Environmental Sustainability

RI&S sites across the United Kingdom and in Virginia purchase and use renewable energy provided by a 3rd-party supplier. By doing so, these sites reduce their indirect, or Scope 2, emissions associated with purchased electricity and reduce air and water pollution associated with conventional power generation. Additionally, purchasing green power manages electricity prices. As of 2022, about 7% of RI&S electricity comes from renewable source.

The State College, Pennsylvania, site implemented multiple projects in 2021 to reduce its energy usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The site updated its lighting to LED; installed more efficient chillers, chiller pumps, dry coolers and heat exchanger; and incorporated stronger management and diligence of customer computer rack loads—helping to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gases generated by the site by nearly 40%.

Seven RI&S sites offer workplace charging for electric vehicles. EV charging stations have multiple benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with employee travel (Scope 3 emissions), attracting and maintaining an educated, tech-interested workforce, and positioning the business for success as gasoline-powered vehicles are slowly phased out through market mechanisms or regulation. Across Raytheon Technologies, 80 charging ports have avoided nearly 700,000 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions as of September 2022.

RI&S actively seeks partnerships with utilities to engage in Strategic Energy Management  programs. SEM programs work with teams at industrial facilities to achieve deep energy savings and helps companies better understand where and how energy is used so they can complete projects that produce measurable, sustained energy savings over time. SEM programs are cost-effective resource programs that benefit both the utility and the customer by building a strong business case for energy conservation through identification of projects and local financial incentives. As of 2022, sites in El Segundo and Goleta, California, participate in SEM.

Eight RI&S sites use waste-metering technology in dumpsters in order to automate data collection and create actionable insights on landfill, recyclable, and organic waste diversion. Cameras take photos inside bins, and the associated software then establishes patterns in disposal and waste hauling. Ultimately, using this technology allows sites to more accurately report how much waste they produce; learn which contaminants affect their sites and take action; and determine whether their level of waste hauling service is appropriate.

The Love Field, Texas, site updated its process for weekly fire pump testing, in order to allow water to recirculate within the test loop rather than flow to the sanitary sewer. Incorporating this change reduced the amount of water being sent to the drain by 62%.

After review of water usage data at Warner Robins, Georgia, the site determined that it could update its irrigation practices in order to conserve water. After discussion with its local lawn care provider to ensure that the proposed changes would not compromise site appearance, the site reduced watering in certain areas and eliminated watering entirely in others. This led to a nearly 80% reduction in site water usage.

Water conservation is a priority across RI&S, especially for sites in water-stressed regions. The Goleta, California, and Aurora, Colorado, sites overhauled their landscaping in order to implement native, low-water landscapes—also called xeriscaping. Not only does xeriscaping conserve water, but it also reduces maintenance, costs, fertilizer usage and pollution while improving the overall look of the facility and surrounding community.

RI&S sites work with their dining and catering services in order to implement programs to reduce waste, water and energy. For example, several RI&S sites worked with their dining vendor to incorporate reusable food to-go containers (called “clamshells”) in onsite cafeterias. Using a reusable clamshell container eliminates the need for single-use, disposable food containers and ultimately reduces the amount of waste that a site generates. Clamshells complement the RI&S waste management strategy—to reduce waste first through elimination at the source, then reuse durable products, recycling and composting waste as appropriate.

Many RI&S sites recycle their used single-serve coffee pods through dedicated recycling programs. Single-use coffee pods are difficult to separate and recycle through normal waste haulers, so the sites collect the pods and sends them back to the supplier for recycling. The recycler then separates the components, recycling the plastic and aluminum and composting the coffee or tea grounds and filters. Since sites began recycling pods in 2016, they have kept nearly 35 tons of pods out of landfills. 

RI&S worked with one of its major suppliers to launch a dedicated recycling program for certain hard-to-recycle items like nitrile gloves and other personal protective equipment, which are used in labs and manufacturing areas. The program takes waste and transforms it into material that is used in new durable goods such as patio furniture, flowerpots and plastic shelving. Four RI&S sites across California and Texas have recycled nearly 12 tons of material through this program since 2016.

RI&S partners with a dedicated recycler to manage electronic waste responsibly such as computers, monitors, cables, printers and other equipment. RI&S works with the recycler to refurbish and reuse as many of the electronics as possible before recycling, which aligns with circular economy principles to keep materials in productive use for as long as possible to reduce waste and overconsumption. Since 2014, Raytheon Technologies sites that use the recycler have recycled or refurbished nearly 5.3 million pounds of electronic waste.