Governance
We are dedicated to our core value of integrity and apply high standards of ethical behaviour and transparency to our business activities.
The following are highlights of selected governance topics. Please see our 2024 Sustainability Report for more information or Our Performance for all indicator results.
Governance for sustainability matters
We are dedicated to conducting our business responsibly and overseeing and managing our risks in a diligent manner.
We integrate key sustainability factors (safety performance, a clean environment, and supportive communities) into our executive and employee compensation strategy as we believe these factors are critical to Cameco’s long-term success.
Role of our board
Our board is responsible for overseeing the integration of sustainability principles throughout the company. The board’s goal is to help ensure that we operate as a sustainable business, optimizing financial returns while effectively managing risk, including sustainability matters and climate-related risks.
Management's role
Our executives work with leaders and experts across the company to better understand and manage sustainability topics and climate-related risks and opportunities. The chart below illustrates how sustainability topics and climate-related information flows between groups with sustainability and climate-related responsibilities across Cameco.
Learn more about governance for sustainability matters
Business Ethics and Integrity
At Cameco, one of our four core values is integrity. Through our personal and professional integrity, we lead by example, earn trust, honour our commitments, and conduct our business ethically. Our reputation for maintaining the highest standards of ethical behaviour has helped Cameco to grow into the global business it is today.
Our Code of Conduct and Ethics guides how we uphold our value of integrity. The Code applies to all employees, officers and members of Cameco’s board and subsidiary boards and sets out our principles and guidelines for ethical behaviour. Our corporate ethics program is underpinned by:
- Conduct and ethics committee - Our conduct and ethics committee shares the responsibility for oversight and reporting of ethics matters and practices to executive officers and the board.
- Conduct and ethics training - All new employees take a mandatory Code of Conduct and Ethics training course. Targeted employees are required to take mandatory refresher courses annually.
- Ethics hotline - Through a third-party service provider, we also offer an anonymous ethics hotline that is open to all employees, contractors, and suppliers from across our operations. Information about the hotline is broadly communicated.
Learn more about our conduct and ethics
Tax Transparency
Cameco’s commitment to ethical behaviour and integrity includes transparency into our corporate taxation. We pay significant amounts of taxes across multiple jurisdictions, including for income taxes.
As a result, our consolidated tax rate is a blend of rates applicable in Canada and in the jurisdictions of our foreign subsidiaries and affiliates. In addition, we collect and remit uranium royalties, property taxes, sales and use tax, indirect taxes, and employment taxes from our more than 2,800 employees.
At Cameco, we believe that tax is a fundamental component of overall financial performance. We are guided by our Code of Conduct and Ethics and comply with all tax laws that apply to our operations. Our tax department works collaboratively with other business units to preserve long-term value, and we monitor and adjust to legislative changes in each jurisdiction where we do business.
We have annually reported payments to governments, as required by Canada’s Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA). Extending beyond tax transparency, our 2024 ESTMA report details royalties, fees, and other payments made to Indigenous, municipal, provincial, and federal governments in Canada, the US, and Australia by Cameco and our subsidiaries for commercial development related to the exploration and extraction of minerals.
Learn more about tax transparency
Responsible Supply Chain
We are committed to fair competition in all dealings with suppliers, supporting local procurement, and making our purchases honestly and objectively.
We use ISNetworld to screen contractors who provide services at our sites. All contractors must meet our basic requirements including demonstrating technical capabilities and having adequate safety practices and appropriate insurance in place. As a supplier to the Canadian nuclear industry, our fuel services facilities follow Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) N299 standard, which sets out quality assurance program requirements for the supply of items and services for nuclear power plants.
We also want to make sure that our suppliers and contractors respect and uphold our ethical, safety and environmental practices. Our Supplier Code of Conduct and Ethics outlines our expectations for those who provide goods and/or services to Cameco, including their representatives and employees. The Supplier Code requires our suppliers to adhere to all human rights, labour, and employment laws in the countries where they operate.
Human rights in the supply chain
We are committed to respecting and observing the protection of human rights and share the values reflected in international proclamations about human rights, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We respect human rights wherever we operate and prohibit human trafficking, slavery, forced labour, and child labour within our operations and our supply chain, which is reinforced by our Supplier Code of Conduct and Ethics.
Commitment to local procurement
We are committed to using local suppliers wherever we operate. It is a commitment codified in our Procurement of Goods and Services Policy and exemplified by our spending in northern Saskatchewan, where we have procured more than $594 million in services from northern-owned companies over the past three years. In 2024, 71% of all spend on services at our northern Saskatchewan mine sites was with northern-owned businesses. In northern Saskatchewan, we have commitments through collaboration agreements with a select number of construction and civil works companies that are Preferred Northern Contractors (PNCs). All PNCs must also follow our standards.
Learn more about our responsible supply chain
Learn more
- 2024 Sustainability Report - Governance
- Our Performance for all indicator results.