Environmental / Social / Governance

Uranium is important to the transition to a low-carbon economy

Strong female representation at the management and Board level

The highest levels of safety in the storage of uranium

A skilled, committed and independent Board

Environmental, social and governance considerations are vital to Yellow Cake’s performance and wider impact.

While we do not engage in mining activities or directly handle inventory, we are committed to monitoring and minimising environmental, social and governance risk across our supply chain, particularly those associated with our key suppliers. Our Supplier Standards Policy sets out the Group’s standards in the areas of health and safety, business integrity and legal compliance, labour and human rights, environmental stewardship, treatment of host communities, and reporting.

We conduct annual risk-based due diligence on suppliers and business partners to identify potential risks in their governance, environmental, social and ethical practices. Counterparty due diligence is undertaken before entering relationships with material suppliers and ahead of any material payments being made to existing suppliers. Additional ad hoc counterparty due diligence is undertaken where circumstances give rise to increased risk.

External ESG assessment

In line with Yellow Cake’s commitment to ESG principles, we commission an annual external and independent risk-based assessment of our primary supplier and business partners.

More detail and key findings can be found in our 2025 Annual Reportdownload

Yellow Cake is committed to monitoring and minimising environmental risk at its primary supplier and main business partners.

  • Nuclear energy is widely recognised as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels with an important role in the global energy transition.
  • Mining in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the source of more than half of the Group’s current uranium holdings, uses in-situ recovery for uranium extraction. This method is associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions and surface disruption compared to conventional mining.
  • Our primary supplier and storage partners track and report their greenhouse gas emissions.

Yellow Cake is committed to maintaining high standards for employee and stakeholder well-being, including health, safety, equal opportunities and whistleblowing protection. The Group monitors the social performance of its suppliers to ensure alignment with these values.

  • We are committed to gender diversity. Women make up 42% of the Board and 50% of management.
  • Our partners (Kazatomprom, Cameco, and Orano) have robust standards for the health, safety, and well-being of their employees, which are regularly assessed by regulators and external monitors.
  • Our partners hold internationally accepted health and safety certifications and their systems are regularly monitored by independent bodies for compliance.
  • Yellow Cake values its dialogue with stakeholders and proactively facilitates opportunities for engagement.
  • The Group applies the principles and provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018, to the degree appropriate to the size and nature of Yellow Cake’s business.
  • We are committed to good governance and high ethical standards, and have zero-tolerance for bribery, corruption, unethical practices and anti-competitive behaviour. The Group works with partners to eliminate such behaviour from its supply chain and commissions independent reviews of its activities and those of its suppliers.
  • Policies and measures are in place to prevent bribery, modern slavery, inducements and money laundering, and to ensure compliance with economic sanctions. These include a whistleblowing policy. The operational and performance requirements for employees, directors, business partners, contractors and advisers are established in the Code of Conduct, which also promotes the Group’s key values of dignity, diversity, business integrity and accountability.

Mining of uranium has similar social and environmental impacts to the mining of other metals and minerals, and is regulated in terms of local legislation on health, safety and environmental protection.

Uranium ore and U3O8 are mildly radioactive, although prolonged exposure can cause damage. Uranium is handled and contained to prevent inhalation or ingestion as it is toxic chemically. Radioactivity and toxicity increase during concentration and enrichment, which happen later in the nuclear fuel value chain.

  • The U3O8 currently owned by Yellow Cake is stored in metal drums in storage accounts at licenced storage facilities at Cameco’s Port Hope/Blind River operation in Canada and Orano’s Malvési/Tricastin site in France.
  • Kazatomprom implements radiation monitoring and safe working practices, and the management systems at their operations and at the storage facilities (Cameco and Orano) adhere to national regulations and align with OHSAS 18001 or ISO 45001 and ISO 14001.

Yellow Cake is monitoring the development and adoption of the new sustainability- and climate-related disclosures required by the International Financial Reporting Standards Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS) S1 and S2. As part of the Group’s journey towards reporting in terms of the standards, we started the process of determining climate-related and sustainability-related risks and opportunities and identifying material information to report.

The process included defining the Group’s value chain and conducting a formal materiality assessment to identify climate-related and sustainability-related risks and opportunities in the Group’s value chain that could reasonably be expected to affect its prospects over the short, medium and long term. The materiality process was performed by a multi-disciplinary team led by the Group’s Executive members in consultation with external advisers.

Identified risks and opportunities were subjected to a qualitative and quantitative materiality evaluation to produce a set of prioritised climate-related and sustainability-related matters. The Group’s approach to sustainability governance and risk management was also assessed. The output of the process will be used to develop a more formal reporting framework to enhance sustainability reporting in future periods and move towards reporting in terms of IFRS S1 and S2.

Yellow Cake determines topic boundaries for reporting ESG with reference to the United Nations Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

We take into account both direct impacts and indirect impacts arising from our business relationships with suppliers, and define materiality to include topics that affect Yellow Cake’s economic, environmental, and social impacts on stakeholders and society.