Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 99 RISKS, CONTROL AND DUTY OF VIGILANCE PLAN 3 Duty of vigilance plan In France, regular meetings are organized between management and employee representatives in accordance with the national regulations in force. Outside France, relations and negotiations with employee representative bodies are organized in accordance with local laws and practices. Within Orano Mining, the mandatory annual negotiations are organized as follows : ● in Niger, 100% of employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (1); ● in Canada, at the McClean Lake site, a collective agreement “Canadian Labor Standards Acts” covers workers, technicians, and employees who have joined the signatory unions, in accordance with the legal provisions applicable locally. It was renegotiated in 2022 for a period of three years (June 2022-May 2025); ● in Mongolia, an agreement covering all employees was renewed for two years (December 2024-December 2026); ● in Kazakhstan, a collective agreement covering all employees is in place for a period of three years (December 2024-December 2027); ● in Uzbekistan, an agreement on work in shift rotation has been in place since 2020; and ● In Namibia, Orano employees have statutory and contractual benefits. Special committees, made up of members of management and employees, are set up to discuss issues and the effectiveness of pension funds and provident schemes. Furthermore, and in accordance with the terms of its Code of Ethics, Orano expects its suppliers to offer their employees freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Orano is committed to respecting privacy. The group thus refrains from intruding on employees’ personal lives at home and maintains neutrality regarding opinions and philosophical or religious beliefs. Vigilance regarding the rights of local communities living near the sites Orano operates with respect for the fundamental rights of local communities and ensures the economic development of the regions close to its activities. Commitments to avoid the displacement of local communities The development of the group’s projects, particularly in the context of its mining activities, could potentially result in the displacement of local populations. Aware of this risk, Orano Mining is committed to avoiding the involuntary physical or economic displacement of families and communities, and to applying, when displacement is unavoidable, the mitigation hierarchy and implementing actions or remedies that address residual adverse effects to restore or improve livelihoods and standards of living of displaced people. For example, actions were implemented in Niger following the shutdown of production activities at the Cominak site to limit population movements and socio-economic impacts. As part of its mining activities, Orano Mining has not, to its knowledge, caused the displacement of a population against their wishes. Rational use of shared resources The group’s use of natural resources could, in some cases, limit the access of local communities to these resources, which are essential for their subsistence and economic development. Among these resources, water is the subject of particular attention due to its use by mining and chemistry-enrichment activities, which can significantly impact both its quantity and potentially its quality. Water management is therefore a key societal concern for Orano, which has implemented several measures to reduce its water consumption and promote a collaborative approach to resource management. First of all, a working group dedicated to the topic of water was created in November 2021. It brings together the entities with the highest water usage to identify and implement actions to reduce water consumption across the group. Orano also relies on environmental impact assessments (EIA) conducted before new projects in France and internationally to evaluate and anticipate the risks its activities pose to natural resources, including water. These EIAs help identify potential sources of pollution and risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. They promote the implementation of preventive and corrective measures such as wastewater treatment and the adoption of cleaner technologies, proportionate to the challenges at hand. By integrating these environmental concerns from the project design phase, the group limits the negative effects on water resources. In addition, the group conducts an annual assessment of the impact of its activities on local water resources. A water risk assessment is carried out using the World Resources Institute (WRI) “Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas” tool. According to this tool, the group has no production sites in areas of high or extremely high water stress. Water stress is a critical situation that occurs when the available water resources are less than the water demand. However, some of its mining sites are located in desert or arid regions with waterrelated risks due to low water availability. Following the recommendations of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Orano Mining has launched a plan in recent years to improve the understanding and management of water resources at its sites. Orano mining assesses global water risk across its mining sites worldwide considering three factors: physical quantity risk, physical quality risk, and regulatory risk. Orano Mining also implements measures to reduce its water consumption, such as network instrumentation and industrial water recycling, as seen at the Katco site in Kazakhstan. Moreover, the group has strengthened its approach to consultation with stakeholders on the topic of water. At the end of 2024, Orano updated its Biodiversity Strategy, evolving it into a Nature Strategy, fully integrating water-related challenges. By 2030, this strategy aims to foster collaboration with stakeholders to anticipate conflicts on the use of water, by adopting a watershedbased approach (as recommended by the ICMM). (1) The group confirmed the loss of operational control over its subsidiaries in Niger in December 2024. For more information on the situation in Niger, see Section 2.1.2.1.
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