King's College London scores 50/100 (Making progress) on SINK's independent climate assessment — scored from public data only, no company payment can change a number. Last verified September 2026.
That places King's College London joint 142nd of 809 companies scored, and joint 39th of 67 in Higher Education / Universities.
King's College London reports Scope 1+2 emissions under GHG Protocol but lacks third-party assurance. Scope 1+2 has flatlined since 2019 while Scope 3 procurement emissions surged 80%. The institution has downgraded its net zero target three times—from 2025 to 2030 to 2045—a pattern of weakening commitments despite renewable electricity procurement via PPA.
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SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleStrongest on Transparency & Accountability and Controversies & Red Flags (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Water Impact and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.
“Total scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions: 25,968.5 tCO2e (HESA EMR Table-3, 2023/24, UKPRN 10003645)”
“King's Scope 1 & 2 emissions have remained steady in recent years.”
“King's College London's Carbon Emissions Inventory 2024-25.”
“Our Climate & Sustainability Action Plan sets out our actions towards achieving our ambitious targets on reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.”
“KCL's Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2019-20 were 24,506 tonnes, rising slightly to 24,559 tonnes in 2022-23.”
“The Carbon Sinks section has been renamed to Biodiversity and a new section on Philanthropy has been added.”
“In May of 2024, Urban Bees installed 24 bee hotels and 6 bee observations boxes across King's estate.”
“Currently we manage 24 separate waste streams with the greatest volume being general waste, mixed recycling and clinical waste.”
“The King's Climate & Sustainability water plan helps conserve water and reduce waste.”
“Our EMS is certified to the ISO14001:2015 international standard by NQA and since June 2017 has included activities across all King's directly-managed campuses.”
“signing a Power Purchase Agreement with wind farms to supply nearly one-fifth of our annual electricity baseload.”
“Over the past few years, our recycling rates at King's have dropped.”
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Where King's College London sits among higher education / universities peers.
Among the 67 major higher education / universities brands we've scored, King's College London is tied =39th of 67, with 5 others.
As King's College London's score updates, the trajectory will appear here.
This score is not currently being contested.
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King's College London is a public research university in London, UK, comprising nine campuses across central London. Among the UK's top-tier universities, KCL conducts research across law, medicine, sciences, and humanities with significant laboratory and clinical operations.
Peer institution, research-intensive London university with similar operational emissions profile.
View breakdown →Peer institution, UK top-tier research university with comparable size and decarbonisation challenges.
View breakdown →Peer institution, London-based research university with concentrated urban campus footprint.
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