Better Health for All

nLIGHT's products include lasers for medical, surgical, urological, and aesthetic applications, indicating a positive health impact.

However, the company's 2024 full-year revenue shows that approximately 55% of sales came from its defense business. The remaining portion includes industrial, scientific, and aerospace applications, alongside medical. Without a specific percentage of revenue or product portfolio dedicated to health-positive applications, and with a significant portion (55%) from defense (which is not explicitly health-positive or negative under this value), there is insufficient evidence to assign a positive score for 'health_impact_core'. There is no evidence of products with well-established negative health outcomes, resulting in a score of 0 for 'harmful_revenue_share'. For 'health_innovation_investment', nLIGHT supported advanced research for over five years to develop applications using InP semiconductor laser diodes for medical uses. However, no percentage of R&D or capital allocation for health improvement is provided, preventing a score above 0. While nLIGHT lasers are used in NASA's ICESat-2 satellite, which tracks changes to the earth’s surface and has helped mitigate volcanic events and potential forest fires, this is an indirect environmental benefit rather than a direct preventative health measure as defined by the rubric, leading to a score of 0 for 'preventative_health_measures'. All other KPIs lack specific, quantifiable evidence regarding safety records, price accessibility, vulnerable reach, risk transparency, health externalities, health equity programs, healthcare workforce support, healthcare data responsibility, global health crisis response, mental health initiatives, pharma patent flexibility, nutrition and food safety, healthcare education, addiction mitigation, or clinical trial ethics, resulting in a score of 0 for each.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

nLIGHT, Inc. is a manufacturing company that designs, manufactures, and sells high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers.

Its core business does not involve lending, insuring, moving, or storing money, nor does it offer consumer financial products or services. Therefore, all KPIs related to 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' are not applicable, as the company's operations fall outside the scope of financial services.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles to assess nLIGHT, Inc. against any of the KPIs for Fair Pay & Worker Respect.

The articles either explicitly stated no relevant data was found or provided general company overviews without specific metrics on employee compensation, benefits, working conditions, or labor practices.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

nLIGHT expects its suppliers to adhere to its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and comply with all applicable laws, including those prohibiting child labor and forced or compulsory labor.

The company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics requires compliance with all applicable laws, which precludes child labor and forced or compulsory labor. However, the percentage of supplier contracts that include these enforceable ethical-sourcing clauses is not specified. nLIGHT purchases raw materials from single or limited-source suppliers and does not perform negative social impact assessments of its supply chain. The company screens third parties against global denied or sanctioned parties lists.

Honest & Fair Business

The company has a Whistleblower Policy, last updated December 12, 2025, which includes an anonymous hotline via a third-party service provider (Navex Global), email to the General Counsel or Audit Committee members, and regular mail.

It explicitly prohibits retaliation against those who report in good faith. Material complaints are reported promptly to the Audit Committee Chairperson, and the Audit Committee receives quarterly reports of all complaints and investigation updates. The company has not had any financial restatements in the past five years. The company has a Global Anti-Corruption Policy with a "zero tolerance" stance on bribery and corruption, requiring prior approval from the General Counsel for providing anything of value to government officials. It also leverages third parties to sell products and conduct business abroad, and has policies and procedures to address compliance with anti-corruption laws. The company uses Navex Global as a third-party service provider for its anonymous ethical violation hotline, which provides some independent verification of ethical claims.

Kind to Animals

No specific data related to animal welfare, animal testing, or ethical sourcing was found in the provided articles for nLIGHT, Inc.

The company's 2021 ESG report explicitly states that no such data was found within its contents. Therefore, no KPIs under the 'Kind to Animals' value can be scored based on the evidence provided.

No War, No Weapons

nLIGHT, Inc. derives a significant portion of its revenue from defense contracts. In Q3 2025, Aerospace & Defense revenue represented 68.3% of total quarterly revenue.

For the full year 2024, defense business revenue was $110 million, accounting for 55% of total sales. The company has secured substantial defense contracts, including a $171 million award for the DoD’s High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI) and a $34.5 million contract for the U.S. Army's DE M-SHORAD laser weapon system. The company's core business involves dual-use technology, with products categorized as dual-use items (ECCN 6A005, 6A995, EAR99) that have both civilian and and military applications, including high-power directed energy lasers. nLIGHT states it complies with U.S. embargoes and export controls, restricting business with designated countries, companies, or individuals, and requires screening potential buyers against the Consolidated Screening List. The company reports annually on its sources of tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold, adhering to the OECD Due Diligence Framework for Conflict Minerals, but no percentage of conflict-free supply chain is provided.

Planet-Friendly Business

nLIGHT has an exemplary environmental compliance history, having received no material fines or non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

The company maintains compliance with specific requirements from the Southwest Washington Clean Air Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

nLIGHT provides grievance mechanisms for reporting violations of its Code of Business Conduct via email, a third-party hotline, or regular mail.

The company states that Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are not applicable to its operations, and it does not specifically track indigenous suppliers as it is not applicable to its operations. All nLIGHT employees annually complete Code of Business Conduct and Ethics training.

Safe & Smart Tech

The company has experienced cybersecurity incidents in the past but has not had any that resulted in a material adverse impact to business or operations as of February 2026.

It requires employees with access to information systems to undertake annual data protection and cybersecurity training and maintains records of internal awareness training. Encryption is used in transit and storage where required, and an encrypted channel secures SensorView configuration and nECY communications. The company states it will not share user data with third parties and aims to protect against error, fraud, and criminal activity. Users have rights to access, rectify, erase, and port their data, and can object to processing, request removal of personal information, and control cookies. Authentication and identification purposes are mentioned, including secure biometric access to data centers, and cookies are used to authenticate users. However, a vulnerability (CVE-2021-40825) in nLight ECLYPSE system controllers, published in September 2021, had a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6 (High) due to a default key vulnerability allowing remote attackers to submit lighting control commands. This vulnerability was mitigated by upgrading to version 1.17.21245.754 or later. The company performs periodic vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, security audits, and ongoing risk assessments. Suppliers must notify the company within 72 hours of discovering a breach. Data protection measures are in place to ensure confidentiality and security. The company processes only personal data reasonably necessary for stated purposes and has retention periods ranging from 2 months for Google Analytics to 12 months for access logs, and 3-10 years for business records depending on jurisdiction. It is subject to and aims to comply with various international, national, and local laws, including GDPR and UK Data Protection legislation.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

nLIGHT generated 22,833 pounds of hazardous waste at its Vancouver, WA facility in 2019.

The company has not received any material fines or non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws or regulations. nLIGHT expects its suppliers to adhere to various environmental, health, and safety criteria, as outlined in its Quality Assurance Provisions for Purchase Orders. The company's Corona® AFX® laser reduces spatter and soot by 75%, leading to cleaner builds and longer filter life for customers. The company provides basic disposal information for some products, such as instructions for flushing chemicals from Dye and Excimer lasers before disposal.