Sustainability Statement Workers in the value chain (S2) 04 4.9 WORKERS IN THE VALUE CHAIN (S2) Three questions for Vincent Rousset-Rouvière, Chief Procurement Officer Workers in the value chain: a more focused approach to the natural rubber supply chain “Michelin was the first tire manufacturer to deploy a sustainable natural rubber policy” Why have you taken a special approach to your natural rubber supply chain? For the past 10 years, well ahead of any regulations, Michelin has been demonstrating its duty of care to its supply chain with, for example, a Sustainable Purchasing Policy and assessments of its suppliers’ CSR maturity. To take these commitments to the next level, we have to factor in the notion of accountability, to focus initiatives where risks are especially acute and where the Group can make a difference. And in fact, it turns out that human rights risks are especially high in the natural rubber production value chain (located in Southeast Asia or West Africa, with a large workforce) and that the tire industry represents around threequarters of the natural rubber market. This explains why the tire industry, and with it, Michelin, is particularly accountable with regards to this issue. What is the objective of the Group’s Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy? Michelin was the first tire manufacturer to deploy such a policy, in 2016. It was drafted in partnership with the WWF and has since been updated, with input from a large number of stakeholders. It specifies the Group’s commitments, informs our decisions and formally defines our expectations for the value chain. It is also backed by a roadmap with detailed, results-oriented objectives. The Group’s transparency and performance have been recognized by SPOTT, whose assessments ranked Michelin No. 1 in the tire manufacturer category for natural rubber ESG disclosures in 2022, 2023 and 2024. How do you identify worker-related risks in the natural rubber supply chain and how do you respond? In 2017, Michelin developed a particularly innovative solution called RubberWay, which has since been widely deployed by the Group and also now taken up by our competitors. It provides a highly granular map of worker-related and other risks at different points in the supply chain that are also precisely geo-located. This then enables pragmatic risk mitigation projects to be deployed where they’re needed, on the ground, in collaboration with village smallholders. Read on to find out more about our approach. 272 2024 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT_MICHELIN
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