Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 174 4 SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT Environmental information 4.2.2.3 Targets related to water resources As part of its Commitment roadmap and its HSE policy, Orano has committed to reducing its water consumption by 20% in 2025 compared to 2019 in areas exposed to water risks. This voluntary target applies to the entire group. The achievement of the objective is monitored annually by comparing the achievement with the defined target. The frequency may be reduced (monthly) at certain production sites such as Tricastin. Orano has extended its target in its Nature strategy to a reduction of -25% in specific consumption in 2030 vs. 2019 in water-risk areas. The unit of this consumption is specific to each site according to its activity. The largest consumer of water in the group, Orano Mining has set itself a performance target of -10% per metric ton of uranium produced for the entire BU by 2025 vs. 2019. This objective is applied to production sites in areas exposed to water risks (mining sites in operation outside Canada and Malvési). The 53 measures for water from the French Ministry of Ecology, the practical guide on water management by watershed for the mining and metallurgical industries from the ICMM, the water guide of France Chimie and the “Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas” tool from the World Resources Institute (WRI) were used to specify the assumptions and objectives. The objectives set by the group were communicated to the French authorities as part of the development of the economical plan for the nuclear industry as well as to the ICMM. The group has no quantified water quality target. The targets are local at the level of each industrial site and determined by the authorities according to the impact study. The discharge limit values of the substances discharged are defined according to the sensitivity of the receiving environment and the best available technologies by the authorities. The environmental monitoring implemented by the sites concerned makes it possible to verify the absence of significant impact on the ecosystem and the populations. 4.2.2.4 Results in terms of water management Total water consumption in 2024 was 6,640,251 m3, down by 5.5% compared to 2023. This brings the reduction since 2019 to 39% in consumption and 51% in intensity. The decrease in water consumption in the mining sector explains 95% of the decrease between 2023 and 2024, in particular due to the decline in activity in Niger. Nevertheless, the reduction at the other sites is continuing despite the new projects (around 10,000 m3 in the Treatment-Recycling activities and 10,000 m3 in the Chemistry-Enrichment activities). Water consumption in 2024 in areas exposed to water risks was 3,104,602 m3, i.e., approximately 50% of the group’s consumption. Water consumption in areas exposed to high water stress is zero.
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