Better Health for All

Rocket Lab's core services, specifically its spacecraft and launch capabilities, enable in-space manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and biomedical research.

The company has a four-vehicle contract with Varda Space Industries, providing custom Photon spacecraft for in-space pharmaceutical production. These missions have successfully grown Ritonavir crystals, an active ingredient in HIV and COVID medication, and are targeting small molecule therapeutics and biologics with potentially higher efficacy due to microgravity. Microgravity research facilitated by such services has also led to more uniform particles of Merck's Keytruda, insights into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy therapy, and advancements in tissue engineering. While Rocket Lab's services are not exclusively health-focused, they are a significant enabler for health-positive advancements by partners. The company's R&D and capital allocation are not explicitly stated to be focused on health outcomes, nor does it directly engage in preventative health measures, healthcare data management, or health education. The company's products do not have direct safety implications for physical or mental health, nor do they require accessibility considerations for health products.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Rocket Lab Corporation is an end-to-end space company focused on launch and space systems, not a financial institution. Its core business activities do not involve lending, insuring, moving, or storing money for consumers. Therefore, all KPIs related to fair money and economic opportunity, which are designed for financial services, are not applicable to the company. While Rocket Lab engages in community support, such as donating over $76,000 to community groups

and providing a $20,000 grant to the Virginia Space Flight Academy for STEM education, these initiatives do not fall under the specific definitions of financial inclusion or community finance as outlined in the rubric's KPIs.

Honest & Fair Business

Rocket Lab has an established internal whistleblower policy and anonymous reporting system, effective May 2025, with reporting channels including a toll-free hotline, email, and a third-party service provider.

The policy permits anonymity but encourages avoiding it for investigation purposes and prohibits retaliation. The company has had zero financial restatements in the past five years. Approximately 69.4% of 49 smelters potentially sourcing from Covered Countries were audited and recognized as conformant to the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process. Seven out of eight board directors are independent. The company has a comprehensive anti-corruption policy that prohibits bribery and improper influence of government officials, referencing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act, and requires pre-approval for gifts to government officials. Claigan Environmental Inc. executed Rocket Lab’s RCOI and Due Diligence process for the 2024 reporting period, verifying ethical claims related to conflict minerals.

No War, No Weapons

Rocket Lab develops and sells technologies with military applications, including satellites equipped with advanced missile warning, tracking, and defense sensors, and StarLite space protection sensors designed to safeguard against directed energy threats.

The company identified 49 smelters in its supply chain that source or may source conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries during the 2024 reporting period. Of these, 34 are conformant to the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP). The remaining 15 non-conformant smelters were subject to risk mitigation in 2024 and are scheduled to be re-visited in the 2025 reporting period.

Planet-Friendly Business

Rocket Lab is actively involved in biodiversity conservation efforts, raising money and dedicating staff time and transport to protect the critically endangered tūturuatu (shore plover) on Waikawa, Portland Island.

The population of tūturuatu on Portland Island has risen to more than 80, now representing 33% of the world's total population. The company has not publicly reported its Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, nor has it disclosed any SBTi-aligned carbon reduction targets or a net-zero target year. Rocket Lab's rockets are built from carbon fibre and contain no toxic materials. A report by the National Institute of Atmospheric and Water Research (NIWA) found that after 100 launches, rocket debris could potentially cause moderate ecological damage to the seabed, rising to high risk after 1000 launches, assuming a maximum of 40 tonnes of debris per launch. The New Zealand government has proposed environmental checks after 100 launches and a 14-day public notification for launches and flight paths.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Rocket Lab employs 17 individuals at its launch site, out of an approximate total staff of 600, which represents 2.83% of its workforce.

This falls below the 5% threshold for local employment. The company engages more than 20 suppliers and contractors from the region, but the proportion of procurement spending directed to local suppliers is not specified, and the evidence does not indicate it is above 5%. There are no reported cultural appropriation incidents. The company operates in culturally sensitive areas with indigenous populations, but no formal cultural impact assessment protocol is evidenced. Iwi (indigenous community) was not adequately consulted before resource consent was granted for the launch site, and local Māori communities expressed concerns about rushed consultation processes regarding space policy, indicating a lack of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) participation. There is no evidence of actions taken to protect cultural or heritage sites, and the company's operations have led to land being off-limits for launches, which could impact cultural sites.

Safe & Smart Tech

Rocket Lab's privacy policy, last updated January 29, 2021,

states that data retention periods are based on legal obligations, with a specific mention of 5 years for legally required data. This aligns with good data minimization practices, falling within the 2-3 year retention period for most data, which maps to a score of -60. The company also mentions compliance with Mexican data protection law (LFPDP), which indicates basic compliance with applicable regulations, scoring 0. Furthermore, the platform supports data erasure through user account deletion and allows users to request data access and exercise other rights via a dedicated form or email, which represents industry-standard user privacy controls, scoring 0. No other specific, concrete data points were found across the provided articles to assess Rocket Lab Corporation against the remaining KPIs for Safe & Smart Tech.