Sustainability in Action: Leonardo’s Continued Commitment to a Green Future

23 November 2022

Leonardo has published “Sustainability in Action”, a document that outlines the company’s vision and commitment to sustainability – a key element in its Be Tomorrow - Leonardo 2030 strategic plan – and focuses on the role played by the Group’s technological solutions in fostering the sustainability transition. An overview of the strategy pursued to translate the company’s sustainability objectives into “action”.

Sustainability in Action

Leonardo’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy embraces the entire value chain and pursues the course of the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), a fundamental part of the Be Tomorrow – Leonardo 2030 strategic plan. Sustainability represents a significant competitive lever for implementing a long-term transformation, through the adoption of a business integration model in line with the pillars of the World Economic Forum’s framework: People, Planet, Prosperity and Governance.

The strategic priorities identified by Leonardo, through a constant dialogue with its stakeholders, aim to: attract and foster talent; reduce energy consumption, CO2 emissions and environmental impact; develop the supply chain; strengthen the digitalisation process; and promote a responsible business model. This commitment is also supported by the company’s 100 Sustainability Plan projects.

 

Sustainability: Leonardo’s Principal Courses of Action

The main themes driving the Group’s sustainability commitment include innovation and digitalisation, underpinned by the 11 Leonardo Labs and the davinci-1 supercomputer, with a direct impact on decarbonisation and the overall sustainability of the Group. Having achieved a 19% reduction in CO2 emissions during the last three years – due to a change in manufacturing processes and energy efficiency initiatives – Leonardo has set the target of reducing its emissions by 40% by 2030.

To reinforce its decarbonisation strategy further, Leonardo has recently committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which represents a key step for value creation in the medium-to-long-term, benefiting all its stakeholders.

Another theme of interest is the transition towards a circular economy model, adopting a transformative approach across Leonardo’s entire value chain, through inter-sectorial collaborations in the field of the circularity of composite materials, to name just one example.

Technological solutions for the observation, monitoring and protection of the planet and its resources are central, along with the management of environmental and pandemic emergencies. These solutions are the result of research and development processes, as well as international partnerships and collaborations, and provide essential information on the Earth’s surface that are fundamental to supporting the actions related to climate change mitigation.

In addition, Leonardo’s sustainability strategy aims to involve the whole supply chain, which includes over 11,000 suppliers worldwide, and to raise their awareness, while advocating sustainable choices regarding knowledge sharing and collaboration. These important objectives and results have been achieved thanks to special supplier-focused programmes like LEAP or the LEADS assessment model and the Supply Chain Sustainability Manifesto, which add up to a commitment to business integrity and transparency that respect regulations, human rights and responsible business conduct.

Last but not least, the Sustainability in Action document addresses the topics of Scientific Citizenship, Diversity and Inclusion. Leonardo’s commitment in these areas is based on the dissemination of the scientific culture in schools and universities, through the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, giving special attention to the inclusion of girls. In this way, Leonardo fosters an educational ecosystem focused on enhancing and developing human capital to attract, retain and nurture the talents of the future.

Cover picture: Copernicus – Sentinel-3 ©ESA – ATG medialab