Earth Month at Leidos: Focusing Our Sustainability Lens on the Environment

In an effort to overcome the climate crisis, organizations across the U.S. are taking a multifaceted approach to environmental sustainability and building a clean energy economy. The current federal administration has published the following goals: 

• By 2030, reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% below 2005 levels.
• By 2035, reach 100% carbon pollution-free electricity.
• By 2050, achieve a net-zero emissions economy.

To help reach these goals, our federal agencies and military are taking steps to grow more energy resilient. Both state and local levels of government have also launched initiatives to encourage more sustainable practices and operations. Organizations of all sizes are looking for ways to operate sustainably and to better protect our future. At Leidos, we not only pursue internal sustainability efforts but also help our customers achieve theirs.

How we help our customers reach their sustainability goals

“The greatest contribution Leidos makes to sustainability is through the work we do for our customers,” Chris Goodman, climate portfolio manager at Leidos, says. “Our teams develop innovative strategies and technologies to help our customers mitigate and adapt to climate change.” Just a few examples include:

• Using our Climate Data Analytics Framework (CDAF) to help customers improve sustainability outcomes. This framework provides an end-to-end solution for government and commercial customers to manage, store, and analyze climate-related data. When they can more easily access critical data and understand their climate-related risk, they can better ensure transparency and quickly develop actionable insights.
• Providing program management for Ameren Illinois, an electric and gas utilities provider, toward reducing energy usage and implementing community-based sustainability initiatives. After our public school carbon-free assessment for the East St. Louis School District, for instance, area schools implemented more than $171,000 worth of incentives and saved power upwards of 129,000 kWh.
• Helping various branches of our military move to zero-emission vehicles and renewable energy by upgrading their power infrastructure, which includes installing EV chargers and designing solar photovoltaic generation and energy storage systems.

“Climate and energy risks and opportunities impact every Leidos customer. By helping our customers develop strategies to reduce emissions and mitigate climate risk, we together protect current and future operations from environmental hazards,” Chris says.

Environmental sustainability at Leidos: Our 2030 goals and current progress

To guide our collective sustainability efforts, we’ve defined three high-level goals: cultivate inclusion, advance environmental sustainability, and promote healthier lives. Of course, without dedicated focus and related action, those are just words. That’s why we take time every year to track our progress and recommit to our sustainability goals.

In honor of Earth Month, here’s a check-in on our progress toward advancing environmental sustainability. Our internal environmental objectives focus on three main channels: reducing carbon output, reducing our waste, and shifting increasingly toward renewable energy. Here’s how we did in 2022*:

• Carbon reduction — We are on track to reach our goal of reducing GHG emissions 25% by 2030, relative to a 2021 baseline. In 2022 alone, we achieved a 7.5% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
• Waste reduction — Our roadmap is in place, and we’ve started initiatives to reduce waste by 50% in Leidos facilities by 2030. Working with our partners, we diverted 194.7 tons of workplace furniture, fixtures, and equipment as well as 283,104 pounds of electronics waste from landfills.
• Carbon reduction — We are on track to increase our renewable energy to 25% of total electricity use by 2030. By 2022 we increased our renewable electricity utilization to more than 8% (up from 5% in 2021).

*2023 data is still being compiled and checked.

And this is just the start. We look forward to sharing more progress toward achieving our own goals and helping our customers build a more sustainable, cleaner future.