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DILEMMA 2 Duty of vigilance: supporting small suppliers or limiting the risks by focusing on the biggest players

As a company that places orders with other companies, in order to satisfy the requirements of French law on the duty of vigilance, SUEZ has to do everything it can to control the risks of abuses of human rights, health and safety and the environment in its value chain.

To achieve this, there are two possible approaches for the Group and its buyers. On one hand, giving preference to large suppliers and leaders in their fields, preferably French and thus subject to the same legal requirements, giving SUEZ a level of operational and legal security. On the other, working with smaller suppliers that may be less well-prepared to deal with these risks, which SUEZ will thus have to support in improving their practices. The solution to this equation depends largely on the resources available to the Group to deploy a responsible procurement policy in all the territories where it operates. SUEZ seeks wherever possible to pool its efforts to monitor and support suppliers with other companies contracting with its suppliers.

DILEMMA 1 How to improve the management of plastic waste?

Given the global profile of this subject, SUEZ placed the dilemmas of plastic management on the agenda of its annual stakeholder consultation. There are few spaces where the many players concerned can discuss the issue freely, with no regard for regulatory, commercial or media considerations.

Although SUEZ could theoretically recycle all plastics, certain flows still fall through the net and the recycled product does not necessarily find commercial outlets. Given this, how should the investments needed to achieve the very ambitious regulatory requirements be targeted? What can SUEZ do to overcome the obstacles encountered by players in the plastic value chain? As the regulatory issues and ecosystems of players are specific to each country, the dialogue first took place in France. The discussions focused in particular on how to develop a deposit system, which, concentrating on easily recyclable resins such as PET, could weaken the economic balance of public- service waste management. The 37 participants plastics experts, industrial users of plastics, public organisations, representatives of associations, SUEZ experts and managers also discussed the comparative advantages of various recovery methods for different types of resins and different uses, together with levers for developing eco-design for products containing plastic. In 2019, this consultation will be extended to the Group s other markets, including China, where the prohibition on plastic waste imports in 2018 has disrupted the international markets.TH

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Companies are often faced with the dilemma of choosing between equally legitimate approaches. SUEZ decided to formulate these dilemmas and explore them freely with stakeholders.

STRATEGY VALUE CREATION STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ACCELERATORS DILEMMAS SDG