Baxter 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report 17 Empower Our Patients Protect Our Planet Appendix Champion Our People and Communities Corporate Responsibility Commitment Introduction 2030 Corporate Responsibility Goals Cross-Cutting Commitments Continually Improve Manufacturing Capabilities 2030 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY GOAL : Achieve a 10% year-over-year improvement in manufacturing process capability for prioritized products. * * As measured by the year-over-year decrease in defect rate until each product’s process capability goal is met. (Baseline year: 2021) PERFORMANCE: In 2021, we gathered data to establish a capability baseline for our sterilized solutions and sets, and refined the infrastructure and processes necessary to enhance product quality and report progress. In future reports, we will disclose progress from this baseline toward our target. Production Cycle Optimization process implemented 70%+ of Baxter manufacturing sites will benefit from process improvements for sterilized solutions APPROACH AND PROGRESS Baxter develops products that save and sustain lives worldwide, delivering on our mission and representing our most important contribution to society. As we work to keep this promise to patients, caregivers and customers, we look beyond compliance and take proactive steps to enable more consistent, effective manufac - turing processes. Our aim is to deliver safe, high-quality products that work reliably and are free of defects. Prioritizing quality and safety also helps to drive down customer complaints and product recalls while improving supply chain continuity and resilience. In 2021, we identified sterilized solutions and sets as a priority area for improvement. We are investing in man - ufacturing processes that help us drive down the rate of leaks in these sterile products across our plants. More than 70% of our manufacturing sites produce sterilized solutions and sets and will benefit from these process improvements. As we make progress in this priority area, we will identify additional products for process improvements to prioritize in the coming years. Collaboration within our company and with regulators helps ensure quality across the product life cycle. Our multifaceted approach includes several key strategies. Manufacturing standards: As we maintain and improve quality standards across our manufacturing sites, we focus on three primary areas: the physical facilities, critical systems used in product manufacturing and mechanisms to ensure a continual state of control. By improving our process controls to address potential issues upstream, we can optimize our production lines and equipment effectiveness, minimize scrap and rework, and consistently release high-quality products into the marketplace. Internal reviews: We employ multifunctional governing and operating mechanisms that aid us in performing in-depth technical evaluations, identifying necessary improvements to individual products and implementing those improvements worldwide. Our robust strategic reviews provide our cross-functional leadership with improved visibility and a greater understanding of product safety and quality perfor - mance across the entire portfolio. These product reviews will provide important feedback to help us identify priority products for manufacturing process improvements as we work toward our goal. Patient Safety and Product Quality Facility Quality and Control Quality Systems Performance We take a holistic, innovative approach to quality across the product life cycle, and our commitment to continuous improvement builds on decades of insight and expertise. INTEGRATED APPROACH TO QUALITY Empower Our Patients Protect Our Planet Appendix Champion Our People and Communities Corporate Responsibility Commitment Introduction 2030 Corporate Responsibility Goals Cross-Cutting Commitments