Xylem’s Commitment to the 17 SDGs
While Xylem has identified six focus SDGs, we are uniquely positioned to contribute towards the achievement of the 17 SDGs through the proactive management of the company’s internal operations and supply chain, corporate social responsibility programs, diversity and inclusion practices, and most importantly, the products, solutions, and services that we offer to customers.
SDG 1 NO POVERTY
Xylem develops and launches innovative solutions that help solve water issues for communities and millions of people living at the base of the global economic pyramid. Through clean water drinking systems, disaster response, as well as education and awareness, Xylem helps people climb out of poverty by raising their standard of living.
Xylem creates employment opportunities and promotes job security, including the provision of decent work, respecting labor rights, improving skills and paying a living wage that allow employees a path out of poverty, in our own operations. Xylem develops adequate, affordable and accessible products and services for low-income populations. Xylem develops innovative solutions and invests in infrastructure that facilitates the access to basic services. Xylem mitigates climate change impact proactively, as aggressive, timely reduction of greenhouse gases is the safest way to bring adaptation costs down and reduce the risk of climate-related extreme events. Xylem discloses GHG emission data and material (climate) risk information through adequate disclosure initiatives.
SDG 2 ZERO HUNGER
Xylem helps utilities and businesses leverage water reuse solutions to help communities build resilience, facilitating water continuity in the face of severe weather patterns. With agriculture accounting for ~70% of all water withdrawals globally, Xylem helps enhance irrigation systems for water efficiency, and helps customers treat billions of gallons of water for reuse, alleviating water demand for food production.
Xylem invests in environmental protection and improves resilience to environmental hazards and resource scarcity throughout their own operations and supply chain.
SDG 3 GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Xylem reduces water contamination that threatens human health with digital technologies that enable our customers to treat drinking water and prevent polluted water from flooding communities or entering local waterways. Through testing and treatment solutions, as well as our corporate social responsibility program Watermark, Xylem brings clean water programming interventions and innovation to communities, to combat water-borne and communicable diseases.
Xylem has measures in place to ensure the safety of employees and to prevent contraction of communicable diseases where the occupation or role of employees makes them susceptible or at risk of contracting said diseases. Xylem embeds practical measures in standard operating procedures and educates staff on these diseases and their prevention and treatment. Xylem discloses industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. Xylem implements adequate occupational health and safety procedures to ensure that employees and anyone at or in the vicinity of business operations are not harmed or affected by hazardous, non-hazardous and transported, imported, exported, or treated waste.
SDG 4 QUALITY EDUCATION
Xylem provides millions of people living at the base of the global economic pyramid with water, hygiene education (e.g. WASH programs) to improve quality of life.
Xylem delivers water solutions and in-kind technologies to schools to improve educational facilities. Xylem respects the universal right to work, which includes the right of everyone to have the opportunity to gain his or her living by work which he or she freely chooses or accepts, and takes appropriate steps to safeguard this right. Xylem offers technical and vocational guidance and training programs, ensuring that company-supported education and vocational training programs are equally available and accessible to all groups. Xylem includes information on human rights, gender equality and sustainable development in internal policies, such as employee and supplier codes of conduct, and increases awareness and practice by ensuring that these policies are thoroughly shared and understood by all employees including those in the supply chain.
SDG 5 GENDER PARITY
Xylem is committed to achieving gender parity in leadership positions within the organization, and eliminating pay differences based on gender, race or ethnicity. Xylem implements gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practices and ensures equal access to all company-supported education and training programs.
Xylem provides improved and equitable access to water in vulnerable regions of the world to help eliminate gender disparities in the workplace and in education. Xylem is a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, a set of 10 principles established by UN Global Compact and UN Women that offer guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
Xylem articulates the business case for women’s empowerment and the positive impact of inclusion for men as well as women. Xylem incorporates what constitutes acceptable employee behavior into codes of conduct for employees and suppliers and includes specific references to harassment, trafficking or exploitation, in order to help eliminate these aspects within our own operations and the supply chain. Xylem insures non-discrimination in employment through implementing gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practices, including proactively recruiting and appointing women to managerial and executive positions and to the corporate board of directors. Xylem ensures all workers - women and men have an equal voice in workplace, including through adequate grievance mechanisms.
