The American defense sector has long been confronted with the fact that it isn’t exactly easy being green. The focus on military hardware is always on performance and capabilities first, with less effort directed toward environmental concerns. The mood is shifting, as noted by the Pentagon’s attempts to develop hybrid and electric vehicles – including the next-generation Humvee and even the future main battle tank.
Another challenge faced by the defense contractors is to be inclusive – and coupled together, that has resulted in challenges for the industry to find and retain talent. As the industry’s workforce is graying, companies large and small are looking to diversify while also striving to be more environmentally friendly.
Northrop Grumman Taking a Lead
This week, Northrop Grumman Corporation announced the release of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. It emphasizes the defense and aerospace company’s achievements, including efforts toward emissions reductions, diversity, equity, inclusion, human rights, and ethical business operations.
“Northrop Grumman has the talent, technology, purpose and ingenuity to help our world become more sustainable, equitable and secure for everyone,” said Kathy Warden, chair, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman. “By harnessing our technology leadership, we’ve also made strides to reduce our carbon, water and waste footprints and partnered with customers and suppliers to help them do the same to create a more protected world.”
The defense contractor has already taken a lead in environmental sustainability and had previously announced efforts to reduce the footprint of its operations. This included an effort to reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 2035, while 50% of its total electricity would be from renewable sources by 2030.
Northrop Grumman is also on track to reduce 10% of absolute water withdrawals and reuse 10% of water withdrawals by 2030. It will also seek to reduce solid waste sent to landfill and incineration by 10% by the end of the decade.
Highlights of the new ESG and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Report during 2022, include:
*Completing year three of our five-year diversity plan, with the rate of people of color in leadership roles increasing from 28% in 2021 to 29% in 2022.
*Awarding $3.9 billion to small business suppliers, representing 36% of our total domestic spend, marking the 18th consecutive year that Northrop Grumman has exceeded the U.S. Government’s 23% small business statutory goal.
*Progressing on our sustainability goals by achieving an 11% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 2019, and obtaining 10% of electricity from renewable sources.
“Environmental commitment at Northrop Grumman is vital as sustainability is a matter of national security. Environmental and societal changes directly impact global stability,” explained Mike Witt, Northrop Grumman’s chief sustainability officer, in an email to ClearanceJobs. “Severe weather, access to clean water, food insecurity, resource scarcity, population migration, and social equity impact national security in profound and undeniable ways.”
Witt added that Northrop Grumman will seek to hold itself accountable to the environmental commitment, and has developed environmental sustainability goals to serve as a set of success markers to help it better measure the sustainability progress in areas including emissions and product stewardship.
“Our customers have published climate adaptation plans that showcase needs in areas like fuel efficiency, electric vehicles, resource security, and climate mitigation. These needs paint a picture of an evolving definition of defense that in inclusive of sustainability, which our environmental commitments reflect,” Witt continued.
Perfect Disability Equality Index
It was last year that Northrop Grumman had been named a “Best Place to Work” for disability inclusion by Disability: IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities for the eighth consecutive year. The contractor earned a score of 100% on the 2022 Disability Equality Index (DEI) for implementing leading disability inclusion practices.
Northrop Grumman has participated since the index’s inception in 2015, while company executives have said they use the factors to continuously evolve its inclusion practices.
“Creating a team and a workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion is pivotal to promoting innovation and increasing productivity and profitability,” explained Witt. “Our goal is to continually support and nurture the large number of Northrop Grumman employees whose backgrounds, characteristics, and perspectives are as diverse as the global communities in which we reside.”
Northrop Grumman has further noted that it has developed a diverse workforce through efforts including STEM education, driving employee attraction and retention, enhancing its reputation as an employer and business of choice, and addressing stakeholder issues in local communities.
“In one example of how we cultivate an inclusive workforce, we promote a Global DE&I Toolkit to employees and managers,” said Witt. “The toolkit consists of targeted micro-learning topics, quick-read resources, and year-round educational opportunities, which aid in our hiring efforts.”
Ethical AI
The other notable takeaway in the ESG report is the company’s commitment towards ethical AI – an increasingly hot topic given the introduction of new platforms such as ChatGPT that could prove to be especially disruptive, but also potentially dangerous when coupled with advanced military systems.
Northrop Grumman has announced that it is working with U.S. Government organizations to develop policies for what tests need to be completed and documented to determine if an AI model is sufficiently safe, secure, and ethical for Department of Defense (DoD) use.
