Our Commitment to Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability
Strong leadership in environmental sustainability and climate change is a priority for Northrop Grumman.
As a global security company, we understand that the conservation of natural resources and the mitigation of environmental impacts are vitally important for the protection of this generation and those to come. Our corporate values strongly support environmental sustainability. Our efforts are hepling to improve operational efficiency, reduce our environmental footprint, and drive long-term affordability. Our environmentally-focused philanthropic programs also help promote environmental protection and education in our local communities.
The importance of environmental sustainability, to the company and our leadership, is demonstrated by its inclusion as one of the company’s six non-financial performance metrics that is tied to compensation. This metric is measured in terms of reductions in absolute greenhouse gas emissions, potable water use and improvement in solid waste diversion. The Policy Committee of our Board of Directors receives periodic updates on the program and performance against these goals, while overseeing the program’s alignment with Northrop Grumman’s strategic objectives.
Employee Participation
Our greeNG Employee Resource Group enables employees to to gain and share knowledge, solve problems, build relationships and enhance personal development and growth related to environmental interests. We encourage employees to reinforce the company’s commitment to the environment by volunteering to support the company’s commitment to the environment by volunteering to support activities at work and in the local communities.
2020 Environmental Sustainability Goals and Performance
By managing and reducing our environmental impact, we have improved operational efficiencies and realized long-term cost savings. We are aligning our business with environmental sustainability practices, embracing green initiatives and translating our values into measurable actions.
Goal: Reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% from 2010 levels
2020 Performance: 43.7% reduction
We achieved success in this area by coupling strong energy management and efficiency practices with a commitment to implementing impactful emissions reduction projects.
2020 GHG and Energy Highlights
- Implemented a total of 33 projects estimated to reduce 2,038 MTCO2e annually
- Completed 30 LED lighting projects across 15 sites totaling 869 MTCO2e of GHG savings and reducing electricity use by 2,836,433 kWh
- A team of engineers at our site in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, developed an innovative design to reduce consumption of solvents in a vapor degreaser resulting in an emissions reduction of 89 MTCO2e
- We continued our 2012–2020 commitment to purchase 11,000 MTCO2e of carbon offsets certified by the American Carbon Registry from the Mississippi Valley Reforestation Project
- Joined the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program as a partner
Renewable Energy
We currently have four sites that host onsite solar generation. Our most recent addition, at our Rolling Meadows, Illinois site, came online at the beginning of 2021.
We have also made a commitment to source 100% of our electricity in Virginia from a solar farm that is currently being constructed within the Commonwealth.
Goal: Potable water reduction use by 20% from 2014 level
2020 Performance: 20% reduction
By completing water assessments at our major manufacturing sites, we gained valuable insight into the water use patterns of our operations. Since 2015 we have implemented water conservation projects estimated to save a total of 312 million gallons of water annually for years to come.
Our Redondo Beach, California, location successfully connected a municipal reclaimed water line to the cooling towers of three buildings onsite. This project offset potable water usage by 16 million gallons of water per year, which is enough to fill 24 Olympic-size swimming pools.
A rainwater harvesting system was installed at our Park Air facility in the U.K. This system captures rainwater from the facility roof and filters and stores the runoff in a large underground system in the parking lot. The water is then used for the toilets in the building. This system saves more than 120,000 gallons per year, which is equivalent to 70% of water use at the facility.
2020 Water Management Highlights
- We implemented 28 water conservation projects estimated to conserve 66 million gallons of water annually, including 56 million gallons saved from the installation of onsite water reuse systems
- Installed a wastewater recovery system at our Manhattan Beach, California site to treat and reuse 11 million gallons of wastewater as cooling tower make up
- From 2015–2020, we reduced water use in California by 26%
Goal: Achieving a 70% solid waste diversion rate
2020 Performance: 69.2% reduction
We fell just short of our 70% goal. We were challenged by changes in collection methods and waste haulers at some sites, related to COVID-19 in some instances. Nevertheless, we enhanced our understanding of our waste streams and made long-lasting improvements in recycling, composting, reuse and donation practices throughout our operations.
Installed over 100 dumpster sensors at nine large sites that measure fullness rates and content. This technology enables sites to optimize utilization, lower hauling costs and improve data quality
2020 Waste Diversion Highlights
- Implemented 41 solid waste-diversion projects estimated to divert 556 tons of solid waste annually
- Engaged employees in educational campaigns such as recycling pilots, enhanced signage and online trainings saving over 80 tons of landfill waste annually
- Increased composting by an additional 63 tons of organic waste annually through expanding composting at six sites.Focused on diverting hard-to-recycle commodities such as soft plastics, garnet and safety gear, avoiding 11 tons of landfill waste annually
- Increased wood recycling at several sites capturing an additional 59 tons of wood annually
Electric Car Charging
In 2020, we experienced significant growth in our electric vehicle (EV) Workplace Charging Program in both access to chargers and employee use. We nearly doubled the number of “level 2” charging connections and much of this expansion is attributable to increasing employee demand, which grew by 20% over 2019 to more than 1,600 EV drivers.
One of the biggest additions was at our site in Azusa, California, which, in a partnership with the local utility, Southern California Edison, installed 39 new charging stations (66 new connections). We also opened our first ever fleet-only EV charging station in the company at one of our manufacturing sites located in West Virginia.
Environmental Health and Safety at Work
Northrop Grumman is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for our employees, contractors, visitors and communities; to ensuring our operations are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner; and to conducting all business activities in accordance with applicable legal requirements and company-established goals.
Northrop Grumman’s environmental, health and safety (EHS) policy outlines the key activities and processes we employ to maintain strong EHS programs within our operations.
Technology for Conservation
Northrop Grumman’s Technology for Conservation (T4C) innovation projects are a unique way to build on the company’s emphasis of environmental sustainability, evolve our partnerships with conservation organizations and provide new opportunities for employees. By combining the expertise of Northrop Grumman engineers with the conservation organizations’ knowledge of Earth’s ecosystems, these projects are able to leverage the best of today’s technologies to enhance and scale conservation programs.