SDG 6 CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Xylem develops and brings to the market innovative solutions that help solve critical water issues for communities, including those that help the millions of people living at the base of the global economic pyramid. Through the integration of digital technologies in areas such as treatment, water loss and water reuse, Xylem advances holistic watershed management and creates water, energy and cost efficiencies, benefiting the public good and making communities more resilient and sustainable. Through Xylem Watermark, our corporate social responsibility program, Xylem works with its nonprofit partners to protect and restore water-related ecosystems and to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all. Xylem recognizes water as a valuable resource, and we are evaluating our water footprint across our value chain, including the impacts of use/misuse of water, particularly in water-stressed areas.
Xylem improves water efficiency through the assessment of water consumption and intensity, employing water saving technology or processes, and conducts water awareness campaigns, in all areas of operations, but particularly in water-stressed areas. Xylem establishes policies and ensures waste water management systems in our own operations, and reviews the relevant policies of our suppliers to ensure consistent practices. Xylem assesses, monitors and reports the amount and performance of discharged water and disposed waste. Xylem provides training on safety of hazardous chemicals to employees, reduces pollution and untreated wastewater, promotes water reuse and recycling, reports significant spills and adheres to relevant water-quality and efficiency standards.
SDG 7 AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
Xylem will use 100% renewable energy at our major facilities by exploring existing and new clean energy alternatives. Xylem improves the efficiency of use of energy, water, (raw) materials and other resources. Xylem helps to upgrade technology and stimulate innovation in developing countries through (among others) promoting technological learning and innovation.
Xylem creates new business models to deliver energy efficiency technologies including reducing the energy requirements of our products and services, and provides products and services that help their customers to improve energy efficiency or reduce energy requirements. Xylem tracks and reports energy usage, reduction and intensity over time. Xylem reduces energy consumption in our own operations, including through using heating and cooling technology, efficient lighting, efficient electrical appliances and fuel-efficient vehicles.
SDG 8 DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Xylem will achieve gender parity in leadership positions within the organization and assess and monitor equitable pay processes with a goal to eliminate pay differences based on gender, race or ethnicity. Xylem respects and protects labor rights and provides safe, secure and healthy working environments for all employees.
Xylem has policies, procedures, grievance mechanisms and support structures for employees or suppliers to anonymously report incidences or suspected incidences of adverse human rights impacts, and has protections in place for whistle-blowers so that persons feel able to report without fear of retribution. Xylem pays wages adequate to satisfy the basic needs of workers and their families, and maintains regular payment of wages. Xylem helps to upgrade technology and stimulate innovation in developing countries through (among others) promoting technological learning and innovation.
SDG 9 INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Xylem develops and brings to market innovative solutions that create major water, energy and cost efficiencies, helping utilities solve critical water challenges for their communities making them more sustainable with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of cleaner and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
Xylem invests substantial resources into Research and Development and our leading-edge technologies facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries. Xylem understands that a transformative shift towards sustainable development requires a significant and equitable investment in education, training and lifelong learning. Xylem tracks and reports GHG emissions and intensity, and responds to climate change and environmental challenges through technical and social innovation.
SDG 10 REDUCED INEQUALITIES
Xylem will achieve gender parity in leadership positions within the organization and assess and monitor equitable pay processes with a goal to eliminate pay differences based on gender, race or ethnicity. Xylem pays at least the minimum living wage and provides insurance for employees, such as income protection, life or accident insurance and social security.
Xylem respects and supports human rights, and communicates their human rights expectations of business partners across the supply chain. Xylem implements corporate policies ensuring that hiring, placement, remuneration, job assignments and prospects, training and mentorships, performance assessment and advancement, discipline, maternity protection, security of tenure and termination decisions are based on objective factors and are not connected to gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, race, color, creed, caste, language, mental or physical disabilities.
