As we mark Earth Day 2025, it’s clear we’re at a defining moment. Despite decades of activism and innovation, the ecological crisis continues to accelerate, driven by climate change, biodiversity loss, and unsustainable resource use. But alongside this growing threat is a growing opportunity: the ability to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and data to drive more responsible business practices and environmental stewardship.

Learn “How Organizations Are Using NLP To Detect Greenwashing.”

Escalating Environmental Pressures

The warning signs are everywhere. By early 2025, Earth’s average surface temperature reached 13.0°C (55.4°F)—pushing us closer to climate tipping points. The first three months of this year were among the hottest on record, with unprecedented temperature anomalies in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Global greenhouse gas emissions reached 37.8 billion metric tons in 2024, driven largely by fossil fuel use, agriculture, and industrial output. Meanwhile, biodiversity is in sharp decline, with over 46,000 species threatened with extinction due to climate-related stressors like habitat loss, pollution, and extreme weather.

Plastic waste continues to acidify oceans, while urban sprawl and overconsumption accelerate deforestation. From fast fashion to factory farming, human activity is pushing planetary boundaries—and the consequences are becoming harder to ignore.

The Human Toll: Environmental Anxiety on the Rise

This crisis isn’t just environmental—it’s deeply personal. Younger generations are increasingly affected by eco-anxiety, a psychological response to fears of environmental collapse. Studies warn that by 2050, billions could face water scarcity, food system disruption, and mass migration from climate-affected regions. Overheated ecosystems, wildfires, and resource scarcity are not abstract threats—they’re the lived reality of millions.

The Role of AI and ESG in the Fight for a Livable Planet

Fortunately, powerful tools are emerging. Artificial intelligence is transforming how we track and respond to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. Natural language processing (NLP) can detect greenwashing, monitor corporate behavior, and surface early warning signals of environmental harm. AI is also helping companies reduce emissions, optimize energy use, and act on regulatory and reputational risks in real time.

Learn “How Successful Investors Are Using AI to Get ESG Data: A Quick Guide.”

By integrating ESG strategy with AI-powered insights, businesses are no longer passive observers but active players in shaping a sustainable future.

Hope for Change

Despite the scale of the crisis, momentum is building. From robotic wildlife conservation to AI-enabled recycling innovations, new technologies offer hope. Companies are aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and governments are responding with new ESG regulations and global climate pledges. But regulation and innovation are not enough—collective action is still key.

Conclusion

There’s no better time than Earth Day to commit to change. Whether it’s supporting environmental nonprofits, reducing your consumption, investing in sustainable products, or advocating for better policies, every action counts. Our window to act is narrowing, but it’s still open.

Happy Earth Day!

We are thrilled to announce that SESAMm was selected to demo at the exclusive Finovate Europe event on March 22nd – 23rd in London, UK. This comes on the heels of SESAMm receiving the 2022 HFM US Technology Award for “Best Use of Artificial Intelligence or Blockchain Technology.”

Finovate Europe invites a selection of European Fintech leaders to discuss and showcase the latest technology innovations and trends in the industry. CEO Sylvian Forté will demonstrate SESAMm’s latest innovation TextReveal® Streams, at the event, live on the main stage. Streams is a ready-to-use alternative dataset. It provides daily sentiment analysis and ESG data mapped to public and private firms leveraging SESAMm’s NLP (Natural Language Processing) powered engine to fuel investment strategies.

SESAMm owns a proprietary 13 years historical data lake containing over 17 billion articles publicly sourced from more than 4 million sources (blogs, forums, social networks, etc.). This represents 10 to 100 times more information than that of our competitors. SESAMm works with Hedge Funds, Private Equity, and other financial firms to help them generate alpha, gather exclusive insights, and tailor unique analytics.

Join us with over 1000 senior attendees, 50+ demoers including SESAMm and its CEO Sylvain Forté, and 70+ insightful speakers. In addition to demonstrating our latest innovation on stage, our team will also be available to perform 1:1 demos in the exhibit hall area. If you’re attending the event, stop by to say hi!!

The aerospace and defense industry frequently faces ESG controversies, as these companies contend with high-exposure incidents that draw significant public and regulatory attention. In our recent webinar and ebook, we examined how AI-driven ESG evaluations enable early risk detection in these industries. Now, we want to explore what SESAMm's new Controversy Exposure Score (CES) can tell us about these same companies, including Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Airbus.

To learn more about the CES score, click here: SESAMm Launches Controversy Exposure Score.

The aerospace and defense industry’s controversies mainly revolve around safety, labor issues, and regulatory concerns, which cause the CES scores to fluctuate considerably over time, influenced by both the volume and intensity of the events.

Boeing Analysis

Boeing has been consistently at the forefront of ESG controversies, experiencing fluctuating intensities that directly impact its CES score. These fluctuations are often tied to specific high-profile events. The company's high-intensity controversies, particularly related to deadly crashes and fraud allegations over safety concerns, have driven notable spikes in its CES score during the past few years.

