The Science of Citizenship
A breakdown of Lockheed Martin’s innovative approach to ethics and sustainability.
Originally published on Corporate Responsibility Magazine
By Elliot Clark
As a technology company, Lockheed Martin’s annual sustainability report is aptly titled, The Science of Citizenship, viewing the practices of ethics and sustainability as a science. After all, this is a company defined by its engineers and scientists who seek a rationalized and explainable view of the universe. But to describe the ethics and sustainability program at Lockheed Martin as science alone does not quite do justice to the amount of art in this award-winning and highly integrated management effort.
I have known Leo Mackay, the fi rm’s vice president of ethics and sustainability and chief ethics officer, for a few years. Recently, I had occasion to sit and talk with him about how Lockheed Martin, a company of more than 126,000 employees and 16,000 suppliers, has been able to operate without some of the blemishes and scandals that have plagued other global brands. While everyone is quick to point out that the next problem can always be lurking unseen, Mackay described one of the best programs of the many companies we have covered.
