Company: GWW
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-021496
Chunk: 55

Company: W.W. GRAINGER, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 55
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 ‘no fault’ clawback policy that follows the incentive-based compensation recovery provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“the Dodd-Frank Act”) and the NYSE listing requirements. Under this policy, the Company is required to recoup (on a pre-tax basis) erroneously paid incentive compensation received during the three-year recoupment period from covered executive officers in the event of a mandatory accounting restatement even if there was no fault, misconduct or failure of oversight on the part of the officer. Discretion is generally not permitted under this policy except in very limited circumstances as prescribed by the Dodd-Frank Act and NYSE listing requirements. In addition to this policy, the Company has long-maintained a recoupment policy that allows for the recovery of cash and equity awards in the event of fraud, criminal misconduct, materially inaccurate financial statements, conduct that violates Company policy, misconduct that causes or is discovered to have caused damage or injury to the Company’s property or reputation or violations of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements, or in the event an executive receives any amount in excess of what the executive should have received for any reason. The Company’s broad-based recoupment policy is described further under Compensation Recoupment (Clawbacks) on page 53. Further, both the Change in Control Agreements and awards under the W.W. Grainger, Inc. 2015 Incentive Plan (the “2015 Incentive Plan”) and the W.W. Grainger, Inc. 2022 Incentive Plan (the “2022 Incentive Plan”) have double-trigger change in control provisions. Risk Assessment The Compensation Committee annually reviews a risk assessment of the Company’s compensation programs. Since 2009, the Compensation Committee has engaged its independent compensation consultant to conduct the risk assessment every three years. In 2024, the Committee’s independent compensation consultant, Pay Governance, conducted the Company’s triennial third-party risk assessment and the results were discussed with the Compensation Committee.

| ​ | CORPORATEGOVERNANCE | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 1:ELECTION OFDIRECTORS | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 2:RATIFY THEINDEPENDENTAUDITOR | ​ | ​ | EXECUTIVECOMPENSATION | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 3:SAY ON PAY | ​ | ​ | PROPOSAL 4: APPROVALAND ADOPTION | ​ | ​ | QUESTIONS ANDANSWERS | ​