Groupe Renault - 2019 Universal Registration Document

RENAULT: A RESPONSIBLE COMPANY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF RENAULT ON APRIL 24, 2020

GROUPE RENAULT

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

RENAULT AND ITS SHAREHOLDERS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ENVIRONMENT

recycling of metallic waste from manufacturing (sheet metal, P shavings from machining). Loops between Renault plants or between Renault plants and suppliers of metal parts have been set up in France, Spain, and Brazil; recycling of platinum-group metals. Gaïa collects catalytic P converters from end-of-life vehicles from dismantlers, from which it extracts the platinum-group metals. These recycled metals are then sold to an auto industry supplier to be re-used in the manufacturing of catalytic converters. recycling of textile fibers from seat belt and fabric production P offcuts to produce interior vehicle trims (see example of the New ZOE at the end of this section). These closed loops contribute to the achievement of Renault’s objectives for the use of recycled materials in new vehicles. The collection and transportation of materials during the recycling process are also optimized to achieve the greatest reduction in the environmental footprint of the recycled materials. The Group regularly develops new ways of reusing materials from end-of-life vehicles, notably through collaborative research projects bringing together manufacturers, local authorities, ADEME and universities (see boxed section). Accordingly, the development of an acoustic insulating material for soundproofing vehicles using recycled automotive textiles and professional clothing in an exclusive process received the technical validation of the Engineering department, with a view to developing applications on the range’s vehicles. Each Espace therefore contains more than 50kg of recycled plastics, including one-third from post-consumer recycling. (1)

Recycling: develop new recycling routes, use recycled materials

In accordance with the principles of the circular economy, Renault’s objective is to ensure not only that waste from the automotive industry is recycled but, whenever possible, that it is recycled within the automotive industry itself (closed loop). The challenge is to maintain the technical qualities and economic value of materials during recycling.

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MATERIALS

At end-2019, the closed-loop networks set up by Renault included: the recycling of metal parts from vehicle maintenance and repair. P These flows, set up in 2012, consisted of faulty engines and gearboxes sent for renovation: once processed, components that are not reused in the refurbished parts are recycled in Renault’s foundries; copper recycling. The wire bought back from the dismantlers of P end-of-life vehicles by Gaïa is processed to recover the copper. The copper is then re-sold either to the Fonderie de Bretagne (Groupe Renault) for the production of pearlitic cast iron or to auto industry suppliers for aluminum processing. The copper recycled by Gaïa is of a high-quality, enabling it to meet demanding technical specifications and to replace virgin or post-industrial material; recycling of polypropylene (plastic material). Gaïa collects P bumpers from dismantlers and garages and ensures that they are processed in order to meet the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s technical specifications. Seven grades of polypropylene provided by this recycling network have been listed with the Renault Materials Panel, of which three are used for mass production applications and four are currently awaiting approval for vehicle projects; Circular economy collaborative research projects Groupe Renault is involved in many collaborative research projects in the circular economy, for which it is most often the initiator and leader, bringing together a network of partners from the automotive industry and the worlds of recycling, research and education. 2015 had seen the culmination of the Innovative Car Recycling 95% project (ICARRE95), whose purpose was to show how to recover 95% of the mass of ELVs (end-of-life vehicles) under conditions that are economically profitable for all stakeholders, through: creating and setting up new networks for parts or materials 1. that are less frequently or never recycled by stakeholders in this area; alternative logistics that aim to reduce the environmental 2. footprint of transport in the recycling process;

the development of recycling skills through training. 3. In continuity with ICARRE95, three projects piloted by Renault aim to develop the use of recycled materials in particular from end-of-life vehicles or other end-of-life products in the manufacturing of new vehicles: I – TREFIV (Thermoplastic Glass Fiber Recycling) Project: This collaborative project aims to produce structural parts from post-consumer polypropylene through the addition of fiberglass. It is conducted in partnership with other companies including SYNOVA, an SME specializing in the recycling of plastics that was already involved in the ICARRE95 project. Approval for its application to structural parts on Espace V (“functional front end”) was approved in 2017, and implemented in 2018.

Post-consumer recycled materials: materials from recycling end-of-life consumer goods, in contrast to post-industrial recycled materials (1) coming from manufacturing waste.

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GROUPE RENAULT I UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2019