32 2024 DECLARATION OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE _ DESCOURS & CABAUD RISKS AND CONSEQUENCES The Sapin 2 Law sets the main objectives which consist in “reinforcing the transparency of public decisiontaking procedures, better preventing corruption and punishing it as quickly and severely as possible”; and “placing France on a par with the best international standards in the fields of transparency and of the fight against corruption.” This law includes an ambitious anticorruption mechanism and establishes new obligations for companies to prevent risks of corruption or the illegal protection of corporate self-interest. It applies to all international subsidiaries of the Group. Given its geographical reach, the Group pays constant attention to the application of this law. The risks incurred can reach €200,000 for individuals and €1m for legal entities. In addition to these financial penalties, the Group is also potentially exposed to the risk of harm to its image, whose impacts on performance may be measured in the short or medium term. MEANS OF CONTROL In its ethics charter, DESCOURS & CABAUD states the common values around which it wants to unite the actions of all its employees and the conduct that each of them must adopt with the company's customers, suppliers and partners. In addition to sharing these fundamental elements, the Group has put in place the measures required by law, including: • A corruption risk map to identify, analyze and prioritize the company's specific exposure risks. This initial map has been produced in France following interviews with managers, both in terms of actual risks encountered and in terms of potential risks; • An anti-corruption code of conduct, translated into the languages of the countries where the Group is present and given to all employees, which recalls the Group's commitment to a zero tolerance policy, presents the behaviors to be avoided and mentions the penalties in the case of violation; this code also incorporates principles for combating fraud, money laundering and discrimination; • A whistleblowing system that allows employees to report any breach or situation that is contrary to the code of conduct. It ensures the protection of whistleblowers as provided for by the Sapin 2 law. An Ethical Committee receives the alert, checks its validity, and, if appropriate, transmits it to one or more persons responsible for conducting an inquiry; • A training course for the sales force and its management. After the course was rolled out in France and then internationally in October 2021, efforts were stepped up in 2022 and 2023; • Internal and external accounting control procedures to ensure that the accounts do not hide corruption and influence peddling; • Procedures for assessing the situation of customers, primary suppliers and consultants in relation to the corruption risk map. COMPLIANCE THE RISK OF CORRUPTION
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