Ryanair is Europe's largest low-cost airline, headquartered at Dublin Airport.
Is this your business? Add your evidence →
Ryanair's 20.1 Mt CO₂e footprint rose 7.8% year-on-year, driven by capacity growth to 300 million passengers by 2034. SAF remains negligible (2% from January 2025, meeting regulatory minimum only). An upheld ASA greenwashing ruling, ACM warning on offset claims, and documented climate lobbying deterioration—including CEO rejection of 2050 net-zero—undermine stated targets.
Ryanair scores 24/100 (Significant gaps) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified July 2026.
That places Ryanair joint 753rd of 847 companies scored, and joint 11th of 23 in Airlines / Aviation.
Where Ryanair sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 23 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, Ryanair is tied =11th of 23, with 3 others.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
However, planned capacity doubling to 300M passengers by FY34 structurally precludes absolute reduction.
FY25 SAF: 2% blend from January 2025 at EU/UK airports (ReFuelEU minimum, not leadership).
ASA (February 2020): ruled 'Europe's Lowest Emissions Airline' claim misleading; ads withdrawn (upheld).
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Evidence that isn't public can count through an evidence review.
Use this score in tenders
Send the link, or the one-page score sheet. It links back to this page and every source. Free.
Open the score sheet →Add your evidence, £99
Scored low because little is published? Send us your evidence. A person reviews it and your score reflects what you really do. Done within 5 working days.
Evidence review →Go tender-ready, £495 a year
A yearly rescore, a check of up to 25 key suppliers and a score badge for your website (coming soon).
Get in touch →Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (1/10, 2/10).
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Ryanair.
Lufthansa's absolute emissions rose 16% year-on-year to 42.9 Mt CO₂e in 2024, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
See the breakdown →easyJet publishes verified emissions data and holds an SBTi-validated intensity target, but absolute emissions rose 43% year-on-year while the airline remains 99%+ dependent on fossil jet fuel.
See the breakdown →Air France-KLM's absolute emissions rose 17.5% in 2024 despite intensity improvements.
See the breakdown →Ryanair's score has moved from 23 to 24 across 2 recorded reviews, up 1 point.
Re-classified Aerospace[38] -> Airlines / Aviation[28]; score 26->24
Initial score at platform launch
The formula and all 13 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale13 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
6 of 12 sources are independent of the company.
“subject to limited assurance review by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chartered Accountants”
“In 2025, Ryanair Holdings reported a total carbon footprint of 20,097,058 metric tons of CO₂e across Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.”
“The airline company's carbon emissions grew to 12.3 million tonnes (mt) in 2025, a 2 per cent increase on 2024.”
“This agreement with Enilive would enable Ryanair to access to up to 100,000 tons of SAF between 2025 and 2030”
“Non-CO2 emission impacts are primarily generated from the formation of persistent contrails and from nitrous oxides ('NOx') emissions.”
“2024 Sustainability Report: Aviation With Purpose”
“Ryanair Holdings plc commits to reduce Well-to-Wake scope 1 and 3 jet fuel GHG emissions 27% per RTK by 2031 from a 2023 base year.”
“Scope 3 emissions accounting for 18% of total emissions under the GHG Protocol, with 'Fuel and Energy Related Activities' being the largest emissions source at 97%”
“Negative climate lobbying efforts appear to be led by Air France-KLM (E+), IAG (E+), Lufthansa (E+), and Ryanair (E)”
“in an October 2025 Financial Times interview, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, criticized EU climate regulation, stating 'the green agenda is dead'”
“Ryanair was warned that some claims about carbon compensation could be misleading.”
“The Group has identified and assessed IROs across its own operations and value chain at a sub-sub-topic level.”
“The ASA ruled Ryanair's 'Europe's… lowest emissions airline' claims misleading and unsubstantiated; the ads must not appear again in that form.”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Ryanair is Europe's largest low-cost airline, headquartered at Dublin Airport. Founded in 1985, it operates 27,000 employees across a network of 250+ destinations, carrying 184 million passengers in FY25 with revenue of €10.8 billion. It is the continent's leading budget carrier by fleet size and route density.
One email, every Sunday. Score changes, new research, the stories behind the numbers. Free.
No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.
Checking a company?
Search free →Asked to prove you're sustainable?
Get your business scored, free →Been scored?
See what's behind your number →Fees pay for the review, never the result.