At the start of 2005, AREVA enlisted Vigeo to perform a rating exercise to assess the social responsibility of its uranium mining activity.
The Vigeo audit process measures social responsibility in five different areas: human rights, human resources, environment, customer and supplier relations, and community involvement.
On a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being the highest grade and represents a company's "high level of commitment" in the area in question), Vigeo puts AREVA's uranium mining activity at "an average level" of between 2 and 3 depending on the area.
Extract from the VIGEO evaluation
Yves Coupin, AREVA Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development and Continuous Improvement, stated: "The Vigeo evaluation of AREVA's uranium mining activity is part of an effort by the group to examine the sustainable development stakes of its businesses and measure its social commitment practices using recognized standards. This rating process saw the Mining Business Unit come in at an average level. Yet the last three years show a positive trend in all of the five areas examined, which stands as a testimony to the Continuous Improvement initiative carried out within AREVA."