Airline Ranking · As of July 16, 2026

GOL

Ranked #31 of 32 carriers on what is already operationally available in 2026, not on a 2050 pledge.

Score out of 100

40.6

Below half marks · rank 31 of 32 · South America

Why GOL lands here

Efficient baseline, but limited disclosed SAF, contrails, and customer participation.

0best in the world: 78.5100

That is 37.9 points behind the best-scoring carrier in the world, which itself only reaches 78.5. No carrier reaches 80, and 13 of 32 score below half marks.

What this score is built from

Eight decision areas, weighted by what moves emissions now

Each area is graded against what GOL publishes, then scaled by how well that work is evidenced. Contrail avoidance carries the same weight as sustainable aviation fuel, because both are available today.

Where the points are

59.4 of the 100 points are still on the table for GOL. The three largest sit here:

  • 23.8

    Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    1.2 of 25 earned

  • 13.0

    SAF deployment and market-building

    12.0 of 25 earned

  • 8.5

    Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    1.5 of 10 earned

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    SAF

    12.0 / 25

    rough grade 3 of 5Cevidence ×0.8013.0 points still available

    There is meaningful SAF intent or activity, but scale and disclosed evidence are still moderate.

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    Contrails

    1.2 / 25

    rough grade 0.5 of 5Eevidence ×0.3523.8 points still available

    Public contrail-avoidance action is thin or absent, which now carries a large scoring cost.

  • Fleet efficiency and operational decarbonization

    Ops

    9.0 / 12

    rough grade 4 of 5Bevidence ×0.903.0 points still available

    GOL's operating base is more credible than its SAF, contrail, or customer-facing participation story.

  • Climate governance and transparency

    Governance

    7.3 / 10

    rough grade 4 of 5Bevidence ×0.902.7 points still available

    Public reporting is strong enough to compare targets, governance structure, and climate claims across reporting cycles.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    Customer

    1.5 / 10

    rough grade 1 of 5Cevidence ×0.808.5 points still available

    Customer-facing climate participation is limited, hard to find, or not embedded in the booking path.

  • Ground operations, waste, and circularity

    Ground

    3.0 / 6

    rough grade 2.5 of 5Aevidence ×1.003.0 points still available

    There is some evidence of ground or waste action, but the public detail remains limited.

  • Community and nonprofit investment

    Community

    3.0 / 6

    rough grade 2.5 of 5Aevidence ×1.003.0 points still available

    There is real community activity, but the reporting or scale is moderate.

  • Climate advocacy and sector collaboration

    Advocacy

    3.6 / 6

    rough grade 3 of 5Aevidence ×1.002.4 points still available

    There is some visible collaboration or policy positioning, but not enough to set the carrier apart.

Evidence codes

  • A×1.00Current quantified disclosure or clearly documented live program.
  • B×0.90Good disclosure with small limits.
  • C×0.80Older-cycle, group-level, proxy, or incomplete quantified evidence.
  • D×0.65Fragmented or partial proxy evidence.
  • E×0.35No credible public evidence; floor only.

Grades are recorded to the nearest half point, so the published pillar score is the authoritative figure and the grade is a rounded description of it. Evidence quality for GOL overall is rated medium.

How GOL compares

Either side in the table

Azul is one place ahead at 41.5, and Ethiopian Airlines one place behind at 38.9.

Within South America

Ranked 4 of 4 carriers scored in South America, behind LATAM Airlines Group at 46.3.

Who already leads the areas GOL is losing most

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    American Airlines earns 25.0 of 25 here. GOL earns 1.2.

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    Air France-KLM earns 23.0 of 25 here. GOL earns 12.0.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    IAG earns 9.4 of 10 here. GOL earns 1.5.

The full methodology, with a worked example →Every source behind the ranking →

If you work at GOL

We can tell you which points are cheapest to win

Two of the eight areas, booking-path participation and published uptake, are the ones our own real-money research speaks to directly: a redesigned donation step roughly doubled giving across three carriers, with no cost in brand favorability or booking intent.

Ask for your breakdownSee all 32 carriers

Think we have this wrong? If we have missed a published program, send it over and we will re-score and note the change.