Pillar 4: Foster communities

We believe that engaging with neighbouring communities can make a difference in improving their local life, while enhancing our employee sense of belonging.

“For me, it’s about understanding that our work matters beyond our buisness. Through the Our Resonance Foundation, we support local projects that make a real difference close to home. As a parent, I want my children to grow up seeing companies act responsibly within their communities.”

Dominic Zuber
Head of Quality Unit, SSE Civil Explosives & Valsynthese

Fostering strong relationships with local communities

The Double Materiality Assessment confirmed that community engagement and local development are important topics for SSE, reflecting the Group’s presence in multiple regions and its responsibility towards the communities where it operates.

In industries such as civil explosives and fine chemicals, operations are closely connected to local territories. Building trusted relationships with neighbouring communities and contributing to local development are therefore essential to the long-term sustainability of the Group.

Through the Foster Communities pillar, SSE support initiatives that improve quality of life, encourage local partnerships and create opportunities for employees and stakeholders to engage in meaningful projects.

This approach is structured around three key drivers: supporting community initiatives through the OUR RESONANCE Foundation, encouraging employee engagement and contributing to local devlopment across the regions where SSE operates.

Three drivers for communities at SSE

OUR RESONANCE Foundation
Employee community engagement
Local partnerships & development

Celebrating tradition and community

Across several countries where SSE operates in the mining and explosives sector, teams celebrate Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners and explosives workers. This long-standing tradition reflects the shared heritage of the industry and brings together employees, retirees and local communities.

By honouring this tradition and recognising long-term service, these celebrations strengthen the sense of belonging within SSE tems and reinforce the bonds between the Group and the communities where it operates.

Structuring community engagement across SSE

In 2025, SSE reached an important milestone in the development of the Foster Communities pillar with the creation and operational launch of the OUR RESONANCE Foundation.

This new foundation marks a step forward in structuring SSE’s commitment to the communities where the Group operates. During the year, priority was given to establishing the Foundation’s governance framework, consolidating its funding and launching the first community initiatives across several countries.

Moew than a philanthropic mechanism, the Foundation provides a structured platform enabling employees, partners and local organisations to work together and support environmental, social and community projects rooted in local needs.

Through this collective approach, SSE aims to generate lasting positive impact in the regions where it operates, while reinforcing the values that guide the Group: responsibility, solidarity and long-term commitment.

“With the creation of the OUR RESONANCE Foundation, we have taken an important step in turning our values into concrete action for the communities around us. What makes this initiative truly meaningful is the engagement of our employees across the Group, who propose and support projects that respond to real local needs. Even if each contribution may seem modest, together they create a positive wave of impact. For us, this Foundation is not a marketing initiative — it is a long-term commitment that reflects our responsibilty toward society and future generations.”

Gilles de Preux
CEO SSE Group
OUR RESONANCE Foundation President

OUR RESONANCE Foundation

Turning community commitment into action

Pillar 5: Driven by our purpose

We believe that only companies led by purpose and open to cooperate with external stakeholders can make positive impact

“The ESG report summarizes our achievements, identifies opportunities for improvement, and increases our transparency by presenting our impact on the environment, society, and governance. Looking at my son’s illustration reminds me why it matters: business is not just about generating profit, but about creating long-term value for people, the environment, and future generations.”

Magdalena Kłok
IMS QEHS Expert, SSE Group

Driving transparency, engagement and informed decision-making

As SSE continues to structure its sustainability journey, the ability to measure, understand and communicate impact becomes a key enabler of long-term performance and credibility.

This pillar supports the transition from individual initiatives to a more structured ESG system, combining robust data, transparent reporting, stakeholder engagement and strategic partnerships.
Employees, Board members and senior leadership drive this transformation, while partners bring complementary expertise to accelerate innovation and scale impact.

Communication plays a key role, helping to raise awareness, build understanding and foster conviction across stakeholders, enabling stronger alignment across the organisation and its ecosystem.

Together, these elements lay the foundations for a more data-driven and collaborative approach, enabling more informed decisions and strengthening the integration of ESG into governance, risk management and investment decisions.

Three drivers to bring our purpose to life

Inspire positive changes
Report with transparency
Driven by our purpose

Structuring ESG through data, people & partnerships

From transparency to decision-making and collective engagement

In 2025, SSE strengthened this pillar by moving from communication-led initiatives to a more structured and integrated ESG system embedded across governance and operations.

Key milestones include the completion of the Double Materiality Assessment, reinforced ESG reporting, and the deployment of digital tools enabling carbon monitoring and scenario-based decision-making.

At the same time, SSE expanded stakeholder engagement, using communication to drive awareness, alignment and cultural transformation across employees, partners and external stakeholders.

The Group also continued to build a partner-enabled ecosystem, combining internal capabilities with external expertise in data digitalisation and low-carbon innovation.

Together, these advances enhance transparency, decision-making and alignment, positioning SSE to scale its sustainability ambitions and embed ESG into its core business and operational performance.

“Bringing our purpose to life means going beyond communication — it requires building the capabilities, partnerships and insights that enable better decision-making across the Group. By strengthening transparency, fostering collaboration and embedding ESG into our governance and daily operations, we are creating the conditions to drive real, measurable impact. This is how RESONANCE becomes not just a framework, but a lever for alignment, engagement and long-term value creation.”

Lucia Mafrici
Marketing & Communication
Manager Valsynthese
Driven by our purpose Pillar Leader

Enabling informed decisions and scalable impact

This pillar acts as the backbone of SSE’s ESG transformation, connecting data, people and partnerships to enable informed decisions and scalable impact.