Significant crash incidents and safety issues have recurred throughout the years. This has resulted in increased FAA scrutiny of Boeing in early 2021 following Boeing 787 inspections, followed by continuous inspections into the 2018 — 2019 crash scandals, which are reflected in the two CES spikes during 2021. In 2022, the CES score rose again as the company was sentenced to pay $2.5 billion for criminal charges and $200 million in settlements for SEC charges for misleading investors, both over the 737 Max scandal.
In 2023, Boeing was ordered to appear in court for criminal settlements, an event classified as a high-intensity controversy, paired with significant media exposure reflected in the number of articles shared. This led to a surge in the CES spike despite the lower overall number of events during that period.
In 2024, the U.S. urged Boeing to plead guilty to fraud charges related to the fatal crashes, further intensified by a whistleblower's release of additional safety concerns, resulting in further CES spikes. The most recent surge in the CES was triggered by a widespread employee strike over a contract offer, representing yet another setback for Boeing, whose reputation and finances have already been strained by manufacturing issues and federal investigations this year.
Ultimately, both high-volume and high-intensity events related to Boeing’s controversies have contributed to the high CES score reflecting the company’s risks.

SpaceX Analysis

While SpaceX initially had relatively low controversy volumes and intensities in 2020, its CES score has steadily increased as well, aligning with the growth in controversies.

Notable peaks occurred in 2021, linked to controversies such as hiring discrimination concerns, an FAA investigation into test launches, and approval withholding for the Starship launch tower. Mid–2022 saw additional challenges, including CEO sexual harassment charges. Into 2023 and 2024, SpaceX’s scrutiny increased due to workplace environment-related lawsuits over hiring policy against refugees and sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
Despite these events, SpaceX's controversies are less intense than Boeing's, so SpaceX has relatively lower CES scores.

Blue Origin Analysis

Blue Origin’s controversies have shown an increase over time. This surge was attributed to its conflict with NASA and SpaceX over the “Moon-landing” project. In 2022, Blue Origin faced FAA scrutiny over a flight anomaly and a workplace discrimination lawsuit. In 2023, further setbacks came from an espionage case, an engine explosion, and lawsuits involving discriminatory practices. The company experienced another wave of controversies in 2024, driven by an FAA investigation into parachute deployment failures and fresh allegations of workplace discrimination.
Although Blue Origin’s controversies are relatively low in volume, occasional spikes have caused notable increases in its CES score.

Raytheon Analysis

Raytheon's CES score has remained moderate, with periodic surges between 2020 and 2021. These spikes were triggered by ESG risk events such as investor class action, violations of domestic preference laws, and the company’s involvement in Yemen's civil war. In 2022, the company faced another surge of controversies driven by an antitrust action lawsuit and further protests related to the situation in Yemen. In 2023, the CES score rose again amid backlash against the war in Gaza, the ongoing 2021 investors class action, environmental lawsuit, and FAA safety concerns for the company’s subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney, which also faced penalties for violating antiboycott regulations.
Despite the diversity of ESG controversies, Raytheon’s overall CES score remains moderate compared to Boeing, thanks to the lower intensity of events it has encountered.

Lockheed Martin Analysis

Lockheed Martin's CES score has been relatively low and stable over time, with some fluctuations and few spikes. Mid–2021, the company had to pay a $10.28 million settlement for overcharging allegations; another notable surge occurred in 2022, triggered by FTC antitrust concerns over its Aerojet deal and an investor class action. The company’s involvement in war crimes in Yemen and Palestine during 2023 and 2024 has further fueled its controversies exposure hence the CES spikes.
Though low in volume, Lockheed Martin’s controversies were marked by high-intensity events and media exposure, which contributed to significant spikes in its CES score.

Airbus Analysis

Airbus controversies events are relatively stable, with a slight decline overall and few spikes over time, as reflected in their CES score.

In early 2020, Airbus faced fraud and non-compliance allegations, along with a securities class action claim. By mid–2020, the company became embroiled in a bribery scandal. Toward the end of 2020 and into 2021, the long-standing Boeing-Airbus subsidy dispute resurfaced. In 2022, the bribery case remained unresolved, leading to Airbus agreeing to a $4 billion fine while also facing a $339 million class action lawsuit. The bribery allegations were still unfolding in 2023, accompanied by corruption claims in 2024.
Compared to Boeing, Airbus has experienced fewer controversies in terms of volume and less severe high–intensity events. As a result, its CES score has remained relatively stable over time, with only minor fluctuations, primarily driven by legal investigations.

Conclusion

In the aerospace and defense industry, ESG controversies continue to shape the reputational and operational risks of leading companies. Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Airbus each face unique challenges that are reflected in their CES scores. While Boeing and Airbus have seen higher volumes and intensities of events, others like SpaceX and Blue Origin have witnessed moderate to low exposure but still face periodic scrutiny due to high–impact incidents. As these companies navigate evolving regulatory landscapes, labor concerns, and public perception, their CES scores will remain a critical indicator of their ESG performance.
Download the ebook “The Boeing Scandal: Can AI Predict Controversies Before Traditional Tools?” to learn more about the Boeing scandal.

Reach out to SESAMm

TextReveal’s web data analysis of over five million public and private companies is essential for keeping tabs on ESG investment risks. To learn more about how you can analyze web data or to request a demo, reach out to one of our representatives.