Engineering Innovative and Forward-Thinking Solutions
People, Products, & Community
Our employees are integral to our success and ability to innovate. Driven by the pursuit of excellence, our teams set high expectations to deliver exceptional products, and we work collaboratively to meet efficiency and safety standards. Our commitment to employee retention, training, and workplace safety support our mission to maintain a culture of innovation that ultimately enables our business success.
We hold a deep commitment to trust and collaboration, which guides our customer and employee relationships. Our goal to maintain warranty expense below 1% of total product revenue is one way to solidify our reputation for superior product quality, performance, reliability, and safety. Our goals to maintain low employee turnover, and zero recordable incident and lost time rates are just two examples of how we will support our employees while aggressively growing as a company.
Current goals
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Deliver products and solutions customers can trust
The safety of both our employees and our products is a top priority for Energy Recovery. This goal reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest product quality standards and closely monitoring the performance of new technologies as they’re introduced in the field. When customers choose Energy Recovery, they’re not just investing in energy efficiency. They’re choosing peace of mind, and safety is central to that promise.
We’re proud to report that we continue to meet our industry-leading reliability target of keeping warranty costs at or below 1%, placing us in the top quartile for performance and reliability according to benchmark data from the American Productivity & Quality Center. Our Quality Management System (QMS), which underpins this performance, is due for recertification in Q3 2025 as part of our regular three-year cycle. Looking ahead, we’re also enhancing our focus on product safety in our new product development process. This initiative is on track for completion in 2026.
Maintain warranty expense below 1% of total product revenue
Target:
Maintain below 1%
2024 Value:
0.17%
Status:
Percentage of manufacturing operations certified to ISO 9001 Quality Management System standards or equivalent
Target:
Maintain at 100%
Status:
Completion of product safety risk assessments for all new products by 2026
Target:
100% of new products by 2026
Status:
Responsible Sourcing
We recognize that our supply chain starts with our sourcing decisions. We obtain raw, processed, and pre-machined materials from our suppliers for various products. We have staked our name on the precision of our manufacturing and the impact our products have on the world, and as such, supplier selection, qualification, and compliance are highly important. In 2021, we launched a program specifically to prevent trafficking in our supply chain and align our operations with international best practices, including the International Labour Organization’s framework, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, and specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In collaboration with a third-party supply chain compliance firm, we regularly poll our top suppliers and provide education according to the survey results. This education specifically targets unresponsive and non-compliant suppliers and prioritizes areas that present considerable risk to both our business and society, such as anti-trafficking and slavery, conflict minerals, and human rights policies.
Learn more about our responsible sourcing efforts
Social investment program
Just as our company is focused on long-term growth through efficient and sustainable products, we also recognize the importance of giving back to the communities where our employees live and work. Our Social Investment Program is an employee-driven initiative designed primarily to foster engagement and connection across our teams, while contributing to three pillars that map back to our business objectives. Led by a cross-functional employee task force, the program supports activities that reflect our people’s passions and our company’s commitment to making a positive impact.
In 2024, employees participated in a wide range of community efforts—from sponsoring local schools in Oakland and Tracy to supporting Aladyr’s water education program for kids in Latin America for the fifth year in a row. We also contributed to disaster relief efforts through the Red Cross following Hurricane Beryl in Texas and helped bring clean water to children in the Philippines with Planet Water. Nearly a third of our employees took part in volunteer events this year, reflecting the strong enthusiasm for giving back that continues to shape our culture.
water
Our business and technology were built around providing affordable access to clean water around the globe. We believe our social investments should reflect that goal as well.
education
At the heart of our growth is our innovative spirit, powered by the engineers that push limits in the design, manufacturing, and applications of our technology each day. By contributing to education, we will continue to support brilliant young minds that will help make this world more sustainable.
Disaster Relief
Throughout our history, we have stepped in to support our communities in difficult times. We have contributed to wildfire relief efforts in California, hosted on-site blood drives, and supported our local food banks. We are proud to show up when it matters most.
Highlights
Employee Spotlight
Dr. Azam Thatte
Chief Scientist
A remarkable team of young women from the High School of Dundee in Scotland selected Energy Recovery as their featured company in the national Growing Future Assets Investment Competition. Competing as future investment professionals, the team delivered an impressive pitch and secured the Senior Runners-Up spot in the final round, showcasing their deep research and confidently fielding tough questions from the judging panel. As part of their prep, they reached out to members of our team to get a first-hand perspective on Energy Recovery’s innovation and growth plans.
Dr. Azam Thatte enthusiastically shared insights on our innovations in CO₂ and water technologies, as well as our broader mission to drive sustainability. Azam was honored to have played a role in helping these future leaders explore careers in investment and in the science behind sustainability. He looks forward to supporting more opportunities like this that empower the next generation of thought leaders.
There is nothing more exciting to me than to see our technology and innovations inspiring the next generation. They asked thoughtful questions, and it was rewarding to support such driven and curious students.
Dr. Azam Thatte
Employee Spotlight
Shaun Casuat
Operations Specialist
Shaun Casuat’s history with Energy Recovery stretches back years before he joined the company as an employee. He first visited the San Leandro office as a local high school student on a field trip and returned as an industrial engineering major at California State University, East Bay, for a school project, which then led to an internship. He was already very familiar with the company when he was hired full-time as a Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) engineer, and with demonstrated experience in Smartsheet and Power BI, he set to work on creating centralized and accessible data visualization dashboards for the HSE team including waste, incident reporting, and safety inspections.
Shaun took personal initiative to work across multiple departments to implement new digital recordkeeping systems, which he then compiled into an aggregated dashboard that allows us to visualize our progress at a glance and identify areas where we could improve, such as alumina waste disposal. The dashboards also keep track of our safety, facilities, and sustainability reporting system, creating a streamlined workflow to respond to all employee suggestions and feedback.
Shaun continues to develop his career with Energy Recovery and has recently moved into a new role as Operations Specialist, working on the Continuous Improvement team.
It’s satisfying to see the improvements that have come from this dashboard. Having the data on hand makes it much easier to communicate the need for certain improvements and demonstrate the value of a proposed project. With the alumina waste, we knew we could be doing better but having the data gave us that extra motivation to look for and implement a solution. If there’s a way that we can operate more efficiently, that’s beneficial for the whole company.
Shaun Casuat
Employee Spotlight
Mo Mojadedi
Office Operations Coordinator
On a routine job walk, Mo quickly implemented the Stop Work Authority policy when he stumbled upon a group of contractors using a ladder that was too small for the task at hand. By jumping into action and insisting they procure the properly sized ladder, Mo prevented a potential serious accident or injury.
Anything that is done here has to be done in a safe manner, and all of our company training reinforces this. We want to do business the safe way, not the fastest way.
Mo Mojadedi
Last Updated: June 2025
For details on data methodology and definitions, please see our most recent annual performance report.