Climate change and increasing carbon emissions have called for the need to adopt sustainability initiatives in the aerospace and defence (A&D) sector. Environmental sustainability is often considered relevant only at the industry level rather than the end user, but the need to adopt sustainability initiatives by modern militaries is becoming more important.

Discover military companies leading the way in ESG

Airbus, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing, Rolls Royce, Leidos and Lockheed Martin are some of the top A&D environmental, social and governance (ESG) companies.

Airbus, Northrop Grumman, and Rolls Royce are considered the leaders in environmental sustainability while Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman are leading in social sustainability efforts and Leidos and Lockheed Martin are among the leaders in governance-related sustainability initiatives.

Some of the technologies that are being developed and adopted by the top military ESG companies to address sustainability issues in the defence sector include hybrid-electric vehicles, electric propulsion systems, electric batteries, offset agreements, and single-source procurement contracts.

Sustainability initiatives taken by top military ESG companies

L3Harris has adopted a strategy to reduce 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2026 by improving its operational sustainability and reducing energy consumption. The company plans to achieve it by using energy-efficient lighting and lighting controls at its facilities, apart from efficient heating and cooling systems, as well as improved building management systems. It has also pledged to reduce water consumption by 20% and reduce waste to landfill by 75%.

Lockheed Martin’s environmental targets for 2030 aim to reduce carbon emissions per dollar of gross profit by 70%, energy per employee by 14%, and waste per employee by 11%, from 2016 levels. It has also adopted various initiatives such as the Rise Up Resources campaign that provided guidance to its suppliers on the ways in which they can respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Raytheon’s environmental targets for 2025 include the reduction of GHG emissions by 10% compared to 2019 levels in addition to a 10% reduction in water consumption. Raytheon also aims to improve waste management practices by reducing waste by 10%. It has also taken actions that benefit local communities such as donating $5m and more than 650,000lb of food to Feeding America in 2020.

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