Southwest Airlines is a major US low-cost carrier founded in 1976, headquartered in Dallas.
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Southwest's sustainability record is fundamentally weak. Absolute emissions are rising despite intensity-based targets. The airline has gutted its sustainability team and sold its renewable fuel subsidiary under activist pressure in 2025, signaling a retreat from climate commitments. Scope 3 coverage is limited, SAF adoption negligible, and net zero excludes most supply chain emissions.
Southwest Airlines scores 21/100 (Significant gaps) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified May 2026.
That places Southwest Airlines joint 797th of 847 companies scored, and joint 18th of 23 in Airlines / Aviation.
Where Southwest Airlines sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 23 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, Southwest Airlines is tied =18th of 23, with 2 others.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
All targets are intensity-based per RTK (25% by 2030, 50% by 2035 vs 2019 baseline), not absolute reductions.
Corporate campus achieves 100% renewable electricity via RECs since 2021, but this is negligible versus flight operations.
However, no quantified nature footprint, no TNFD disclosure, and no systematic biodiversity risk assessment.
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.
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Get in touch →Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (0/10, 1/10).
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Southwest Airlines.
Cathay Pacific discloses emissions data and publishes annual sustainability reports, but absolute emissions are rising sharply as the airline expands.
See the breakdown →IAG's emissions are rising in absolute terms while it claims progress via intensity metrics.
See the breakdown →American Airlines reports comprehensive emissions data and holds SBTi validation, but absolute emissions rose 6% in 2023 while the CEO acknowledged climate targets are in jeopardy.
See the breakdown →Southwest Airlines's score has moved from 23 to 21 across 2 recorded reviews, down 2 points.
Re-classified Aerospace[38] -> Airlines / Aviation[28]; score 23->21
Initial score at platform launch
The formula and all 14 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
8 of 14 sources are independent of the company.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Southwest Airlines is a major US low-cost carrier founded in 1976, headquartered in Dallas. Operating 59,793 employees and generating $23.8 billion in annual revenue (FY2022), it ranks among the largest domestic US airlines. The company operates a point-to-point network focused on short-haul domestic routes across North America.
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