Vetoquinol - Universal Registration Document - 2021

2 Vetoquinol Universal Registration Document 2020 Financial report 57 STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Social footprint 2.7.1.2 Development of eco-friendly initiatives by Vetoquinol and its subsidiaries In Canada, for the sixth year in a row, the members of the Comité Vert (an eco-friendly committee comprising around 20 employees) undertook the clean-up of site surroundings as part of “Earth Day” under the guidance of the Lavaltrie city council. In France, single-use plastic for water and coffee machines has been eliminated. Each employee has received an Ecocup glass and a coffee cup. For the pro- duction and reception areas, cups made of eco-friendly materials are available. 2.7.2 Animal welfarep Vetoquinol has defined its mission as follows: “To enrich human lives through devotion to animal health and welfare”. This means that all of the laboratory’s products, ser- vices, solutions, practices and activities will contribute to improving the health and well-being of animals and therefore of humans. Animal welfare refers to “the quality of life as experienced by an individual animal”. Assessing an animal’s welfare level requires a combination of knowledge, experience, empathy and sensitivity. Five “fundamental freedoms” describe society’s expectations of the living conditions of animals when they are under human care. They have been included in the definition of animal welfare of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and are now a benchmark. They are the basis for most international, European and French regulatory policies: 1.absence of hunger, thirst and malnutrition, 2.absence of fear and distress, 3.absence of physical or thermal stress, 4.absence of pain, injury and disease, 5.possibility for the animal to express the normal beha- viors of its species. At the national level, the concept of animal welfare has also been specified by ANSES, the French Natio- nal Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety: it is “the positive mental and physical state linked to the satisfaction of the physiological and beha- vioral needs of the animal, as well as its expectations”. In concrete terms, certain aspects of Vetoquinol’s Sustai- nable Development commitment have a direct impact on animal welfare: 1. Vetoquinol designs, produces and markets pro- ducts, services and solutions to improve the comfort and health (i.e. the well-being) of animals. This is its primary mission. 2. Through animal welfare, Vetoquinol contributes to the well-being of people, whether they are veterinarians, breeders, private pet owners or animal consumers. 3. All Vetoquinol employees in charge of animals respect the 3Rs rule (replace, reduce, refine) and behave in accordance with the “Five Freedoms” to promote animal welfare. 4. Limit the use of natural resources, save energy and reduce waste: Vetoquinol is one of the first companies in France to have equipped its treatment plant in Lure to reduce the drug content of the water it discharges into the natural environment by 99%. This investment goes beyond current regulatory requirements. This means that, in accordance with the concept of sus- tainable development and with its mission, Vetoquinol is committed on a daily basis to preserving animal and human welfare for current and future generations.