CEO Message

There’s a saying that the true measure of a person is who they are when times are tough.

I think that idea is even truer when it comes to a company. The last five years have been tough for our company and our industry. Demand for uranium has remained low, there has been oversupply in the market, and uranium prices have remained depressed. No one was surprised to see these things happen, but I think we have all been surprised for how long they have persisted. Within that context, I believe Cameco has risen to the challenge time and time again. Our people have found ways to be innovative, to do more with less, and to continue to keep this company competitive. And, they’ve done that without compromising on our commitments to safety, the environment, or our communities.

The importance of these commitments cannot be overstated. They are not add-ons, or ‘nice-to-haves’; they make up the very foundation for how we do business. They help us build trust and credibility, gain and protect community support for our operations, attract and retain employees, and manage risk.

In 2015, we continued to deliver on these commitments. Community engagement activities were carried out at all of our operations, and we spent $380 million in local procurement, or about 70% of our total. On the safety side of things, our operations continued to return strong results, particularly our McArthur River operation, which won the prestigious John T Ryan National Safety award for the third year in a row. We also spent $31 million in health and safety programs, or 29% more than 2014. When it comes to environmental performance, we continued our trend of no significant environmental incidents at any of our sites and lowered our greenhouse gas emissions.

These are strong results, and our efforts have not gone unnoticed. For the sixth year in a row, we were named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers by the Globe and Mail, and we remain the leading industrial employer of indigenous peoples in Canada. We were also named one of Canada’s most sustainable corporations by Corporate Knights, a Canadian media and research company. Maclean’s magazine also named Cameco one of Canada’s top 50 socially responsible corporations. As a company, I think we can be proud of the way we run our operations, with respect for people and the environment, and the contribution we make to our communities.

That’s not to say it has been easy. The persistent challenges of the market continued to take their toll in 2015, leading to the difficult decision in 2016 to curtail production at two of our higher-cost operations. Given the effect this decision has on our people, the decision was not made lightly. But it was the right thing to do for the long-term health of the company. Financial stability is the foundation of a company’s longevity and, thus, sustainable development. It is what will ensure Cameco is around for the long-run to provide employment, contribute to our communities, and provide a product the world needs.

And the world does need what we produce. As one of the largest uranium producers in the world, and a fuel manufacturer, nuclear energy plants around the world use our products to generate one of the cleanest sources of electricity available today. As a non-greenhouse gas emitting source of baseload electricity, nuclear is an extremely important part of keeping our air clean and helping to combat climate change, while providing the electricity needed to achieve a high quality of life. And, it is able to do that from a remarkably small footprint. For example, the production from our Cigar Lake and McArthur River operations, with a total surface area footprint of less than two square miles, could provide enough electricity for every one of Canada’s households for four years. That is pretty impressive.

So it is easy to see why we need to ensure nuclear energy remains a key part of the conversation when it comes to climate change. Part of our challenge is to communicate about nuclear energy, our industry and our company in a way that is accessible to all of our stakeholders and answers the questions they have. This sustainable development report is a part of answering that challenge, and more. It is meant to provide information about our performance and our goals – where we’ve done well and where we want to do better. It is meant to provide the information our stakeholders want. And it is meant to be credible and reliable, which is why we have conducted a limited assurance of the report for the second time, which was carried out by Ernst and Young. It is an important part of our ongoing effort to sustain the trust and confidence of everyone who has an interest in Cameco and everyone affected by what we do.

I’m proud of what I think this report shows – that we are on track with our strategy to remain a profitable company, focusing on our tier-one assets; that we are on track to continue delivering on our commitments to our stakeholders when it comes to safety, the environment and communities; and that we are on track to benefit when market conditions improve.

Tim Gitzel
President and CEO