Northrop Grumman has received the rating of Reasonable Assurance from Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance, a third-party verification body, of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory for calendar years 2010 and 2011. Reasonable Assurance is the highest assurance level currently issued by third-party verifiers for GHG data management and reporting accuracy.

Third-party verification is an important element of assuring accuracy of a GHG emissions inventory. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an independent not-for-profit organization working to drive greenhouse gas emissions reduction by businesses and cities, "The climate change debate has moved past the stage of simply stating claims.

Third party assurance of publicly reported declarations can boost credibility with external stakeholders."

"Northrop Grumman is committed to providing solutions that advance environmental security and reduce the impact of our own business operations on the environment. We are on track to achieve our goal of a 25 percent reduction of GHG emissions, relative to sales, by year-end 2014," said Gloria Flach, corporate vice president and president, Enterprise Shared Services.

"The third-party verification of our GHG inventory is a reflection of our commitment to transparency and accountability."

Northrop Grumman publicly discloses its annual GHG emissions reductions and related environmental performance through CDP and the company's Corporate Responsibility Report. Northrop Grumman's GHG inventory was prepared according to the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14064-3:2006 standard.