Environmental Health 67 2021 Sustainability Report A Modern, High-Performing Health System Introduction Our People and Culture Responsible Business Practices Performance Data Water scarcity is an emerging concern in parts of the world, making water conservation a critical but often overlooked global health issue. Water efficiency and reduction Since 2019, we have worked to ensure our facilities use water as efficiently as possible. We conducted a phased U.S. administrative portfolio review in 2018 using LEED water efficiency guidelines to evaluate interior water use and the EPA’s WaterSense tool to evaluate exterior water use, incorporating the U.S. Drought Monitor to identify water-sensitive areas. We will be refreshing this study in 2022. Following that review, we sought to upgrade legacy water fixture systems for more efficient fixtures and fittings, and we continue to evolve our standard project guidelines to water systems that are increasingly more efficient. For example, we saw an 8.6% reduction in water use at legacy U.S. administrative sites that received our touchless water fixture deployment in 2020. We currently deploy water-efficient touchless fixtures in all our construction projects, including our new campus under construction in San Antonio, Texas, which will be WELL-certified. UnitedHealth Group developed and implemented a holistic water- tracking program for our India real estate portfolio, a region where 91 million people lack access to safe water. We made investments in 2021 to install technology-enabled digital water meters at 14 sites to remotely measure, monitor and influence water usage. The digital water meters measure freshwater and recycled water (used for the flushing of water closets) and will be key in developing future water efficiency goals in this water-stressed geography. For more information, see our Environmental Impact Statement . 72% of our managed U.S. administrative square footage met indoor water efficiency measures (using LEED water efficiency guidelines). We plan to conduct this analysis again in 2022 to account for our growing portfolio.