Closer look: partnering to accelerate low-carbon innovation

SSE has partnered with Hypex Bio to develop and deploy next-generation sustainable explosives, combining advanced low-impact technology with SSE’s operational expertise.

In January 2025, this collaboration reached a key milestone with the first Hypex Bio blast in Central Europe, carried out at the Ligerz Tunnel in Switzerland with Implenia and SBB — demonstrating the ability to test innovative solutions in real operating conditions.

This partnership illustrates how SSE leverages external expertise and industrial capabilities to accelerate innovation and lay the foundations for scaling more sustainable solutions across its operations.

Driven by our purpose key highlight

Key progress in 2025

Double Materiality Assessment (DMA)
Completed at Group level, integrating internal and external stakeholders to define SSE’s most material ESG priorities and strengthen alignment with risk and strategy.

ESG Reporting & Data Platforms
Significant progress in structuring ESG reposting in line with evolving standards, supported by tools such as Tennaxia. This enable carbon footprint monitoring and scenario-based decarbonisation pathways, supporting forward-looking operational and investment decisions.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
Deployment of more structured and consistent ESG communication, including the rollout of the RESONANCE narrative and internal communication toolkit, as well as increased visibility through LinkedIn compaigns and leadership engagement. These efforts strengthen awareness, alignment and ownership across employees, partners and external stakeholders.

Strategic Partnerships & Capability Building
Development of a partner-enabled ecosystem, combining internal capabilities with external expertise in data, digitalisation and low-carbon innovation. Collaborations such as Tennaxia for carbon modelling and partnerships supporting low-carbon product innovation and digital solutions (e.g. Hypex) enable testing, learning and scaling of solutions in real operating and industrial conditions.

Impact across SSE

Improved visibility on ESG performance and risks, through consolidated data, carbon footprint monitoring and scenario modelling
Stronger integration of sustainability into decision-making, with ESG priorities embedded into risk management, strategic planning and investment discussions
Increased alignment across entities and functions, supported by the Double Materiality Assessment and a shared Group ESG framework
Enhanced employee engagement and ownership, driver by structured communication, internal activations and leadership mobilisation
Reinforced credibility and transparency, through more structured ESG reporting and clearer communication with external stakeholders

Together, these advences position SSE to accelerate from pilot initiatives toward scalable solutions, enabled by data platforms, cross-entity collaboration and operational testing across the Group.

OUR RESONANCE Foundation

Turning community commitment into action

The OUR RESONANCE Foundation serves as SSE’s dedicated platform to support environmental, innovative, social and societal initiatives in the regions where the Group operates.

Designed as an employee-driven and locally anchored mechanism, the Foundation enables employees and local stakeholders to propose projects that respond to concrete community needs. Proposals are reviewed by the Foundation’s Board, ensuring that supported initiatives align with SSE values and deliver meaningful local impact.

Through this structured approach, the Foundation transforms the Foster Communities pillar into tangible action, strengthening SSE’s engagement with local communities and reinforcing the values that guide the Group: responsibility, solidarity and long-term commitment.

These initiatives aim in particular to promote the quality of life of the communities connected to SSE’s activities.

Governance and Oversight

The OUR RESONANCE Foundation operates under the supervision of an independent Board chaired by Gilles de Preux, CEO of SSE Group.
The Board meets regularly to review project proposals, oversee funding allocations and ensure that supported initiatives remain aligned with the Foundation’s mission and SSE’s values.

“What makes the OUR RESONANCE Foundation meaningful is the engagement of our employees. Their initiatives reflect the needs of the communities where we operate and the values we share.”

Anna Darska
Vice-President
OUR RESONANCE Foundation

“Our activities are closely connected to the regions where we operate. Through the OUR RESONANCE Foundation, we support initiatives that help improve the quality of life in the communities where our employees live and work.”

Laura Muresan
OUR RESONANCE Foundation Member

Key progress in 2025

2025 marked the operational launch of the OUR RESONANCE Foundation, transforming the concept into a fully functioning philanthropic machanism across the Group.

Key milestones included:

Establishment of the Foundation governance framework, including statutes, regulations and a dedicated Board chaired by the CEO of SSE Group.
Consolidation of the Foundation’s sustainable funding model, combining an initial Group contribution of CHF 150,000 with annual financial participation from SSE subsidiaries (CHF 10,000 per entity), ensuring the long-term capacity of the Foundation to support community initiatives across the regions where SSE operates.
Launch of the first call for initiatives, inviting employees across the Group to submit projects supporting social, educational, environmental or community causes.
Review and approval of the first portfolio of initiatives across several countries, including educational, cultural and community-based projects proposed by employees and local partners.
Rapid mobilidation of the Foundation following the Crans-Montana tragedy, combining Foundation funding, company support and employee donations matched by SSE Switzerland to provide financial assistance to affected families and contribute to the cantonal relief fund.

These first initiatives demonstrate the Foundation’s ability to translate SSE’s values into concrete local action while strengthening engagement across the Group.

Impact across SSE

The first year of activity confirmed the strong engagement of employees and the relevance of the Foundation’s mission.

Through the initiatives supported in 2025, the Foundation:

Enabled employee-led community engagement across several SSE countries.
Supported social, educational and community initiatives benefiting local populations.
Strengthened relationships between SSE sites and their surrounding communities.
Demonstrated SSE’s commitment to solidarity and responsible corporate citizenship.

By empowering employees to act locally while providing a structured support mechanism, the Foundation contributes to creating a positive and lasting impact across the Group’s operating regions.

“Our activities are closely connected to the regions where we operate. Trough the OUR RESONANCE Foundation, we support initiatives that help improve the quality of life in the communities where our employees live and work.”

Adrien Ramelet
Administrator & Secretary of the SSE Group Board