Under the direction of our CEO, our senior leadership team (SLT), including our Chief People and Sustainability Officer, leads businesses, sales teams and functional areas — all of which integrate sustainable processes into their strategies.

Our Chief People and Sustainability Officer is responsible for the execution of our Sustainability goals commitments and reporting. To further drive executive oversight of Sustainability performance, review of a set of 2025 Sustainability Goals was added to Quarterly Business Reviews, alongside financial and operational reviews. A larger set of executives were also granted special ESG PSUs aligned to 5 key 2025 Sustainability Goals to further enhance accountability.

Risk Management Oversight

We seek to identify and mitigate risks and enable improved decision-making and prioritization of time and resources. Management is responsible for day-to-day management of the company’s risks, including the creation of appropriate risk management programs, policies and practices. As part of this responsibility, management conducts an enterprise risk management (“ERM”) program, which is an evergreen process using a widely accepted framework to identify, assess, monitor and communicate the company’s strategic, operational, financial, compliance and reputational risks. The Board and its committees work with management, our internal and independent auditors, as well as other external advisors, to incorporate ERM into corporate strategy and business operations. As an integral and ongoing part of its work, the Board oversees management’s approach to risk management and execution of its risk management responsibilities. This oversight includes the following:

• Throughout the year, the Board discusses risk in both general terms and in relation to our strategy, our businesses and specific proposed actions.
• The Board receives regular updates from management on the company’s financial and operating results, strategic and annual operating plans, and key enterprise risks, and provides appropriate input and perspectives.
• Management periodically reports to the Board and its committees on specific risks as they arise or as requested by the Board.
• The Company’s independent directors hold regularly scheduled executive sessions without management present to discuss risks facing the company and management’s approach to managing and mitigating them. The Board has delegated responsibility for oversight of certain risk categories to its committees, based on each committee’s expertise and applicable regulatory requirements, as set forth on page 22 of our 2022 Proxy Statement. Each committee regularly receives updates on these matters from management and reports on them to the full Board so that the Board has the information necessary to fulfill its risk oversight responsibilities. Our Audit Committee oversees overall enterprise risk assessment and risk management processes and policies.

Councils and Working Groups

To further our approach to operationalize sustainability across all functions of our business, we strive to drive ownership and accountability of progress on our 2025 goals and other initiatives into functional leadership. As an example, our Human Resource Leadership Team is accountable for diversity and inclusion, while our Watermark Ambassadors, employees who help communicate Xylem’s commitment to sustainability and community, provide key input on community impact programming and commercial leaders drive sustainability in our work with customers.