The aim of sustainable development is “to meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1987).  

Due to the key role they play in society, organisations are the leading figures in achieving this goal. 

To support this expectation and to clearly and transparently communicate the sustainability of individual organisations, a globally shared vision is needed of the concepts, languages and standards.  

The reporting of environmental capital is a process that helps Leonardo to measure and monitor the effects which the Group’s work has on the environment, to convey the company’s generated value regarding its environmental performances, and to set goals in order to create value in the short, medium and long-term.  

The Leonardo Group is subject to the application of Italian Legislative Decree No 254/2016 implementing Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament on the disclosure of non-financial information.  

The Leonardo Group’s Integrated Report is drafted in accordance with the guidelines of the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and – since 2021 – a selection of performance indicators has been subjected to “reasonable assurance” from a third-party certification agency, according to the provisions of the principle ISAE 3000 Revised¹. 

Since 2004, Leonardo Global Solutions has been a Process Owner of the Reporting of Environmental Capital for the Leonardo Group.

¹Issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).

Environmental Capital Reporting of the Leonardo Group: Evolution and “Main Steps” 

The process is carried out through a web-based platform which helps automate the collection, analysis, processing and aggregation of data. It involves various subjects, whose roles and work are defined according to a strict operational workflow, aimed at guaranteeing the quality and traceability of the data and information provided.  

For the purposes of reporting environmental capital, Leonardo Global Solutions: 

• designs, coordinates and manages the entire reporting process for the Leonardo Group through the planning, organisation and running of Reporting Campaigns, set up on an annual basis in order to disclose non-financial data; 

• manages the web-based platform “ad continuum” for the collection and analysis of environmental data;

• supports the parent company with:

- drafting and certifying the Environmental Section of the Integrated Report;  

- running Sustainability Audits;  

- defining specific, measurable sustainability goals, as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), explaining their connection to the SDGs.

To guarantee correct information and training for the subjects involved in the reporting process, LGS: 

• produces and constantly updates the Guidelines for the Reporting of Environmental Capital; 

• provides training sessions and organises dedicated workshops;

• processes data used to monitor the Group’s environmental performances; 

• carries out historical and current trend correlation studies for more significant environmental aspects. 

Alongside drafting the NFD (Non-Financial Declaration) and helping produce the Integrated Report, LGS supports Leonardo in additional significant opportunities to develop its sustainable commitment, including by developing the following disclosure projects:  

• RobecoSAM questionnaire for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – DJSI; 

• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) questionnaire: 

• Climate Change; 

• Water Security (first pilot in 2020). 

Since 2008, Leonardo has been taking part in the assessments carried out by the CDP, a non-profit organisation heavily involved with the biggest companies in the world on issues of CO2 emissions (GHG). In 2020, Leonardo achieved a score of “A” for the first time, on a scale from “A to F”, confirming its position in the Leadership band for the fourth year running.

In 2020, Leonardo was recognised as an Industry Leader in the Aerospace & Defence sector, confirming its position in the indices for the tenth year running. More specifically, Leonardo is in first place among the 5 companies in the Aerospace & Defence sector and features among the 13 companies, located in Italy, admitted in the DJSI.

Over the years, the reporting has been constantly strengthened in order to be able to have increasingly accurate, traceable and replicable information and data, which can provide a clear, accurate picture of all the sites where the Group operates in Italy and around the world.

To meet its stakeholders’ expectations for information and transparency, the Reporting of Environmental Capital is also adopted as a strategic programming tool. 

“Reporting to understand” 

Reporting information means being able to understand the company, establishing and implementing a process of improvement, assessing the level of achievement of the set goals, and internally and externally disclosing company performances. 

Understanding applied “best practices” and the main reference standards, as well as the actual needs of the Leonardo Group, helps turn the Integrated Report from an effective means of external communication into a structured process for planning, monitoring (in itinere and ex-post) and continuous improvements of practices and impacts.  

Both the final output (Integrated Report) and the process of producing it become equally important.

The Reporting of Environmental Capital in 2021 saw the introduction of a series of important new features:

Reporting Campaign 1st Half of 2021: the First Environmental Capital Reporting Campaign - 1st Half of 2021 - involved 103 sites and was conducted on a limited set of indicators, with the goal of monitoring the trend of the main environmental aspects, for which Leonardo set reduction targets in 2020: Water Withdrawals, Waste Produced, Energy Consumption, CO2 Equivalent Emissions.

Reasonable Assurance: in 2021, a selection of reported indicators were subject to Reasonable Assurance from the report certification agency appointed by Leonardo S.p.A.

Setting environmental sustainability goals and strengthening monitoring and control activities: LGS has launched a series of projects to improve energy efficiency and the CO2 equivalent emissions associated with them, introducing goals and plans to reduce the waste produced and water withdrawals.

The New Environmental Capital Reporting Model promoted by LGS involves reporting the data and information which it owns, both as the real estate owner and as the Leonardo Service Provider. The new model will help:

Optimise the times of reporting and reduce the commitment of the subjects involved in the process.

Reduce the possibility of errors when entering information and data onto the web-based platform.

Strengthen and standardise the environmental capital reporting process.