Sustainability Statement Biodiversity and ecosystems (E4) 04 4.5 BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS (E4) Three questions for Antoine Sautenet, Chief Sustainability Officer “An analysis of our dependencies and impacts on nature leads us to prioritize our initiatives in the natural rubber value chain. ” How does Michelin come to grips with an issue as complex as biodiversity and what are the Group’s commitments in this area? Biodiversity is indeed an issue that is hard for companies, especially manufacturers, to get a handle on. There are two main reasons for this. One is that determining a company’s biodiversity footprint requires an understanding of local impacts, without any standardized metrics, such the tonnes of CO2 used for climate-related matters. The other is that a company’s dependencies on nature have to be assessed on several levels, in the upstream value chain (e.g., raw materials supply) but also indirectly (e.g., dependence on one or more watersheds to supply water to a production plant). With this in mind, in 2018, Michelin formally expressed its commitment to biodiversity by joining the Act4nature international initiative(1), with the goal of easing the pressures from its operations across the value chain. Based on an assessment of Michelin’s dependencies and impacts, these commitments were renewed in 2024, in three main areas: n raw materials. The Group is committed to having all the natural rubber it uses assessed as deforestation-free in 2030. For the other raw materials, the Group is going to review its suppliers’ biodiversity preservation policies; n research and development. In 2030, life cycle assessments, using biodiversity criteria from the most mature LCA methods, will be performed for every new product or service brought to market. n production and research sites. The Group is committed to limiting the environmental footprint of every site and to preserving the animal and plant life on and around their sites. This has been expressed in two major 2030 targets for all the sites: to eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides in groundskeeping and to implement a biodiversity management plan. Michelin is also one of the early adopters of the recommendations of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), to align itself with the targets defined by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the COP15 and to enhance its transparency in disclosing the impact of its operations on nature. In this way, Michelin hopes to make a difference as an engaged stakeholder striving to exert its influence with companies, public authorities and local communities at the global, regional and national levels. What is the Group’s policy on sustainable natural rubber, one of Michelin’s core biodiversity commitments? Michelin’s business is fundamentally dependent on biodiversity and ecosystem services, particularly the ones that support the production of natural rubber – a sustainable, renewable resource that accounts for around 21% of the raw materials used by the Group. As one of the world’s leading purchasers of natural rubber, Michelin is well aware that growing global demand can lead to bad practices. That’s why it has long been engaged in supporting an equitable, eco-responsible, ultimately deforestation-free supply chain. Our Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy issued in 2015, and updated in 2021, addresses both social and environmental matters, with a particular focus on improving farming practices and safeguarding forests. Here too, Michelin is engaged and exerting its influence, in particular through its leadership role in the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and its strategic partnership with WWF to protect biodiversity. What are some of Michelin’s impactful initiatives to support biodiversity? The example of the Group's rubber plantation in Indonesia, operated by Royal Lestari Utama (RLU), offers a compelling illustration of our positive, results-oriented approach to biodiversity. The plantation comprises 88,000 hectares of concessions on Sumatra and Borneo in regions that had been severely degraded and deforested prior to Michelin’s involvement in 2015. Its operations offers a compelling demonstration of our vision, with the development of sustainable natural rubber production. At the same time, the Group has undertaken to preserve and restore a further 15,000 hectares over the next 20 years, backed by a dedicated budget. (1) See the initiative’s website, at https://www.act4nature.com/. 238 2024 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN
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