Leonardo confirmed among leaders in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Rome,  10 December 2022 09:00

  • The Company ranked with top score within the Aerospace & Defense industry for the fourth consecutive year
  • Leonardo’s commitment demonstrated by 50% of investments to support SDGs, 1.8 billion euros invested in research and development, over 5,300 hired under 30; -24% reduction of waste produced and -22% intensity of CO2 emissions

Leonardo is confirmed for the thirteenth consecutive year in S&P Global’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), the equity indices that include the best-in-class companies in terms of sustainability at a global level. Leonardo has achieved the highest score ranking within the Aerospace & Defense industry, according to the Corporate Sustainability Assessment as of December 9th, 2022.

The analysis conducted by S&P Global takes into account the economic and ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) performance of companies, with a view on continuous improvement and is mainly based on publicly available information.

The inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices - stated Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo CEO - is again the result of Leonardo's commitment to Sustainability, fully integrated into our Industrial Plan and the basis of growth, competitiveness, long-term profitability and returns. We have made significant progress: for example, today over 50% of financing sources are linked to ESG KPIs, and these are included in our remuneration policy, and we have recently officially committed ourselves to the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative, reinforcing our decarbonization strategy. But we aim to achieve much more, and we remain convinced that our commitment on ESG is essential to seize business opportunities in the future, reducing risks and increasing our ability to attract investors".

“We are proud of achieving this recognition - underlines Leonardo Chairman, Luciano Carta - of our commitment to sustainability and of the leading role we play globally. A recognition that is the result of solid governance that has allowed us to go through the challenging years of the pandemic and which now is projecting our company into the future, increasingly oriented towards sustainable success and long-term value creation for all our stakeholders".

Leonardo has also included objective and measurable ESG indicators whitin its remuneration policy and in the company’s second Integrated Report.

To increasingly align its financing strategy with sustainability goals, Leonardo has signed a loan agreement for 260 million euros with the European Investment Bank aimed at promoting Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) activities in the fields of helicopters, defence electronics and space, as well as research activities carried out by Leonardo Labs, contributing also to the fight against climate change. This loan is in addition to the first ESG-linked Revolving Credit Facility and the first ESG-linked Term Loan signed by Leonardo in 2021, making 50% of total financing sources linked to ESG parameters.

The inclusion within the S&P Global’s DJSI adds to the company’s achievements over the last years: the company’s position in band A in the Defence Companies Index on Anti-Corruption and Corporate Transparency (DCI) prepared by Transparency International, the inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, the inclusion in the Climate A List 2020 and 2021 of CDP (former Carbon Disclosure Project) for measures against climate change, and an improved position in the main ESG ratings.

The company’s focus on sustainability challenges is one of the drivers of the long-term strategic growth plan “Leonardo Be Tomorrow 2030”. Below is data that demonstrates Leonardo’s commitment to sustainability:

 

PLANET

In 2021:

  • -22% intensity of Scopes 1 and 2 CO2e emissions compared to 2019
  • About 117,200 tons of CO2e avoided through the use of virtual training systems from 2019
  • Over 100,000 tons of CO2e avoided in 2021 through partial replacement of SF6 gas
  • -6% intensity of energy consumption compared to 2019
  • About 52,500 tons of waste recovered from 2019, with waste generated intensity reduced by 24%
  • -2% intensity of water withdrawals compared to 2019

 

PEOPLE

  • About 2,500 training opportunities activated from 2019 to 2021
  • Over 5,300 people hired under 30 from 2019 to 2021
  • Over 2,700 women hired from 2019 to 2021
  • 54% of new hires in 2021 hold a STEM qualification
  • About 6 million hours of training delivered in 2021

 

PROSPERITY

In 2021:

  • € 1.8 bil. spent on R&D, activities in which 9,600 people are involved
  • 11 Leonardo Labs in 8 technological areas to support long-term research
  • With 6.2 petaflops of computing power, “davinci-1” ranks seventh among companies in the Aerospace and Defence sector
  • Collaborations with more than 90 universities and research centres in the world
  • 11,000 suppliers, including many highly specialized small and medium-sized enterprises, and 81% of purchases related to domestic markets (Italy, United Kingdom, United States and Poland)
  • 5,000 networks protected by cyber security services in 130 countries
  • About 1,300 helicopters used in search & rescue, medical services, fire-fighting and law
  • enforcement missions
  • 61 emergency mapping activated to support against flooding, fire, storms, earthquakes and other events

 

GOVERNANCE

  • About 50% of 2021-2023 investments to support SDGs
  • With the most recognized certifications of the management systems for anticorruption (ISO 37001), quality (AS/EN 9100), Business Continuity (ISO 22301) and information security (ISO 27001) for the perimeters specified in the 2021 Annual Integrated Report
  • 42% of women on the Board of Directors
  • 40% of women on the Board of Statutory Auditors

 

For further information, please refer to the “Indices and ESG ratings” section of the website www.leonardo.com