4 _217 2023 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN 4 NON-FINANCIAL STATEMENT Sustainable Development Report This remarkable improvement was driven by gains from projects to further reduce water withdrawals and by initiatives reflecting a changing attitude to water resources and a greater awareness of ways to conserve them. The following examples illustrate how the levers are being activated in support of the Group’s strategy to reduce its water withdrawals: ● Resende, Brazil: a heat pump fitted to the cold water production system has reduced the plant’s steam consumption, saving 7,000 cu.m of water a year, or 1.6% of the plant’s annual withdrawals. ● Manaus, Brazil: seal water from certain vacuum pumps is now reused in the plant’s boilers, reducing withdrawals by 15,500 cu.m a year. ● Laem-Chabang, Thailand: the facility has successfully reduced the amount of cooling tower blowdown water. Optimizing biocide dosing and flow rate management has increased the cycles of concentration by a factor of 1.75, thereby reducing tower makeup water by 1,660 cu.m a month. ● Nongkae, Thailand: condensate from air handling units is now recovered and reused in the cooling towers, reducing withdrawals by 700 cu.m a month. ● Vitoria, Spain: cooling tower blowdown water is now reused as backup water in the metal reinforcement manufacturing process, after reverse osmosis treatment. This has reduced the plant’s water withdrawals by 20,000 cu.m a year. In parallel with these projects, three water audits were performed at the plants in Victoria, Romania, Laem Chabang, Thailand and Resende, Brazil. They identified additional levers that have now been incorporated into the plant’s action plans. EFFLUENT DISCHARGE Michelin is in the process of defining a strategy to improve the quality of process effluent discharged by its production facilities. At present, all these facilities comply with the regulatory limits stipulated in their operating permits. The degree of regulatory compliance is an indicator tracked by each facility as part of its Environmental Management System (EMS), which is regularly audited. Aware of the need to exceed the requirements of local legislation, in 2023 the Michelin Group launched a plan to improve its understanding of the potential impact of effluent discharged into the receiving environments. Two methodologies are being tested on three pilot sites, one inspired by the Science-Based Targets for Nature step 3: Freshwater, and another inspired by the French Ministry of the Environment on the compatibility of effluent with the receiving environment. The Group hopes that this improved knowledge will support the definition of an appropriate target for effluent quality, which is intrinsically linked to each facility’s local conditions. Water use disclosures Since 2016, Michelin has responded to the CDP Water Security questionnaire to disclose its water withdrawals by source and by water stressed area (in line with GRI-303-3). The Group received a score of B in 2023(1). 4.1.1.4 g) Preventing releases to soil and groundwater The Group’s Environmental Management System includes a dedicated process to prevent the risk of chronic or accidental spills based on three fundamentals: (i) clearly defined operating procedures, (ii) environmental impact awareness building; and (iii) results-oriented actions. In addition to the pollution risk prevention measures, all the production plants are expected to follow the contaminated sites and soil (CSS) procedures designed to mitigate any risks to human health and/or the environment from the Group’s operations, thereby enabling further business development. These procedures call for: ● applying a step-by-step methodology in accordance with international CSS study standards (desktop reviews, on-site inspections, choice of remediation strategy, remediation and monitoring); ● seeking support from expert CSS service providers; ● factoring in current and future uses; ● addressing, if needed, the potential off-site impacts downstream from a spill in addition to the impacts within the physical perimeter of the Group’s property. These procedures do not replace compliance with prevailing local legislation, particularly if the latter is inadequate to protect human health, the environment and the Group’s reputation. They apply at every stage in the Group’s business life cycle (acquisitions, mergers, integration, soil displacement on sites in operation, leasing, disposal). 4.1.1.4 h) Abating noise pollution and odors Although entirely innocuous, odors are nonetheless an issue for Michelin plants, some of which are located in built-up areas. These odors may be generated by the process used to produce certain types of natural rubber components used in tire manufacturing. The standard solution, based on the thermal oxidation of effluents, has been retrofitted at several European facilities and at the plant in Shenyang, China. New technologies are also being explored. (1) https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation.
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