Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 179 SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT 4 Environmental information 4.2.3.3 Policies and actions related to biodiversity and ecosystems With regard to biodiversity, Orano is committed to its preservation and sees it as an essential factor in ensuring that its activities are compatible with the environment. Overall, aspects relating to flora and fauna are effectively taken into account from the design phase of new projects, then throughout the operational phases of the facilities, and finally during the redevelopment of the sites. In line with its climate commitment, Orano defined and rolled out a group Biodiversity strategy in 2022, signed by the group’s Chief Executive Officer and available on the group’s website. It follows the one rolled out in 2021 by Orano Mining for its activities. It covers all the Orano operational sites, and makes it possible to structure the various actions already deployed and to strengthen the group’s commitment to the protection of biodiversity. This Biodiversity strategy is based on three main areas: ● preserving biodiversity; ● living alongside the biodiversity present on the group’s sites and nearby; and ● promoting local biodiversity and reporting on Orano’s actions on the subject. These three main areas are broken down in proportion to the issues identified on the sites. Biodiversity issues related to the Upstream value chain are covered through the Responsible Purchasing policy. In general, Orano’s strategy is based on an assessment of the global biodiversity footprint, carried out through the Global Biodiversity Score (GBS) tool of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Biodiversité. The group’s overall results, as well as those specific to Orano Mining, were analyzed and will be used to identify the main action levers. The strategy is an extension of Orano’s 2024-2026 HSE policy in its “reduction of the environmental footprint of our activities on several environmental aspects” including biodiversity which is explicitly mentioned. This policy was signed by the Chief Executive Officer and its application is monitored by the Head of Health – Safety – Environment (HSE), a member of the Executive Committee. It is available on the group’s website. In 2024, this strategy evolved into a new Nature strategy, strengthening our commitments and integrating the IROs directly related to the group’s activities. Preserving biodiversity Orano applies and implements the avoid, reduce, offset (ARO) sequence by prioritizing, for example, for its mining projects the avoidance of outstanding areas via a voluntary exclusion of projects located in areas classified as UNESCO heritage, extended in 2024 to areas classified as IUCN cat. I and II. This voluntary extension contributes to target 1 of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement (“Reduce the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems with high ecological integrity” to close to zero by 2030), and is also a response to the IRO relating to the transition risk related to the increase in biodiversity conservation regulations. Systematic ecological diagnostics are also carried out before any project in areas of special interest for biodiversity to identify any protected species that may be present and define the most appropriate avoidance, impact reduction or offset measures. An environmental impact study (EIS) is systematically carried out for each new project or whenever a major modification to industrial facilities is expected. It includes the “ARO” analysis on biodiversity. Owing to their location and size, the mining sites are particularly concerned with biodiversity protection and conservation, whether during the exploration, operating, or “post-mining” phases. For this reason Orano Mining, which is also an active member of the ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals), takes care to carry out actions to avoid, reduce impacts, restore and offset, where necessary, on its sites. 2024 IN ACTION: A vast reforestation plan in Kazakhstan Katco has prepared a reforestation plan covering an area of approximately 12,000 hectares, for a total amount of approximately 15 million euros (of which 2.2 million euros invested in 2024, and 9.1 million euros remaining for 2025). This project is the largest reforestation program of its kind in southern Kazakhstan and involves the planting of saxauls and other tree species. It will make a significant contribution to the national reforestation program. This objective corresponds to the impact on land-use change, and also contributes to target 2 of the KunmingMontreal Agreement (“Ensure that by 2030, at least 30% of degraded areas of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems are effectively restored to improve biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity”). The offset of a saxauls forest (a species endemic to the region) is also anticipated in the group’s projects in Mongolia. In this way, research work led to the construction of a nursery adapted to the specific conditions of the region and to the planting of endemic trees in a selected area, using local practices enriched by the conclusions of studies carried out with specialists and scientists from Mongolian and French public institutes. Living alongside the biodiversity present on our sites and nearby For the existing Orano sites, several are located near areas of ecological interest (See table in Section 4.2.3.1), or manage green spaces (on-site) or natural spaces (outside). Thus, one of the challenges also is to live alongside the surrounding biodiversity by becoming aware of its value, in particular through the implementation of differentiated management plans and the fight against invasive species. Lastly, in addition to the projects and impact studies carried out, the precise environmental situation of Orano sites is regularly assessed using local inventories with, for example, standardized rating methods (e.g., aquatic environments) to monitor and assess the impact of activities on biodiversity. The Orano group has thus set itself the objective of having recent inventories (less than ten years old) for all its sites in operation by the end of 2025, in particular for its mining sites. Lastly, Orano pays particular attention to the end-of-life at its sites, particularly in mining. Thus, from 2021, all the sites concerned have included a biodiversity component in any new remediation plan.
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