Xylem sustainability score: 35/100
Better than 33% of Industrial Equipment / Machinery
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Xylem Inc. manufactures water infrastructure, pumps, treatment systems, and digital water management solutions. Founded in 2011 as a spinoff from ITT Corporation and headquartered in Washington, D.C., it operates manufacturing and service facilities worldwide and is a leading supplier to municipal and industrial water utilities across more than 150 countries.
Founded 2011Head office Washington, D.C., United StatesStaff ~23,000 (2024)Revenue ~$8.56B (FY2024)Website ↗
Xylem publishes comprehensive carbon and water data with SBTi-validated 2030 targets, but Scope 3 emissions rose 9% year-on-year while relying on economic intensity rather than absolute reduction. Biodiversity impact remains undisclosed. Water stewardship is genuine; renewable energy coverage substantial. Modest regulatory violation history across subsidiaries.
Xylem scores 35/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified June 2026.
That places Xylem joint 572nd of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 11th of 19 in Industrial Equipment / Machinery.
What is Xylem doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Energy Source (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (4/10, 6/10).
Where Xylem lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
- Emissions from its supply chainMap its full value chain and run a supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow a consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain6/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling6/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water7/10No water stewardship programme or verified fall in water use.
- Its climate targets7/10Its targets aren't validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No mission-locked structure, such as B Corp certification.
- Its record on controversies7/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Xylem's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Xylem's score based on?
14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
64% of them were published by Xylem itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“In 2024, Xylem reported total carbon emissions of approximately 73,943,000 kg CO2e for Scope 1, 17,516,000 kg CO2e for Scope 2”
“Selected data on key performance indicators is subject to limited assurance by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA)”
“Require suppliers to disclose Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions and water usage via CDP Supply Chain”
“16% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) greenhouse gas emissions since 2023”
“17 have achieved 100% process water recycling, and 17 are contributing zero waste to landfills”
“Use 100% renewable energy at our major facilities (#) 19 · 19 · 19 · 17 · 12 · 10 · 7”
“optimizing water use, improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions and waste streams, and adopting circular economy principles”
“We have reported our environmental performance annually through CDP since 2013”
“A portion of the individual component of the 2023 Annual Incentive Compensation... was tied to progress on several Sustainability goals”
“Penalty total since 2000 for companies currently owned: $17,685,536 Number of records: 28”
“the SEC would not bring an enforcement action against the Company... the DOJ had declined to prosecute the Company”
“88% of the electricity used at Xylem manufacturing, office, and service facilities came from renewable sources in 2022”
“The Science Based Targets initiative approved Xylem's 2030 science-based targets in December 2024”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Xylem compare with other industrial equipment / machinery companies?
Where Xylem sits among industrial equipment / machinery peers.
Among the 19 major industrial equipment / machinery brands we've scored, Xylem is tied =11th of 19, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Industrial Equipment / Machinery?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Xylem.
Spirax exceeds near-term emissions targets and holds third-party verified data across Scope 1+2, but Scope 3 supply chain reduction remains unproven.
See the breakdown →ASML reported 11,643,000 tCO2e for 2025, 99.8% of it Scope 3, and the size of that footprint brings the 0.70x size deduction.
See the breakdown →Applied Materials reported 20,660,566 tCO2e for FY2025, mostly the use of its sold tools, and that size brings the 0.70x size deduction.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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