Saint Gobain - Registration document 2016

4 AN EFFICIENT AND RESPONSIBLE GROUP 2. Operational excellence policies

nuisances. environmental challenges identified by the Group: resources; energy, atmospheric emissions and climate; water; biodiversity and the use of soil; environmental accidents and These objectives are conveyed by means of short- and medium-term objectives which concern the five main The methodology of the WCM Environment pillar makes it possible to identify environmental aspects and differences and to reduce and control them (see chapter 4, section 2.1). The Saint-Gobain Group has drawn up a priority action framework for those sites representing the bulk of the Group’s environmental impact worldwide: these are the 558 sites concerned for the environment (see chapter 10, environmental impact. For water discharges, they represent, for example, 95% of the Group’s impact. composed of 558 sites which represent 91% of the Group’s section 2.1). The environmental objectives are set for the scope of these sites concerned by the environment Every year, Environment Emeralds are awarded to projects contributing towards reducing the environmental impact of our sites. In 2016, six Emeralds were awarded by a jury composed of Group employees and external personalities.

each Activity and each General Delegation have to draw up a roadmap by the end of 2019 to develop the circular economy

with three priorities:

have a maximum recycled content in its products; ‹ generate a minimum amount of production waste; ‹ recover the waste originating from these processes either ‹ internally or externally. In connection with the Health policy and in compliance with the local regulations, the management of dangerous waste is is closely monitored to protect the health of employees, residents, customers and users of its products and services. metal, etc.) enable the Saint-Gobain activities to reduce their consumption of raw materials. recovery of production waste internally and the use of external recycled materials (cullet, gypsum, recovered scrap (plaster) and sand (glass activities and mortars). The The two main raw materials used by the Group are gypsum Gypsum is a fully recyclable material. The main limits to its recycling lie in the difficulties of recovery and sorting of demolition waste. In order to increase the quantities recycled, national networks for the collection of plaster originating from construction sites have been established by Saint-Gobain in many European countries. For glass furnaces (3) , the reduction in the consumption of resources essentially results from the inclusion of cullet (4) among the materials placed in the furnace. The Group's internal logistics are being optimized to increase the flow of cullet between the processing sites (Sekurit, Building Glass Europe) and the flat glass production sites. To obtain cast iron, the Pipe Activity uses two fusion processes: one, known as “first fusion”, involves the reduction cast iron. Through the “second fusion” process, more recycled in iron oxide ores in the blast furnaces; the other, known as “second fusion”, is carried out by fusing scrap and recovery raw materials are incorporated in the cast iron production. The annual quantities are depending on their availability on the market. all of the Group's Activities. In 2016, Saint-Gobain Cougnaud in Aizenay, France, manufacturer of PVC windows, was awarded an Environment Emerald for an exemplary project in the raw materials and waste category. This project allowed to Optimizing the recycling of internal waste products involves PVC of Lapeyre Industries with the involvement of an external partner. reduce the waste PVC tonnage on site by 33%. This recycling method could be deployed over time on several sites using increase the amount of PVC waste recycled and allowed to Promote the use of recycled materials a)

2.3.1

Sustainable management of

resources

Target (1) Non-recovered waste: -50% (2010-2025) ‹ In the long term, zero non-recovered waste

recovery of waste is also a major challenge for Saint-Gobain. competitiveness and continuity of the Group’s activities by securing supplies and by anticipating changes in legislation and the depletion of natural resources. The treatment and Faced with the decline in raw materials, the sustainable management of resources makes it possible to ensure the Developed in 2015, the Sustainable Management of Resources Policy (2) aims to reduce the impact of the use of resources and their responsible management to favor the transition to a management of resources during the lifecycle of its products, throughout the entire value chain. circular economy. Through cross-business actions and synergies between industry and distribution, Saint-Gobain undertakes to provide innovating solutions for the sustainable In 2016, short- and medium-term objectives were defined for the application of this policy, with a view to the implementation thereof by all General Delegations, Activities and Group divisions, observing local regulations. In particular,

Based on iso-production for the scope concerned. (1) Saint-Gobain’s Sustainable Management of Resources Policy is available on request from the Group’s EHS Department. (2) Furnaces used for flat glass and for glass wool. (3) Broken glass originating from manufacturing waste or from the selective collection of waste and recycling content. (4)

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SAINT-GOBAIN - REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2016

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