SDG 11 SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
Xylem improves the safety and quality of life of millions of people living in economically-challenged communities and/or affected by water-related catastrophes by enhancing access to clean drinking water, improving wastewater management and making water systems more resilient to severe weather from climate change.
Xylem helps communities protect human health with digital technologies that reduce or prevent flooding and contaminated water from polluting local waterways. Through Watermark nonprofit partnerships and Xylem’s Global Humanitarian Disaster Response team, Xylem responds to water-related disasters and supports long-term recovery and resiliency efforts. Xylem shares and disseminates knowledge, practices and non-sensitive data; and actively participates, as appropriate and under the guidance of the public sector, in the development of normative frameworks and technical standards that incorporate disaster risk management.
SDG 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
Through commercial testing and treatment solutions, and technologies designed to reduce water wastage, Xylem helps local water operators optimize water management and accessibility, making water safer for all those they serve.
Xylem also enables utilities and businesses to leverage water reuse solutions that help communities build resilience and facilitate water continuity in the face of severe weather patterns from climate change. In addition, Xylem will achieve zero waste to landfill at our major facilities. Xylem establishes measurable objectives and/or targets for improved environmental performance and resource utilization. Xylem regularly tracks and reports energy, water, waste and materials consumed and treated in business operations and improves efficiency by reusing/recycling.
SDG 13 CLIMATE ACTION
Xylem helps utilities and businesses build resilience, with technologies, including water reuse solutions, that help ensure a continuous supply of safe water in the face of scarcity caused by climate change, and storm and wastewater solutions that help reduce sewer overflows during extreme weather. We strive to continuously reduce our own carbon footprint and to advance innovation to improve the energy efficiency of Xylem products to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions. Xylem provides humanitarian aid in the form of clean water drinking systems and our products and services strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
Xylem discloses GHG emission data and material climate risk information through adequate disclosure initiatives.
SDG 14 LIFE BELOW WATER
With testing and treatment solutions, Xylem helps local water operators treat water and helps communities reduce water contamination that threatens human health. Xylem’s products are used to treat wastewater before it is returned to receiving bodies of water. Xylem's analytics products are used to help measure the health of the world’s rivers, lakes and oceans. Xylem takes responsibility for waste and wastewater generated, as well as other sources of pollution as a result of our own business activities.
SDG 15 LIFE ON LAND
With testing and treatment solutions, Xylem helps local water operators make water safer and helps communities reduce water contamination that threatens human health. Xylem takes responsibility for waste generated and harmful chemicals used in our own operations. Xylem assesses and prevents actual or potential negative impact on soil, wildlife, ecosystems and the food chain.
SDG 16 PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
Xylem is advancing diversity and inclusion, sustainability and transparency across the organization and is holding partners and suppliers to the same standards through the use of Codes of Conduct. Within business activities, Xylem upholds the human right to freedom of expression and information and has a robust complaint system or grievance mechanism to record, log and resolve issues. Xylem discloses information about the composition of the highest governance body and its committees (such as executive or non-executive members, independence, tenure on the governance body, number of each individual’s other significant positions/ commitments and the nature of the commitments, gender, membership of under-represented social groups, competences, and stakeholder representation). Xylem conducts periodic and meaningful anti-corruption risk assessments. Xylem commits to its own responsibility to respect human rights through a statement of policy and communicates their human rights expectations to employees and business partners.
SDG 17 PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS
To help advance Xylem’s commitment to solving water, we leverage creative partnerships spanning academia, nonprofit, business sectors and professional sports to inspire the next generation of water stewards. Xylem develops and launches innovative solutions that help solve water issues for millions of people living in extreme poverty. Xylem provides humanitarian aid and water education and awareness to improve quality of life. Xylem discloses corporate sustainability information and data with increasing accountability, transparency and data quality and builds monitoring and reporting systems against international standards and commonly-agreed indicators.
