To Achieve Sustainability Goal, Xylem Decarbonize The Water sector

At the same time, the number of people facing water stress has increased to 2.3 billion, according to data from 2019.

According to the report, significant water challenges — such as water scarcity, water affordability, severe weather, and other climate change impacts — continue to escalate around the world, and water issues are a constant struggle for millions of people's families and communities.

But there are also unprecedented opportunities to solve these challenges, from new technologies to evolving public and corporate policies to raising public awareness and beyond.

In 2021, global water technology company Xylem’s solutions helped prevent more than 500 billion gallons of polluted water from flooding communities.

The same year, its technologies also helped customers recycle more than 285 billion gallons of water.

As the report stated, Xylem provides advanced solutions and services that enable utilities, industrial companies, and other water consumers to optimise their networks while achieving their own sustainability goals. In addition to this, more than half of Xylem’s 22 major facilities are now operating on 100% renewable energy.

Commenting on Xylem’s efforts, Patrick Decker, president and CEO of Xylem, said: "Last year, we intensified our efforts around three key areas." "First, we’re helping our customers become more effective stewards of their water resources, particularly through our digitally enabled solutions and services."

"Second, we’re addressing climate mitigation by helping decarbonize the water sector through high-efficiency technologies and our own net-zero carbon commitments." "Lastly, we continue to work to advance equitable access to clean water and sanitation around the globe."

Xylem’s solutions also prevent stormwater pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions to help communities and their water systems become more resilient to the impacts of climate change and other challenges.

Additionally, the company aims to reduce its operational footprint by cutting Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission intensity by 12% and water use by 22%, compared to 2019.

Building on its work to accelerate the decarbonization of the water sector, the organization’s solutions also helped customers reduce their carbon footprint by 0.73 million metric tonnes of CO2, according to the report.

In 2021, Xylem committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across its value chain before 2050 and also increased its humanitarian support for communities impacted by water-related disasters, providing technology, expertise, and equipment to more than 15 countries. It also embedded sustainability into commercial efforts, including the product development process.

According to the report, Xylem's sustainability journey starts with partnering with suppliers to build a responsible, resilient, transparent, and diverse supply chain. Next, its manufacturing process focuses on reducing GHG, water, and waste footprints to create a safe and inclusive environment.

According to the report, Xylem's fleet of 2700 cars, trucks, and vans is also considered sustainable, as the organisation is transitioning to electric vehicles, with an ambitious goal of transitioning 100% of its passenger vehicles and 80% of its global fleet, which includes service vans and trucks, to electric or hybrid plug-in solutions.Xylem ensures that it provides all its customers with reliable and transparent sustainability outcomes.

It also has a green finance strategy that uses its position as an ESG leader to create sustainable and appealing ways to finance projects.

As part of its community impact, Xylem and "Engineers Without Borders" provided remote support and equipment to develop water infrastructure at a health clinic in rural Malawi, East Africa.

Claudia Toussaint, Xylem’s Chief People and Sustainability Officer, concluded, "2021 was a year in which we continued to operationalize our sustainability commitments throughout the organization." "We built more robust internal reporting and controls, established subject matter expertise across functional areas like product development, operations, and supply chain, and integrated sustainability into all that we do—from the factory floor to the boardroom."

The report emphasises that they took steps to structure their work in a way that best supports the personal and professional growth of their diverse, 17,000-strong team—the driving force in their mission to solve water. 

By Sumita Pawar