3 An efficient and responsible Group Achieve excellence in operations SAINT-GOBAIN UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2021 101 Water management 3.3.2.2 Saint-Gobain’s Water policy (“Water policy”) confirms the desire to reduce the impacts of the Group’s activities on water resources as much as possible, whether in terms of water intake or discharge. The long-term objective is to withdraw as little water as possible and to aim for “zero discharge”of industrial water in liquid form, while avoiding generating new impacts for other natural environments and/or for other stakeholders. To this end, Saint-Gobain does its utmost to: reduce water withdrawals from the natural environment ■ and optimize processes to minimize water consumption; reuse “process” water whenever possible; ■ recycle on-site or off-site with appropriate treatments; ■ not degrade water quality by reducing and controlling ■ discharges into the natural environment and preventing any accidental pollution; not compete with local populations for access to ■ drinking water. To assess the water sensitivity of its sites, the Group uses the global “Aqueduct” atlas of the WRI organization. This atlas is based not only on qualitative and quantitative physical risks (such as water stress or flood risk), but also on stakeholder risk (like access to water). This tool enables each industrial site to assess its water risk from “low” to “extremely high”. In 2021, 199 sites representing approximately 16% of water withdrawals and 9% of Saint-Gobain discharge were located in high or extremely high risk areas. The “Focus Site” program consists of supporting sites which contribute to 80% of the Group’s environmental indicator. In 2021, 43 sites representing 80% of Saint-Gobain’s water discharges drew up a short-, medium- and long-term action plans to reduce their impact. The Group’s commitment to water preservation has led it to participate, since 2012, in the CDP Water Disclosure, which aims to encourage businesses to report in detail on the risks and opportunities concerning water management and to report results transparently. In 2021, Saint-Gobain obtained an A- rating. Resource management 3.3.2.3 Saint-Gobain has the long-term ambition of not producing any non-recovered production waste and of maximizing the recycled content of its products. The Group believes that waste should be considered as a strategic resource and that recycled or bio-sourced materials should be used whenever possible as a substitute for non-renewable virgin resources. The policy of sustainable management of resources aims to promote the responsible management of resources in order to promote the transition to the circular economy. First and foremost, the good performance of a site can thus be defined as the most effective way to optimize the resources used. This performance is also reflected in the reduction of the impact attributable to the use of resources throughout the life cycle of products and services. The main focuses for the deployment of this policy are incorporating as much reused, recycled or bio-sourced content into its products as possible, generating as little production waste as possible, and recovering waste from its processes internally or externally. In line with the Group’s Health policy and in compliance with local regulations, the management of hazardous waste is closely monitored to protect the health of employees, residents, customers and users of its products and services. By encouraging cross-functional actions and synergies between its various industrial and distribution business lines, the Group is committed to providing innovative solutions and seizing opportunities related to the challenges of respectful management of materials, and of the efficient processing and transformation of waste. The specific action plans to promote the circular economy are described in this chapter. Incorporate maximum reused, recycled or bio-sourced content into products Some of Saint-Gobain’s products can be recycled indefinitely in a closed loop in their industrial process, which is then adapted to the replacement of natural raw materials with recycled materials from either internal or external collection. Therefore, their inclusion in the products essentially depends on the existence of efficient, long-term collection networks.
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