"At Xylem, innovation takes many forms, from providing more connected products and intelligent solutions, to business model innovations that ease the challenges for water and wastewater service providers to convert to new, modern and more sustainable technologies. Our work to drive both innovation and sustainability is aligned and complementary, as we develop new solutions for our customers with a clear aim in mind: to help the world mitigate major water challenges like scarcity and affordability, and help make communities more resilient and sustainable.
Digital Solutions
At Xylem, we believe digital solutions can create new efficiencies and benefits for our customer throughout all areas of our portfolio, from our robust foundational products like diesel dewatering pumps and wastewater pump stations to smart water meters and data analytics platforms that enable smart city infrastructure. In 2019, Xylem introduced a number of new digital solutions directly aimed at solving our customers’ greatest challenges.
Decision Intelligence
Connected products alone do not fully address today’s water challenges. Modern digital decision support tools unlock the power of data to inform better system-level decisions today, while planning future outcomes for operations, maintenance and capital planning. Recent advancements in analytical technologies for water management mean that longstanding problems in our sector can finally be addressed in an effective and affordable way. Digital solutions are enabling dramatic improvements through better system controls, more efficient monitoring and diagnostics, more targeted investments, and a transition to a holistic model for system management. We call this approach to water management “Decision Intelligence,” and these solutions are helping utilities and other water and essential services providers make progress on the problems that matter most to the communities they serve: water accessibility, environmental sustainability, resilience and affordability.
See our 2019 Sustainability Report for more.
Innovation for Social Impact
Xylem recognizes that solving water for people living at the bottom of the economic pyramid requires innovative approaches that incorporate economic empowerment and gender parity to build sustainable communities with adequate water and sanitation. In 2019, Xylem launched the Base of Pyramid (BoP) Solutions team to develop community and household water treatment and sanitation solutions. Building on Xylem’s approach to solving water scarcity, water systems resilience and water affordability, The BoP Solutions team aligned on five community values of acceptability, affordability, accessibility, awareness, and accountability.
Leveraging Xylem’s industry-leading domain expertise and end-to-end technologies in digital solutions, field-ready and scalable hardware, and aftermarket and service, we have the unique opportunity and social responsibility to deploy Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) solutions that enable creation of social enterprise and local markets, support the professionalization of community-based services, and strengthen and the operation of local institutions and systems. To have an impact in WASH, partnership is key; the BoP team is leaning into research, co-development, and commercial partnerships with universities, NGOs, and public partners in the WASH space to close the water and sanitation gap together.