Together, the Xylem employees donated 113 000 hours in their communities, across 55 countries. 2021 volunteer hours doubled from 2020, despite the challenges of Covid-19. Initiatives included cleaning up waterways, supporting disaster response teams, and providing water education.
“Volunteering is one way we invest in our mission to solve the world’s biggest water challenges,” explained Austin Alexander, vice president of Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem. “Our colleagues, customers and NGO partners showed real passion, last year – doubling the number of hours they volunteered, compared with 2020. It was particularly encouraging to see this uplift in the face of Covid-19.”
Xylem’s volunteering initiatives are part of its Xylem Watermark corporate social responsibility program.
The water technology company provides 10 hours of time off annually for employees to volunteer, with some of the efforts also contributing to Xylem’s 2025 Sustainability Goals.
Xylem Watermark’s 2021 volunteering included:
- Xylem China’s team supported communities in Henan and Shanxi Province affected by record-breaking floods. The team set up a 24-hour contact centre to support affected customers and assisted in the donation of pumps across the province to help discharge floodwater. Xylem’s China team also donated food and water to the affected communities.
- Xylem employees joined relief efforts in western Germany last summer, when almost a quarter of people living on the River Ahr experienced severe flooding. Xylem employees took part in clean-up efforts, raised funds to support the evacuation of affected families, and distributed food and hygiene kits to emergency shelters.
- Over 800 Xylem employees, customers and community members participated in Aquaton, a month-long mileage challenge which raised funds for clean water access projects across seven countries in Latin America.
- A team of colleagues from South Africa, Europe and North America donated their engineering skills to support the work of Engineers Without Borders, rehabilitating WASH facilities at rural health clinics in Malawi.
Xylem’s 2025 Sustainability Goals include:
- Providing access to clean water and sanitation for at least 20 million people living at the base of the global economic pyramid.
- Providing water and WASH (Water and Sanitation Hygiene) education for 15 million people.
- Giving 1% of company profits to water-related causes and education around the world.
