Saint-Gobain // Universal Registration Document 2021

2 Strategy The Group’s environment www.saint-gobain.com SAINT-GOBAIN UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2021 42 Thanks to its solutions for construction and industry, and also thanks to the improvement of its own processes, Saint-Gobain can and must respond to this challenge. This will require accelerating the transition to a circular economy, taking into account the entire life cycle of its products and solutions, in order to limit their consumption of natural resources, extend their lifespan and promote their recycling, to reduce the production of non-recovered waste (see chapter 3, section 2.2). Demographics and urbanization 1.1.3 The global population is estimated at 7.8 billion people in 2021, an increase of 1.1% from 2015 to 2020 (1), with a projection of 9.7 billion inhabitants in 2050 and 11 billion inhabitants in 2100 (2), which represents an increase of more than two billion inhabitants in just thirty years (i.e. nearly 25%). The evolution of the age structure in developed countries is already leading to a continuous aging of the population, generating specific needs for adapting housing. This is also a fundamental trend that will gradually affect other geographical regions, with life expectancy worldwide expected to exceed 80 years of age in 2080, compared to 72 in 2020 (3). This rapidly growing global population has also been predominantly urban since 2007, with (4) the urbanization rate already exceeding 80% in high and middle income countries (5). This is due not only to the creation of new towns from scratch, but also to the densification and increase in the size of existing cities, often with old buildings. The number of mega-cities is expected to increase from 33 in 2018 to 43 in 2030, an increase of almost one third in the space of twelve years. This megatrend is strongly linked to other global dynamics: cities already account for more than 60% of energy and natural resources consumption, and more than 70% of GHG emissions globally. Urban areas are also particularly exposed to the consequences of climate change: the land on which they are built, impermeable and largely devoid of vegetation, make them vulnerable to the average increase in temperatures, the higher frequency of high temperatures, and extreme phenomena such as flooding. This trend towards population concentration in cities, which is mainly the result of emerging countries, was not challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic. sports, commerce or entertainment. To design current and future cities, in addition to large-scale financial investments, we must think in terms of uses and systems, exploit data in an intelligent way, and incorporate the expectations of all of society’s stakeholders, anticipating future developments and natural risks; the challenge is to build buildings that are easier to repair, rebuild or dismantle. Cities need to be made resilient in the face of climate change, which requires in particular the construction of buildings that not only meet the conditions or standards that exist at the time of their delivery, but are also such that they can be adapted to the situation of their environment in 2050 and beyond. Rapid urbanization automatically leads to constraints and new needs, to which rapid, sustainable and virtuous responses must be provided. This concerns access to decent housing for all, waste management, energy supply, and also all infrastructures such as transport and collective use areas, from offices to hospitals and places used for Continuous urbanization represents major growth opportunities for Saint-Gobain, as much as it reinforces its responsibility to have a positive impact. The Group has a central role to play in meeting the needs of affordable and sustainable construction, so that everyone can benefit from decent housing. It also contributes to the development of new, smarter and more sustainable mobility solutions (see chapter 1, section 4.1.2.1). Digitalization 1.1.4 Digitalization, a phenomenon that has reached maturity in many sectors, continues to strongly influence the development of all sectors in which Saint-Gobain operates. In distribution, the underlying trend of constant expansion of e-commerce was further accelerated by the pandemic that began in 2020 and which led, for example, to the share of e-commerce exceeding 15% of total retail in the United States (6). Beyond the transposition of offers via digital platforms, and the attention paid to the ergonomics of websites, the challenge today is to take into account user experience in a comprehensive way and thus recreate a direct and special link between brands on the one hand and customers and end users on the other, offering a customized experience to each. This can be done by designing offers integrating associated services; by collecting and analyzing data, while respecting privacy; by taking into account all channels and points of contact (web, mobile, social networks, or points of sale). The evolution of technologies and uses requires brands to constantly assess trends and eventually integrate new tools and new features such as augmented reality, m-commerce or voice search. Beyond the purely commercial relationship, the decompartmentalization brought by digital technology encourages product brands and distribution brands to holistically redefine the relationship with all their stakeholders, including their employees, their suppliers, and the general public. (1) United Nations Population Fund: “World population” – https://www.unfpa.org/en/data/world-population-dashboard (2) United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs: “World Population Prospects 2019” – https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/ (3) Id. (4) United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs: “World Urbanization Prospects 2018”, p. 11 – https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Highlights.pdf (5) United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, “World Urbanization Prospects 2018”, p. 8 – https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Highlights.pdf (6) https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzMxNTcx