Baxter 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report 18 Empower Our Patients Protect Our Planet Appendix Champion Our People and Communities Corporate Responsibility Commitment Introduction 2030 Corporate Responsibility Goals Cross-Cutting Commitments Digital transformation: Baxter is rethinking how the medical products industry approaches product release and control across the value chain. We have implemented a Production Cycle Optimization (PCO) process that leverages digital tools, robust data sets and strict controls across our manufacturing pro - cesses to help ensure we are producing safe, high-quality products. Our aim is to detect quality defects early in the manufacturing process and fix those problems at their point of origin, which then has a positive impact across our manufacturing processes. Checking quality throughout production and using data-based decision making to improve our processes gives us confidence that we are consistently releasing high-quality products into the marketplace. In addition, because we collect evidence of quality throughout production, we were able to qualify products from two additional sites for parametric release in 2021. Parametric release allows us to release and distribute these products more efficiently by removing the need for additional testing at the end of the manufacturing process. Building on this success, we will be enrolling more sites in the future. In 2021, we created a system that enables us to con - sistently capture and connect data across our manu - facturing sites, replacing time-intensive manual tasks with automated workflows. This tool is configured to gather data from each site, which is then aggregated into a single, global, cloud-based solution that helps us track critical steps in our PCO processes as we work toward the parametric release of products. Collaboration with global regulators: Through our strategic engagement with global regulatory bodies, we continue to pursue collaborative solutions to advance patient safety and help ensure our products are of the highest quality and present the lowest possible risk to patients. For example, using the data-backed evidence we have gathered through our manufacturing controls and quality processes, we are working with regulators so that the guidance for required inspections is relevant for our products and the broader industry. Through this collaboration we are working to positively influence regulatory standards, such as FDA Guidance for “Inspection of Injectable Products for Visible Particu - lates.” We will continue to work collaboratively with regulatory agencies around the world with the interest of ensuring that regulatory expectations support the manufacturing of safe, high-quality products for customers. For more information about product safety and quality, see our Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) index and the Baxter Data Summary . MOVING FORWARD >> Building on the digital system we established in 2021 to capture and connect data across our manufacturing sites, we are identifying and prioritizing opportunities to implement enhanced controls through our PCO process as we strive to improve our manufacturing process capabilities. The combination of better data and improved manufacturing capability will also help us collaborate with global regulators to implement more efficient release techniques, such as the para - metric release of our solution products.