California Water Service Group

###### Our Management Approach

_For information on the governance of this topic, see the ESG Governance Matrix._

_Our public policy outlines our commitments for this topic:_

_•_ _[Political Engagement Policy](mailto:sustainability@calwater.com)_

Our Community Affairs & Government Relations team manages our political donations in accordance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations, and oversees two employee-funded Political Action Committees (PACs). For both PACs, our Director of Community Affairs & Government Relations serves as the Executive Director, and the PACs include the same five officers on each Board of Directors. Our VP, Customer Service & Chief Citizenship Officer is the Chair, and our CEO is the Vice Chair, for each PAC. Our federal PAC organizes contributions to support the campaigns of qualified candidates who are running for federal office and may impact Group, our subsidiaries, employees, stockholders, or customers. Our state and local PAC performs the same function for candidates for state and local offices in California.

Our Rates Department provides oversight for our relationship with the CPUC and examines regulatory impacts. For more information, see the Water Affordability and Access section.

###### 6.3

##### Public Policy and Political Involvement

###### Our political involvement is policy driven, non-partisan, and transparent, intended to benefit our customers, communities, employees, and stockholders. We advocate for affordability, water quality, sustainability, and equality for our customers, as well as safeguard our position as the leading provider of water service in our communities. In addition to following regulations and proactively engaging policymakers, we endeavor to set clear internal expectations for our employees and align our activities with our values and objectives.

We engage with industry organizations and trade associations to monitor impending laws and regulations and provide input on policies that can affect our business. Organizations that represent our interests include the AWWA, CWA, Water Research Foundation, nd NAWC. Additionally, we collaborate with the PPIC to conduct research and provide thought leadership within our industry. We may provide commentary on laws and regulations that are relevant to Group and our customers, and we will periodically post these comments to our web site. Our public comment letters regarding our position on PFAS are also available online.

Our advocacy efforts and focus areas can be found in public records. We maintain transparency in our positions, and we file a quarterly Report of Lobbyist Employer in accordance with California Government Code Section 86116. We do not utilize contract lobbyists in any states other than California, and none of our employees is registered as a lobbyist.

###### We engage with industry organizations and trade associations to monitor any impending laws and regulations and provide input on policies that can affect our business.

To manage external relationships and track our political and regulatory outreach activities, we continue to integrate a cloud-based tool into our processes and systems. For additional details, see the Stakeholder Engagement and Public Participation section.

- [State and local political contributions (California only) from the California Water Service](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1399768&session=2021)
[State and Local PAC](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1399768&session=2021)

The following resources provide additional information about our political contributions and lobbying activities:

- [Political contributions from California Water Service](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1009581&session=2021)

- [Lobbying activity of California Water Service](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1147092&session=2021)

- [Federal political contributions from the California Water Service Group PAC](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00357608/)

Does your organization have a public commitment or position statement to conduct your engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement?[…]No, and we do not plan to have one in the next two years

Describe the process(es) your organization has in place to ensure that your external engagement activities are consistent with your climate commitments and/or climate transition plan?[…]Regarding our overall climate change strategy, we believe that managing the impacts of climate-related risks requires climate mitigation and adaptation throughout our business, including sourcing, treatment and distribution, and community engagement. Group transparently reports on our ESG initiatives, including those relating to our climate change strategy, through our annual ESG report and ESG analyst download, which are available to all of our stakeholders via our website. Through our partnerships and regulatory engagement, we support policies that align with our values and our commitment to advance the interests of our customers, communities, employees, and stockholders. Our political involvement is intended to be policy-driven, non-partisan, and transparent, to benefit our customers, communities, employees, and stockholders. We advocate for affordability, water quality, sustainability, and equality for our customers, as well as seek to safeguard our position as the leading provider of water service in our communities. On our web site, we outline several of the core areas on which we focus, including conservation and sustainability. As we prepare for the impacts of climate change, we support initiatives that seek to strengthen resilience against drought. We also encourage structures that promote water conservation and favor drought-tolerant landscaping.