Our Board and Board Diversity

ESCO has demonstrated a commitment to a strong governance structure and related company-wide policies. The Board of Directors is divided into three classes as nearly equal in size as practicable, with one class elected each year.

Our Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for overseeing ESCO’s risk management and corporate strategy. This includes oversight of risks relating to environmental and social sustainability and corporate governance matters.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board in its oversight responsibilities relating to our sustainability program. The Committee assesses our program at least annually and reports its findings to the Board.

In considering candidates to our Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will seek to enhance the diversity of the Board in areas such as race, national origin and gender in order to provide a range of viewpoints and perspectives. The Committee and the Board appreciate the benefits that diversity can bring to a board of directors. Accordingly, both the Committee and the Board are committed to requiring the inclusion of women and underrepresented minorities in the pool of director search candidates.

ESCO’s Board now includes two female directors. Gloria Valdez joined the Board in 2019 as ESCO’s first female director. In 2022, Janice L. Hess joined the Board as an independent director.

Sustainability Committee

Our Sustainability Committee provides high-level leadership and strategic focus for our corporate-wide sustainability efforts. Our Committee is made up of employees representing a variety of functions in our organization, including representatives from human resources, finance, public relations, safety and legal.

Our Sustainability Committee members include:

• Kimberly Chapman – Sustainability Committee Chair – Assistant General Counsel
• David Schatz – Senior Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel
• Chris Tucker – Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
• Steve Savis – Chief Human Resources Officer
• Kate Lowrey – Vice President of Investor Relations
• Justin Prien – Director of Environmental, Health & Safety

We require all of our employees to take ethics training, and review our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics on an annual basis. In addition, certain of our employees are required to submit a Conflict of Interest questionnaire.

The ESCO Technologies Ethics Committee meets quarterly to review any ethics cases with the Ombudsman, Ethics Officer and General Counsel, and Committee reports are summarized and submitted to our Board of Directors.

Our commitment to ethics and integrity are embodied in our Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, each available at the adjacent links.

Additional information about our approach to Human Capital Management can be found in our Human Anti-Trafficking Policy, our Human Rights Policy, our Anti-Harassment Policy and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, each available at the adjacent links.

Key highlights from our Human Rights and Anti-Trafficking Policies:

Diversity and Inclusion. We value the diversity and inclusion of the people with whom we work, and are committed to equal opportunity and intolerance of discrimination and harassment.

Freedom of Association. We respect our employees’ right to join a work council without fear of harassment.

Privacy. We will properly protect the gathering and use of an employee’s personal data that is used for employee administrative purposes.

Wage, Hours and Benefits. We compensate employees competitively, relative to the industry and local market, and are committed to full compliance regarding wages, work hours, and legally required benefits.

Safe and Healthy Workplace. We are committed to providing our employees with a safe and healthy workplace, while complying with applicable safety and health laws and regulations.

Workplace Security. We are committed to maintaining a workplace that is free from violence, harassment and intimidation or other unsafe conditions.

Child Labor. We will not use child labor.

Anti-Human Trafficking.  All ESCO employees, agents and subcontractors are prohibited from trafficking persons or conducting trafficking related activities.

Commitment to Community – The ESCO Foundation

In addition to our efforts to support the rights and well-being of our workforce, we also recognize that we are part of the communities within which we operate. We respect the human rights of our neighbors in those areas where we have facilities.

Our commitment to community is long-standing. The ESCO Foundation, established in 2005, is dedicated to providing financial support to a core group of charities focused on helping children and families in the communities where ESCO Technologies has operations. The Foundation’s goal is to make a meaningful contribution to each charity and respective community.

Our employees are engaged in volunteer efforts to support many of the organizations selected to receive grants. The Foundation also offers programs that award college scholarships to the children of ESCO employees and grants to support employees facing extreme hardship.

Additional information about The ESCO Foundation and its activities is available here.

Our corporate headquarters has a designated person tasked with oversight and monitoring of appropriate safety programs for all subsidiaries. Each ESCO subsidiary also has a designated person who is responsible for safety at each facility.

Our health and safety programs must comply with applicable local, state and federal safety laws and regulations.  We have equipment and procedures to protect employees in their work and we train employees on safety procedures and proper protocol

We insist that all employees receive appropriate and ongoing training. We have equipment and procedures to protect employees in their work and we train employees on proper safety protocols.

ESCO believes that when our employees are healthy, our employees and our businesses thrive. For this reason, we have a well-developed corporate wellness program at each of our facilities to offer employees the opportunity to follow a healthy lifestyle. The programs are tailored to the interests of the employees at each location and therefore activities vary by subsidiary.

We support efforts to end the human suffering and environmental harm that has been associated with certain mining of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries, and are committed to meeting all legislative and regulatory requirements that seek to eradicate this suffering. We expect our suppliers to cooperate with us in the conflict minerals compliance process, and to assist us in identifying the sources of the conflict minerals in products and components supplied to us.

Our expectations and requirements for the vendors in our supply chain are embodied in our Vendor Code of Conduct, Transparency in Supply Chains, Conflicts Minerals Policy and Conflict Minerals Reports, each available at the adjacent links.

Our subsidiaries bring this quest for innovation to projects that support environmental sustainability. Each ESCO subsidiary is responsible for identifying and carrying out initiatives to improve energy management and efficiency throughout their facilities and manufacturing processes. Many of our subsidiaries have adopted energy efficiency strategies, including energy efficient lighting, installation and automation of heating/cooling controls, equipment and process optimization, assessments of new equipment purchases and manufacturing changes, site wide solar feasibility studies and installations, and other facility enhancements. We strive to integrate environmental factors into our decision-making when we upgrade or retrofit existing facilities or consider leasing or purchasing new facilities.

Our past Sustainability Reports feature projects at our subsidiaries that contribute to sustainability and energy efficiency. These Reports are available in the section below.