Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 95 RISKS, CONTROL AND DUTY OF VIGILANCE PLAN 3 Duty of vigilance plan Through its know-how in the recycling and recovery of strategic metals, Orano is exploring new areas of business and is thus developing an electric vehicle battery recycling project. Orano also promotes re-use via its “Nuclear Market Place” platform allowing the sharing of industrial equipment in the form of lease/ loan or sale/donation between players in the French nuclear industry. Other symbolic actions that contribute to developing a circular economy culture among employees, such as upcycling, are also being carried out: the Orano la Hague site upcycled used parkas into backpacks in 2024 by professional seamstresses from a local Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) association. Sustainable management of water and energy The activities of Orano require raw materials and water resources. In the event of a shortage, the group’s use of water and raw materials could impact ecosystems. Water and energy management are at the heart of Orano’s environmental and societal concerns, as part of a continuous improvement approach of the group’s energy performance and a reduction in water consumption. Orano is sensitive to the need for responsible management of water resources in the course of its business activities, particularly in its mining activities in areas that can be arid or desert-like. In accordance with the recommendations of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), in recent years, Orano Mining has launched a plan to improve the understanding and management of water resources at its sites. In 2019, this resulted in the establishment of the report on water consumption at the McClean Lake site, according to the criteria common to ICMM members. The objective is to improve the understanding of water flows within a site (flows of great complexity) and to identify areas for improvement regarding water management performance. The exercise was extended to the other production sites of Orano Mining, which has been assessing the level of water stress at all its sites around the world since 2019 using the “Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas” tool of the World Resources Institute (WRI). This overall level of risk by country, as well as all the water sources and consumption by its activities, are detailed in Orano Mining’s CSR report. On this subject, the teams prepared a multi-year action plan in 2021 to meet the reduction targets set by the group. A working group, consisting of the group’s largest water consumers, was initiated in 2021 to focus on water management in order to continue the efforts made within the group (such as leak detection, recycling of washing water, etc.) and to meet the commitments for reducing water withdrawals. Each major contributing site has thus developed a multi-year roadmap. The improvement of the instrumentation for industrial and potable water networks and the gradual implementation of consumption monitoring have enabled the repair of leaking networks, and the reduction of water consumption continued in 2024 as part of these action plans. Other actions, such as the recycling of wastewater and the reuse of rainwater at the Malvési site, have also been implemented. The Tricastin site achieved a 65% reduction in its water consumption between 2015 and 2022 and aims to fall below the 1 million m3 mark consumed over the 2024-2025 period, compared with the more than 26 million m3 consumed 15 years ago. This reduction has been made possible by upgrades to the industrial plant and actions linked to the adaptation of installations, backed up by real-time monitoring of consumption through the deployment of sensors enabling the reactive identification of any leaks in the supply networks, and the implementation of corrective action where necessary. The reduction in the group’s water consumption between 2019 and 2024 was -42%. For more details on water management, see Section 4.2.2.2 of this report. Concerning the optimization of energy consumption, Orano has reactivated a network of energy leaders since 2019 and has dedicated teams on sites to define and manage new energy performance plans (replacement of equipment operating on combustible energy with electrical equipment, use of LED lighting, etc.). The reduction in the group’s energy consumption between 2019 and 2024 was -12%. In 2024, Orano continued to roll out its energy roadmap with the following priorities: ● conducting in-depth energy audits to identify new projects at its most energy-intensive sites, in particular la Hague, Tricastin and Malvési; ● deploying energy performance software, known as EMS (Energy Management Systems), in order to use the data generated by the meters installed on its facilities; and ● improving the efficiency of engines/ventilation, the main consumers at industrial sites. Between 2019 and 2023, the Tricastin site achieved 30 GWh of energy performance. An energy performance of 5 GWh was achieved in 2024, in particular through adaptations to the management of industrial facilities, the installation of LEDs, a targeted shutdown policy and the optimization of technical processes (particularly engine intensity). In addition, the Tricastin site plans to diversify its energy resources by purchasing electricity from solar energy at two photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of 30 MWp and 2.3 MWp, whose production is expected in 2025 and 2026 and via the installation of floating photovoltaic parks on land made available by the site. Studies for the implementation of intra-site solar energy production are also underway. Enrichment activities were also ISO 50001 certified in July 2022 and are continuing the management of their energy performance plan. Energy consumption at the Malvési site has also been gradually reduced by 10%, notably due to the installation of LED lighting and the replacement of the vent burner with an RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidation). The Orano la Hague site reduced its energy consumption by 9% between 2019 and 2024, to reach 595 GWh. This achievement is the result of a new steam production strategy, including the arrival of two electric boilers (with a third in progress), the installation of LED lighting, energy reviews of the workshops, and the ecomanagement of process equipment such as ventilation, included in an Energy performance plan. In 2024, the site began actions to stop the centralized production of superheated water, which will ultimately reduce the site’s consumption by 5%. In addition, the Orano la Hague site is ISO 50001 certified.
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