COINDU | Sustainability Report - 2024

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2024 support. Furthermore, COINDU engaged with the Arcos de Valdevez Municipality to identify and promote social integration initiatives and activated all legally available and community-based support mecha- nisms. In collaboration with the Portuguese Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), information sessions were held prior to closure to ensure employees were fully informed. By the time operations ended, all employees had scheduled appointments with IEFP, safeguarding their income continuity and ensuring a coordinated response by public employment services. Regarding the facility’s future, COINDU entered into negotiations for its sale with a company already operating in the region and familiar with the site’s infrastructure and the skills of the local workforce. The sale is expected to help mitigate the economic impact of the closure, particularly by supporting severance obligations. Furthermore, em- ployees were offered the possibility of contractual position transfer to the acquiring company, a legal arrangement that preserves key employment terms such as seniority and remuneration contributing to professional stability. The decision on the closure of the Arcos de Valdevez plant was aligned with the natural end-of-life of certain projects allocated to the Arcos unit. The running projects are located in Joane facility, which has the capacity to accommodate the running projects of COINDU’s opera- tions in Portugal. HEALTH & SAFETY IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES Following the cessation of production activities at the Arcos de Val- devez unit, a decommissioning phase was initiated, focused on the organization and preparation of the facilities for their subsequent sale. This phase includes a range of tasks that required the continued 65