Saint Gobain - Registration document 2016

4 AN EFFICIENT AND RESPONSIBLE GROUP 2. Operational excellence policies

its industrial sites to the water risk. The Water standard is applied as a priority on the sites with the highest water risks. Saint-Gobain regularly evaluates the level of exposure of all The Pipe Activity site situated in Pont-à-Mousson, France, commissioned new facilities in 2016 in order to largely increase the recycling rate of the water used by the site. This project began in 2010 with a rationalization of use and an to 2015. improvement in the water treatment devices, and ended with the commissioning of water cooling towers. Over the year 2016, this project made it possible to reduce water withdrawals by 77% and water discharges by 67% compared In 2016, the Huntsville site in USA was awarded an Emerald for an exemplary project in the water category that made it possible to reduce river water withdrawals by 25% in one year. The Group’s commitment to water preservation has led it to participate in the CDP Water Disclosure since 2012, which aims to encourage businesses to report in detail on the risks and opportunities concerning water management and to report results transparently. sustainable and fair use thereof and managing to involve all parties concerned. significant internal expertise on the subject. It is now a question of grasping every aspect of the subject. Saint-Gobain has set itself the ambition of preserving, restoring, increasing and enhancing biodiversity, ensuring the marked impact or to areas with remarkable biodiversity. Based on its experience in quarries, the Group today has Saint-Gobain is committed in particular to those sites with a The Biodiversity Policy is currently being prepared for publication in 2017. In 2016, a mapping study was conducted using geographical tools on all the sites initially to evaluate their sensitivity to the ecosystems based on their proximity to areas of high management of biodiversity and an action plan for the application of the Biodiversity policy based on the specific features of their sites. results will be sent to the Activities, which will refine this work in 2017 based on more specific criteria. The full analysis will enable them to draw up an initial list of priority sites for the biodiversity value. The protected areas considered are areas recognized by the UICN or more locally defined as Natura 2000 or RAMSAR areas or other national areas. This initial level of analysis attributes a score to all the sites and the Biodiversity and soil use 2.3.4 Objectives sites as far as possible 2025: to promote the preservation of natural areas on the

nitrogen oxides (NO x ). acidification of the environment: sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and Some Saint-Gobain factories, mainly the glass furnaces and the Pipe Activity sites, emit substances that participate in the The primary measures introduced to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions include the reduction in energy consumption and the use of fuels with a low sulfur content. Primary measures to optimize processes, particularly combustion, make it possible to reduce NO x emissions at source. also installed. secondary treatment of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is In addition to these primary measures, equipment for the Objectives (1) Water discharges: -80% (2010-2025) ‹ In the long-term, no industrial water discharge in liquid form Saint-Gobain’s Water Policy, which was adopted in 2011, followed the signature in 2009 of the CEO Water Mandate by Pierre-André de Chalendar. It confirms the desire to reduce the quantitative and qualitative impact of Saint-Gobain’s activities on water resources as much as possible, both on withdrawals and on discharges. natural environments and/or for other parties involved. 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 the Pipe Activity. The medium-term objective to reduce water discharges by 80% was fixed taking current and future projects into account in Saint-Gobain’s Activities contributing the most, particularly Particular attention is paid to limiting the Group’s withdrawals in water stress areas and in not competing for access to drinking water with the local populations. observe in future. It makes it possible to structure the improvement of the performance of sites in water management and the prevention of risks of water constraints, pollution and flooding. Its application aims to reduce the risks that describes the minimum requirements that the sites must To support the application of its Water Policy on the industrial sites, Saint-Gobain has defined a Water standard connected with water and the quantities of water withdrawn and of liquid water discharged, to favor the least sensitive sources of withdrawal and discharges, to control the quality of the water and to prevent accidental pollution. Water management 2.3.3

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Based on iso-production for the scope concerned. (1)

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SAINT-GOBAIN - REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2016

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