Sustainability Statement Water and marine resources (E3) 04 The Group does not have a material impact on marine resources as it does not withdraw or use any seawater in its operations nor derive any of its raw materials from marine resources. For water pollution matters, see section 4.3 Pollution (E2). Impacts, Risks and Opportunities (IROs) Brief description Upstream value chain Downstream value chain Own operations Short-term Medium-term Long-term E3- WATER RESOURCES Water management Water consumption Climate change and human water use are disrupting the water cycle and, in particular, may be contributing to the depletion of local water resources (e.g., the drying up of aquifers). Negative impact Introduction Although the tire industry is not very water-intensive in relation to other industries like chemicals or agrifoods, it has long paid particular attention to water. Michelin is certainly well aware of the growing scarcity of this vital resource and is pursuing an ambitious strategy in response. In general, the production plants use water primarily to convey heat and cooling, for example, to cure tires or to cool installations or products. Farther up the value chain, natural rubber plantations and other raw material production plants also use water in their operations. Since 2016, Michelin has responded to the CDP Water Security questionnaire to disclose its water withdrawals by source and by water-stress area (in line with GRI303-3). The Group received a score of A- in 2024. Since 2020, the annual valuation of the Group’s environmental impacts has included the total cubic meters of water withdrawn, both used and discharged, underscoring the importance of this issue to the Group. 4.4.1 IDENTIFYING ISSUES USING A VARIETY OF LOCALIZED APPLICATIONS In addition to the risk assessment procedure, the impact of Michelin’s own operations on water resources has been identified by: n applying the international Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) guidance(1), whose first two steps were tested in 2021 and 2022 to identify the Group’s biodiversity-related dependencies and material impacts (including water management), locate them geographically and define priority actions to address them; n assessing water stress at every Group production site using the WRI Aqueduct (Baseline Water Stress) tool(2), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Water Risk Filter (water depletion(3)), and a local water resources risk assessment application. In this way, each site has been classified on a low/medium/high scale of water stress; n using the proprietary Environmental and Risk Prevention Management System (SMEP) to assess environmental risks at every tire production plant, in compliance with ISO 14001 standards. The SMEP is updated at least once a year; n identifying the production sites of raw material suppliers (except natural rubber) deemed most at risk for their water resources, by performing a dedicated review in 2022 using the Water Risk Filter and Aqueduct applications. A SMEP process is also in place to identify the interests of each site’s stakeholders. To take water awareness to the next level, in 2023, Michelin deployed Step 3 in the SBTN technical guidance (Setting Freshwater Quantity targets) at three pilot sites. The step includes mapping local-level stakeholders involved in water issues and consulting with the most impactful among them. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that any conflicts of interest concerning water resources are addressed at the watershed level. Such conflicts will then be analyzed to determine how water resources can be managed in harmony with nature and with local communities and other users. (1) For more information, see https://sciencebasedtargetsnetwork.org/. (2) See https://www.wri.org/aqueduct. (3) See https://riskfilter.org/water/home. Upstream Downstream OP Upstream OP 232 2024 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN
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