BAE Systems Inc. — Ethics Grade D

BAE Systems Inc. receives an overall ethics grade of D (32/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Defense & Aerospace. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 60
• privacy: 20
• consumer: 40
• environment: 55
• humanRights: 15

Documented incidents (3)

• Al-Yamamah arms deal and Yemen conflict (high, 2020) — BAE has faced intense scrutiny for its role in supplying fighter jets and munitions to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, despite reports of civilian casualties and potential war crimes. Allegations of corruption in securing historic weapons deals have persisted for decades.
• US DOJ and UK SFO settlement (high, 2010) — The company paid hundreds of millions in fines to settle US and UK investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption related to arms sales in Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and the Czech Republic. The settlement involved guilty pleas regarding false statements.
• Sale of mass surveillance to authoritarian regimes (medium, 2017) — Investigations revealed BAE sold mass surveillance technology, including specialized hardware for intercepting communications, to governments in the Middle East with poor human rights records. Critics argued the tech was used to suppress dissent.

Documented good deeds

• Net Zero 2030 operations goal — BAE committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations by 2030 through energy efficiency and renewable procurement.

Ethical alternatives

• Saab AB — Scoring higher on anti-corruption transparency and ESG metrics within the defense sector.