Glencore plc

Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.

Glencore's core revenue engine remains thermal coal — it produced 99.6 million tonnes of energy coal in 2024 alone — and the 2024 EVR acquisition added ~19.9 Mt of new steelmaking coal; transition metals (copper, cobalt) are a meaningful but secondary revenue contributor, and the company explicitly plans to 'operate mines to the end of their economic life,' directly conflicting with IEA NZE coal phase-out requirements.

Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.

Glencore has published a structured Climate Action Transition Plan (March 2024) with interim targets of 15% by 2026, 25% by 2030, and 50% by 2035 against a 2019 baseline, and a 2050 net-zero ambition; however, none of these targets are SBTi-validated, the net-zero pledge is explicitly conditional on 'a supportive policy environment,' EVR's massive coal emissions are currently excluded from target scope, and independent analysts at ACCR found the plan inconsistent with IEA NZE requirements for coal.

Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.

Glencore reduced total Scope 1/2/3 industrial emissions from 430 Mt CO2e (2023) to 416 Mt CO2e (2024) and its lost-time injury frequency rate improved to 0.71, but the company recorded four worker fatalities in 2024, a sharp rise in occupational disease cases (163 to 281), significant water-stressed site exposure (37% of industrial sites), and ongoing DRC human rights and royalty concerns linked to sanctioned intermediary Dan Gertler.

Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.

Glencore publishes detailed GRI-aligned sustainability reports with Scope 1, 2, and 3 data independently assured by Deloitte LLP to ISAE 3410 standards, reports to CDP, discloses TCFD analysis, and publishes an annual advocacy review; however, its 2024 CATP omits forward coal production volumes and capital expenditure detail for coal — a critical gap identified by ACCR — and InfluenceMap found the company's account of its own lobbying activities to be misleading in at least one case.

Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.

Glencore pleaded guilty in 2022 to a decade-long, multi-country FCPA bribery scheme (paying over $100 million in bribes), agreed to pay over $1.1 billion across US/UK/Brazil resolutions, was subsequently convicted by the Swiss Attorney General (August 2024) for corrupt DRC mine deals and fined $152 million, continues to pay daily royalties to US-sanctioned Dan Gertler, and InfluenceMap documents active lobbying against Paris-aligned climate policy in Australia through industry associations including the Minerals Council of Australia.