Environmental / Social / Governance

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An important participant in 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 the reduction of environmental, social and governance risk at our primary supplier and main business partners. Our Supplier Standards Policy sets out the Company’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. Risk-based due diligence is also conducted for all material transaction with existing or new counterparties.

Environment

Yellow Cake is committed to the reduction of environmental risk at our primary supplier and main business partners.

Nuclear energy is key to fulfilling global decarbonisation goals and Yellow Cake has a role to play in facilitating the energy transition.
Kazatomprom, our primary supplier, uses in-situ recovery for uranium extraction, a method producing fewer emissions than other methods.
Our primary supplier and storage partners track and report their greenhouse gas emissions.

Social

Yellow Cake continues to implement its policies on employee and stakeholder well-being, including health and safety, equal opportunities, and whistleblowing protection.

Our partners (Kazatomprom, Cameco, and Orano) have well-developed standards for the health, safety, and well-being of their employees, which are regularly assessed by both 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.
We are committed to female representation with women making up 43% of the Board and 50% of management.

Governance

The Company 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 and unethical practices.
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 Company’s key values of dignity, diversity, business integrity, compliance and accountability.

Product Responsibility

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.

ESG reporting boundaries and identification of material issues

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 defines materiality to include topics that affect Yellow Cake’s economic, environmental, and social impacts on stakeholders and society.

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 2023 Integrated Report