Groupe Renault - 2019 Universal Registration Document

02

ENVIRONMENT RENAULT: A RESPONSIBLE COMPANY

When the production of waste cannot be avoided, an effort is made to reduce the quantity by separating the portion that is not strictly-speaking waste (recoverable active substances, water, etc.). For example, the filtering systems for paint sludge facilitate a reduction in the quantities of waste to be eliminated since they extract the water contained in the sludge. Optimization of sludge drainage at the Palencia plant resulted in a 25% reduction in the ratio of production of paint sludge to vehicles produced between 2018 and 2019. Similarly, the separation of dry matter and oils contained in the sludge and the shavings from machining reduces the tonnage of waste and facilitates the recovery of oils that can be reused in the manufacturing process. The installation of an evaporator-concentrator at the Seville plant at the end of 2017 made it possible to reduce the tonnage of hazardous waste by about 30% between 2017 and 2018; reuse spent products, production offcuts and scrap: in assembly P plants, excess anti-corrosion protection waxes are recovered after application, filtered and returned to the production system. Following the implementation of regeneration of solvents used to rinse the painting robots on most sites, the re-use of these regenerated solvents in the paint lines is now in place at the Batilly, Maubeuge, Flins, Sandouville (France) and Valladolid (Spain) sites. In Colombia, the Medellin plant has been recycling its paint solvents internally since 2014, enabling the plant to almost completely eliminate solvent waste. As regards powertrain manufacturing sites, the Cléon plant collects and regenerates used stamping and hydraulic oils from the Flins plant to use as a substitute for new oils. When they are in good condition, used wood pallets are re-used within the Company or resold for the same purpose. Gaïa, a subsidiary of Renault Environnement, recovers unused end-of-series parts from within the plants, sorts them and sells them; recycle the materials contained within the waste. This form of P waste treatment can be applied to most recoverable materials (cardboard, plastic, metal, etc.). In this way, metallic waste, which represents over 70% of the total production waste, is almost completely recycled. Paper, cardboard and plastics are also systematically sorted for recycling. However, beyond these “traditional” recyclable waste categories, some more complex types of waste that may initially appear of no value can also be recycled through incorporation in the composition of new materials. Therefore, ashes from the biomass boilers at the Tangiers plant in Morocco (more than 900 metric tons in 2019) are used in bio fertilizers certified for use in organic farming. Similarly, since mid-2017, the Busan plant in South Korea recycles the sludge from its treatment and phosphating system by channeling it into cement manufacturing as a mineral input (more than 800 metric tons in 2019); recover energy: P by using waste as an alternative fuel: as an example, the site at P Flins, since 2017, has been sending part of its hazardous waste (more than 300 tons in 2019) to a facility for the preparation of Substitute Solid Fuel supplied to cement works as an alternative to fuel oil for the combustion units,

Designing vehicles that are recyclable and material-efficient

Renault anticipated the European regulatory requirement whereby 95% of vehicle mass should be recyclable or recoverable, and implemented it on all models brought to market as of 2007. In addition, it has been voluntarily applied to all vehicles sold by Groupe Renault worldwide. Accordingly, since the early 2000s, the

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design of Renault vehicles has taken dismantling and recycling requirements into account. For example, dismantling has been made easier by reducing the number of fixing points. Similarly, preference is given to recyclable materials for which recycling systems exist; whenever possible, a single part will not contain materials that cannot be recycled together; and tanks are shaped to allow all fuel and oil to be removed. During the design phase, every vehicle project is monitored by a recycling specialist. The possibility of renovating powertrains or certain of their parts (remanufacturing) is also taken into consideration from the beginning of their design by facilitating the dismantling and assessment of their components. Renault is also working at reducing the amount of materials used in manufacturing its vehicles. Renault has introduced two technological advances to the steel used in vehicle bodies, in order to reduce the consumption of sheet metal: the use of sheet metal with high elastic limits (including P hot-pressed steel) reduces the thickness and therefore the mass of the parts; stamping processes have been optimized to improve material P consumption, i.e., the ratio between the mass of the part and the initial mass of the metal blank. These processes allow smaller blanks to be used to make the same part and generate less metal waste. Reducing at source and recovering industrial waste

In accordance with the principles of the circular economy, Renault has adopted a preventive approach to achieve the maximum reduction in the environmental impacts associated with the production of waste, through the implementation of the following principles, in order of priority: reduce the quantity of waste P generated at source, by first

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eliminating the source of its creation, where possible: this means that the use of sustainable packaging in the transportation of manufacturing parts is favored over that of single-use packaging, particularly for high-volume parts and short logistical flows (the economic and carbon assessments incorporating the return of empty packaging are not favorable for low volumes transported over long distances).

176 GROUPE RENAULT I UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2019

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