As part of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, during the Uniting Business Live (20-22 September) Leonardo, for the second consecutive year, was recognized as the UN Global Compact LEAD. Leonardo is the only one of the main global companies in the Aerospace and Defense sector to be included in the small group of companies, a total of 36, which this year registers the presence of four Italian companies.
The award is given to companies that stand out for their commitment to promoting the Ten Principles of the Global Compact and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In 2020 Leonardo addressed approx. 50% of its investments on SDG objectives and, compared to an average annual investment of around 600-700 million euros for 2021-2022, is committed to keeping 50% of these aligned with the SDGs, with impacts on strengthening of innovation processes and the development of the supply chain, adopting a quantitative reporting model capable of analyzing the effectiveness of sustainability interventions over time.
During 2021 Leonardo was an active subject of the Global Compact by participating in the Action Platform "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" and in the working groups of the CFO Taskforce, contributing to the development of the SDG 16 Business Framework, a tool aimed at promoting structural change in companies by strengthening the culture of integrity and responsible business management. Leonardo is also among the signatories of the CFO Principles on integrated SDG investments and finance for the creation of a market for investments and finance to support the SDGs.
In Leonardo's 2020 integrated report, with respect to the theme of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) performances, the importance of implementing development programs and medium-long term partnerships with companies in the supply chain is highlighted - through for example raising awareness of key suppliers on SDGs and reporting - in addition to maintaining the ISO 37001: 2016 "Anti-Bribery Management System" certification, reducing CO40 emissions by 2% by 2030 and hiring 30% of women on total hires in the STEM area.
Confirmation as a Global Compact LEAD is part of a sustainability path that sees Leonardo as an international leader. For the second consecutive year, the Company was recognized as the leader in the Aerospace and Defense sector of the Dow Jones sustainability indexes and was placed in band A, the highest level of the Defense Companies Index on Anti-Corruption and Corporate Transparency (DCI) developed by Transparency International. Furthermore, the inclusion in the "A List" of CDP (former Carbon Disclosure Project) for the fight against climate change and the inclusion, for the first time, in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) of 2021 in terms of gender equality.