Virgin Atlantic discloses Scope 1 and 2 emissions with assurance, but absolute emissions are rising as capacity grows. SAF uplift is negligible at 1% of fuel. The airline was sanctioned by the UK ASA for misleading climate claims and continued making those claims after the ruling. Lobbying against UK SAF policy strengthening has also been documented.
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Same formula for every company. No curve. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleStrongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Controversies & Red Flags (2/10, 3/10).
13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.
8 of 12 sources are third-party verified or public record.
“Fuel consumption is calculated for every flight taken during the year, using fuel on board data collated directly from the aircraft”
“Scope 1 emissions of about 3,812,024,000 kg CO2e, Scope 2 emissions of approximately 1,291,000 kg CO2e”
“emitting 18% less CO2 per revenue tonne km than we did ten years ago, despite growing capacity by 18%”
“Virgin used only 11,688 tonnes of SAF, representing 1.0% of their total fuel use”
“Virgin Atlantic secured an offtake agreement with Gevo, which is equivalent to 216,000 tons over seven years”
“Virgin last year bought more than 600,000 litres of 'used' cooking oil from China and Indonesia to turn into SAF”
“The airline has removed millions of single-use plastic bottles and introduced sustainable alternatives”
“The ASA ruled against Virgin nine months ago for using this language in an advert, saying it was likely to lead a 'significant proportion' of people to 'overestimate' the environmental benefits”
“InfluenceMap's analysis reveals the weakened SAF mandate came after pressure from Shell, BP, the International Airlines Group, Airlines UK and Virgin Atlantic airline”
“Non-financial and sustainability statement 26 · Business as a force for good · Pages 27 to 77”
“2024 ESG Independent Limited Assurance Report · Responsible Supplier Policy · Modern Slavery Statement 2024”
“Virgin Holdings Limited commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2023 base year”
“The ASA ruled Virgin Atlantic's '100% sustainable aviation fuel' radio ad misleading — listeners would think the fuel itself was 100% sustainable.”
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Among the 31 major aerospace brands we've scored, Virgin Atlantic is tied =4th of 31, with 1 other.
Score history begins 6 April 2026.
As Virgin Atlantic'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.
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Virgin Atlantic is a UK-based airline founded in 1976, headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex. The carrier operates transatlantic and European routes with a fleet of Airbus aircraft. Mid-size by global aviation standards, it competes with legacy carriers and low-cost operators. Emissions-intensive operations dominate its environmental footprint.
European low-cost carrier; similar scale, aviation emissions intensity, SAF trajectory.
View breakdown →European airline peer; similar regional/short-haul exposure and net-zero target timing.
View breakdown →Large-scale European airline; comparable absolute emissions, SAF offtake agreements, SBTi status.
View breakdown →UK utility sector; energy supply and net-zero commitments; different emissions profile, same jurisdiction.
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