Environmental Responsibility

As part of our commitment to environmental management, more than 60 of our sites operate under ISO 14001, a voluntary certification of international standards that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS). 

Our approach to protecting the environment is built around these objectives:

• Operate our facilities in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in order to protect the health and safety of our employees, surrounding communities and the environment;

• Reduce carbon emissions in order to reach our companywide goal;

• Reuse, recycle and minimize the use of natural resources;

• Drive out solid waste from our manufacturing processes;

• Integrate environmental considerations into business planning and decisions, including design, procurement, production, facilities management and product support;

• Promote a workplace in which employees carry a sense of personal responsibility for protecting the environment;

• Work with our customers to meet their environmental needs and goals, and manage suppliers consistent with our environmental compliance and management programs; and

• Maintain a management system for environmental matters at each business unit that is designed to voluntarily meet internationally accepted standards.

Strategy. We recognize the importance of addressing climate change. As a result, we identify and mitigate climate-related risks within our existing risk management framework and promote continuous improvement across our global operations. We look for opportunities to create efficiencies, develop sustainable products and services, and invest in technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of our business and our customers. Our decentralized business model and diverse lines of business across multiple states and countries enable each business to develop its own set of operating objectives to reduce GHG emissions. We strive to offer transparency about our environmental impact, as well as our actions to lessen those impacts. We participate in the CDP (formerly known as the Climate Disclosure Project) Climate Change questionnaire, a disclosure mechanism for companies to provide information to their stakeholders regarding sustainability performance, governance, and management of climate risks and opportunities. 

Governance. Our board focuses its oversight on material risks and opportunities, including those related to sustainability matters . The Sustainability Committee provides oversight of corporate sustainability management and practices, including those related to environmental impact and climate change. Management is accountable to the board, and incorporates economic, environmental and social considerations in its decision-making to support the company’s operational strategy. 

Managing Climate Risk. We manage risks associated with climate change within our comprehensive risk management process, led by senior management and overseen by the board. The board focuses on the most significant current and emerging risks facing the company, including environmental risks that could have a substantive financial or strategic impact. Senior management, including business unit leadership, is responsible for day-to-day risk management since they are best positioned to understand their local climate and environmental risks. They conduct thorough assessments through internal management processes and controls. The CEO and senior management team keep the board and its committees informed throughout the year as needed on specific risks facing the company, including environmental risks. We consider potential climate change hazards, such as coastal flooding and sea level rise, to build climate-resilient infrastructure.

Progress Toward Our Target. We have committed to a companywide target of reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 40% by 2034, from a 2019 base year. The target was developed using standards articulated by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets Initiative and is aligned with efforts to limit global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius. In order to achieve this goal, each business unit has its own road map to align with the overall companywide target. These pathways consist of initiatives like energy efficiency projects, procuring renewable energy and fuel switching where applicable. We continue to make progress toward our goal, having already reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 11% from our 2019 baseline. Since 2008, our GHG emissions have declined by 25%, even as our company has grown and increased revenue by 35%. As a result, we have reduced total GHG emissions per dollar of revenue by 44%.

As a government contractor, our ability to meet our emissions targets depends in part on our customers’ conduct and direction. For example, some of our contracts specify the manner, means or place of performance in ways that constrain our ability to reduce GHG emissions associated with contract performance. In other instances, we perform work at government-owned facilities, where emissions may be attributable to us under disclosure protocols but where we have limited or no ability to change relevant aspects of the facility.

Because we are a government contractor, many Scope 3 emissions attributable to our company under relevant protocols, both upstream and downstream, are driven by policy choices made by our government customers. For example, armored fighting vehicles, which are built to specifications meant to ensure they function as intended on the battlefield, have emission consequences that are outside of our control. Similarly, government procurement requirements often prescribe specific attributes for the supply chain — such as participation of small business, country of origin and other requirements — that have consequences for GHG emissions from our supply base. For reasons such as these, we are currently unable to accurately measure or set a target for indirect emissions across our entire value chain.

Where feasible, we apply our established continuous improvement process to reducing Scope 3 emissions. Most notable are our efforts to reduce emissions throughout the lifecycle of the business jets we manufacture, with five clean-sheet aircraft models introduced over the past six years. We do this by focusing our research and development efforts on achieving better efficiency and fuel performance, ensuring our aircraft can seamlessly use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in their operations, and making carbon offsets and book-and-claim services available to our customers. Gulfstream has the most fuel-efficient fleet in the industry, producing the lowest carbon emissions per passenger mile of any aircraft we have previously delivered.

Many of our BUs have codes of conduct for suppliers that specify environmental standards, among other criteria. For example, Gulfstream’s supplier code of conduct requires suppliers to have an EHS system to actively manage risk while protecting the environment and conserving natural resources.

At multiple sites across the company, employees are offered the opportunity to participate in alternative transportation incentive programs that offer public transportation pass discounts and fuel cost subsidies for vanpool participants.  

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

We are a leader in expanding the use and availability of SAF in business aviation.

SAF is a low-carbon fuel blend made from agricultural waste and petroleum-based Jet A fuel, with less sulfur and fewer fine particle pollutants than traditional Jet A. Both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation have made SAF a top priority for their customers. On a gallon-for-gallon basis across the lifecycle, SAF can achieve a more than 80% reduction in GHG emissions relative to petroleum Jet A. The renewable fuel meets the strict sustainability requirements of both the U.S. EPA and the internationally recognized Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB).

Gulfstream was the first business jet aircraft manufacturer to use SAF in daily operations and is supporting new technologies to help the industry get to 100% SAF. Jet Aviation has led the services market in offering access to sustainable fuel for operators of Gulfstream and other business jets. It was the first supplier to offer SAF via a blended fuel option at Van Nuys Airport in 2019 and the first to offer SAF at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in 2020. Jet Aviation also provides SAF at its Amsterdam and Singapore facilities. Since 2019, Jet Aviation has uplifted more than 10 million gallons of blended SAF to customers.

Jet Aviation also offers a “Book & Claim” program that broadens access to SAF while avoiding the need to transport it physically. Customers can place orders for SAF, after which the volume is tracked and verified, and a certificate of credit for carbon reduction is issued. This promotes production and future availability of SAF for any customer at any time, even in locations where SAF is not yet available.

Both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation are signatories to the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow 2030 Ambition Statement. Among the program’s aims are accelerating the supply and availability of SAF so it can reach 10% of the global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030.