Sustainability Statement Biodiversity and ecosystems (E4) 04 4.5.3 CORE BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM POLICIES To manage the environmental impact of its operations across the value chain, Michelin applies the general framework defined in the Group Environmental Policy(1). The specific issues raised by the farming, harvesting and processing of natural rubber, including deforestation and habitat degradation, are addressed by the Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy, which applies to both the Group’s own operations and its natural rubber suppliers. In addition, the Sustainable Purchasing Policy is designed to attenuate the environmental impact of suppliers in general, including suppliers of other raw materials. 4.5.3.1 The Group Environmental Policy and biodiversity and ecosystems The Group Environmental Policy is aimed at managing pollution risks and drawing down the Group’s environmental footprint to impact-neutrality, including in biodiversity matters (at each stage in the life cycle). 4.5.3.2 Biodiversity, a key component of the Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy The Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy that precisely defines the conditions for farming natural rubber, both in terms of the environment (zero deforestation, protection and preservation of peatlands, High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock areas) and in terms of social responsibility and human rights. Michelin expects every stakeholder across the supply chain to embrace responsible social, environmental and governance practices, so as to maintain rubber tree farming in a virtuous cycle of progress. The Policy covers the Group’s direct rubber tree farming operations, including farms in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas. It is also appended to every Group natural rubber purchasing contract, and suppliers are encouraged to cascade it down their respective supply chains and publicly disclose the resulting impacts and improvements. It is supported by a roadmap to 2025(2) that describes the actions and objectives guiding its implementation. The Group Purchasing Department is responsible for ensuring the Policy’s application, assessing suppliers and approving any action plans. The Policy complies with the framework defined by the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and approved by its members in 2020. Through the Policy, the Group is committed to encouraging compliance, in its sites and by its joint ventures, suppliers and their subcontractors, with the main principles set out in the ruling international reference documents(3). Drafted with input from environmental and human rights NGOs and other stakeholders, it is now a contractual reference document for Group suppliers. It is appended to every Michelin natural rubber supply contract and is available for download from the Group website(2). To manage the potential impact of rubber tree farming and natural rubber processing on biodiversity and natural ecosystems, the Policy includes a zero-deforestation commitment(4), whereby Group sites, joint ventures and suppliers agree to (i) ensure compliance with national forest protection laws; (ii) protect and preserve primary forests, high conservation value (HCV) areas(5) and high carbon stock (HCS) areas(6); and (iii) ensure that natural ecosystems are not converted to farming. In identifying these areas using participatory mapping and defining suitable management methods, the concerned local and indigenous communities, national civil society organizations and international stakeholders are to be consulted to ensure that economic, social and environmental needs are addressed and that the proposed farming practices are socially and environmentally acceptable. (1) See section 4.1.5 Holistic management of the Group’s impacts, risks and opportunities, above. (2) See https://natural-rubber.michelin.com/fr/committments-and-transparency/overall-approach. (3) Principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992); Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1979); New York Declaration on Forests of the United Nations (2014); WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard; International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (FAO); Annex III of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS); Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade; the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; and the other documents listed in Appendix 2 of the Policy. (4) See section 4.3.6.2 Initiatives and a target on pesticide use, above. (5) As defined by the HCV Resource Network (HCVRN) https://www.hcvnetwork.org/. (6) As defined by the HCS Approach Steering Group http://highcarbonstock.org/. 244 2024 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN
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