertainment / publishing pack.

Among the 6 major media / entertainment / publishing brands we've scored, ByteDance (TikTok) sits 6th of 6.

6/6
ByteDance (TikTok)'s rank
43
Industry average
20
Industry low
64
Industry high
How this score has moved

ByteDance (TikTok)'s score over time.

today

Score history begins 4 April 2026.

As ByteDance (TikTok)'s score updates, the trajectory will appear here.

We're backfilling historical scores for FTSE 100 and S&P 100 companies over the coming weeks.

What's being contested

This score is not currently being contested.

Every challenge is published. We'd rather be corrected than wrong — that's the whole point.

No challenges submitted yet. If you have evidence that contradicts this score, you can challenge any question above — cite a public source and we'll review it.

About ByteDance (TikTok)

ByteDance is a Chinese internet and software company founded in 2012, headquartered in Beijing. It operates TikTok (1B+ monthly active users), Douyin (China), and a global e-commerce platform (TikTok Shop). The company runs massive data center infrastructure across multiple continents and invests heavily in AI and compute capacity, making it one of the world's highest-impact digital platforms by energy consumption.

Founded
2012
Headquarters
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Employees
~150,000
Annual revenue
~$155B
Company website ↗
Track ByteDance (TikTok)

We'll let you know when the score moves.

Email alerts when a rubric question is verified, a challenge is resolved, or the overall score changes.

THE SUNDAY RUNDOWN

Which companies moved this week, and why.

One email, every Sunday. Score changes, new research, the stories behind the numbers. Free.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.

HOW SINK STAYS INDEPENDENT

Readers and institutions support our work. Companies can pay to submit evidence we couldn't find. Neither type of payment changes a score.