AWE NUCLEAR SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES Responsible Business Update 2025 Contents Introduction - 1 Environment - 3 • Biodiversity and Conservation - 5 • Circular economy - 7 • Responsible material management - 9 People - 11 • Employee health & wellbeing - 11 • Inclusion - 14 • Safety - 17 • Inspiring the next generation in STEM - 19 Places - 23 • Community - 23 • Security - 27 • Accountability and transparency - 29 • Business transformation - 31 Introduction At AWE, our purpose is to protect the UK through nuclear science and technology, and our mission is to design and manufacture warheads and provide nuclear services to meet the needs of defence. We perform this duty knowing what we do and how we do it affects our people, our communities and our environment. We are at a significant moment in our history. The current warhead must be maintained as we design and manufacture a replacement warhead, Astraea. To do this, we must recapitalise our ageing infrastructure and modernise our capabilities. As we think about how our organisation adapts to the future needs of the nation’s security, we are also considering our approach to being a responsible business. During this period of transition we are sharing our general company performance, before we look to report on our progress against our new strategy in the future. We are proud of the progress we are continuing to make and are able to share with you in this update. Environment REDUCING CARBON We have a clear roadmap to achieve net zero. We have set a target to achieve net zero cross our value chain by 2050. Our scope 1 and 2 targets have been set using Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) methodology, ensuring they are aligned with global climate science, to be both robust and measurable. Since setting these targets in 2019, we have met our goals against the SBTi methodology. As of March 2025, we have achieved a 23% reduction in our GHG emissions against our 2018 baseline. However, last year we experienced an increase in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and did not meet our annual reduction target. This was primarily due to higher electricity and fuel use, reflecting the challenge of achieving net zero. This year, we are on track to achieve our reduction target, through a reduction in energy consumed and grid decarbonisation. We anticipate similar challenges in the future, as activity increases on our sites with the replacement warhead programme and infrastructure redevelopment. While this reflects the current state of our programme, it does not change our long-term commitment. We are strengthening activities across the business to integrate sustainability into planning and decision-making at the earliest stages. Managing Climate Risk with Discipline We will continue to mature our approach in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Our planned work includes expanding awareness of climate risks across the organisation. Moving forward, we will coordinate the delivery of our CTP, widen our climate risk scenario analysis to further quantify physical and transition risks, and continue to evolve our climate risk register and embed the risk identification process. We will also expand our metrics and targets to monitor climate risks and opportunities beyond GHG reduction. A PLAN FOR CLIMATE TRANSITION We developed a new Climate Transition Plan (CTP). This plan is built on industry best practices and follows the guidance from the Transition Plan Taskforce, an international network that supports planning and coordination. The CTP is a comprehensive framework that coordinates all our key activities and clarifies delivery and accountability. The CTP was developed through a series of workshops involving parts of the organisation that have the greatest influence on mitigating carbon emissions and managing climate risk. Identified actions have been categorized across eight climate transition themes: – Greening the site – Net zero operations – Net zero supply chain – Financing the transition – Building climate resilience – Governance and planning – Measurement and reporting – Sustainable behaviours All departments and business units will develop their own Sustainability Plan and these plans will align with our overall CTP. This approach creates shared responsibility and will integrate our sustainability goals directly into our overall business plan. TRANSFORMING OUR OPERATIONS AND ENERGY USE Our ambitious new build programme provides a significant opportunity for the construction of sustainable buildings, contributing to AWE’s net zero goals by improving energy efficiency, reducing future running costs and improving building resilience. All our new builds undertake a DREAM assessment and target an ‘excellent’ rating. Key areas of focus during construction include contracting for low carbon, moving towards diesel-free sites, and reducing both the most carbon-intensive concrete and steel in new infrastructure. • Solar Farm: Progressing a solar farm project with support from specialist contract resources • Electric Vehicle Charging: Increasing the number of EV charging points on our sites • Energy Efficiencies: Improving energy efficiencies across our sites, for example heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades • Decarbonisation of concrete strategy: Exploring opportunities to reduce the volume of concrete required and the most carbon intensive pours ENGAGING OUR SUPPLY CHAIN ON SCOPE 3 Addressing our Scope 3 emissions is a vital element of our net zero plan. These are the emissions from our supply chain and other indirect sources. For us, the most significant categories are purchased goods and services and capital goods. We have used a carbon footprint software tool to interrogate this data and work is underway to ensure our whole business recognises these impacts. We are focused on improving our current arrangements to promote sustainable procurement and we work closely with our supply chain partners to identify new opportunities. We have also set up a cross-collaboration working group to share industry best practices. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION We are proud stewards of our sites and strive to protect and enhance the natural world around us. Reduced Mow Scheme We first created our Reduced Mow Scheme in 2019. Since then, we have improved and extended it significantly. This initiative creates large areas of habitat that benefit pollinator populations. As of last year, the total area within our estate was over 250,000 square metres - that’s the equivalent of 35 football pitches. This area continues to expand across the estate. The quality of habitat within these areas improves annually. Our oldest reduced mow areas now display a huge diversity in plant and invertebrate communities. This natural succession shows our habitat management techniques are effective. We will continue to monitor diversity and abundance. A new series of botanical surveys will take place over the next year. Woodland Cover and Tree Planting We are actively enhancing woodland cover across our estate. Our tree planting scheme south of AWE Burghfield is designed to create a traditional orchard. This is a priority habitat for regeneration within Berkshire. The scheme has expanded with a total of 600 trees now planted. This includes 200 hazel trees and 400 apple trees. We used mixed cultivars local to Berkshire such as ‘Strawberry Pippin’ and ‘Charles Ross’. Our target is to enhance woodland cover by 10% of our estate, by 2030. Our tree planting will continue to expand. We follow a policy of replacing any tree felled at a ratio of at least three to one. We also integrate planting schemes associated with Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) from infrastructure development onsite. [Stat: 600 trees planted in our new orchard] Natural Capital Register We have developed a natural capital register that details the natural assets across our estate. The register will be used to track areas that support a large diversity of species, ranging from industrial spaces, where rare birds like the black redstart are found, to ancient oak parkland. We have oaks over 400 years old onsite that have been conserved for hundreds of years. This asset register will continue to evolve. It supports our target of embedding natural capital into our decision-making and financial accounts. Biodiversity Net Gain All of our new build projects are on track to achieve 10% BNG. We do this predominantly through onsite enhancement. We assess the quality of these schemes against outcomes for local nature recovery strategy priority species. Some examples include the scarce blue-tailed damselfly, silver studded blue butterfly, yellow wagtail, and great crested newts. In March 2025 we updated our Establishment Master Plan that outlines the strategic direction for development on our estate, which will enable us to protect and enhance biodiversity and heritage features. We aim to design BNG schemes that create larger and better connected habitats. This work helps us retain the historic character of our sites. Species Surveys & Monitoring We continue to monitor populations of target species onsite. This includes amphibians like the great crested newt. We monitor raptors that nest on our site, including peregrine falcons, kestrels, red kites and tawny owls. Last year, our peregrine falcons successfully raised two chicks, fledging from a purpose-built nest box on one of our buildings. We also complete annual surveys for breeding birds across the estate and survey heathland bird species and wetland bird species that overwinter onsite. CIRCULAR ECONOMY Our vision is to fully embed circular economy principles, designing out waste and recognising the true value of materials, across our entire organisation by 2050. A Top Down Approach The appointment of our first-ever Director of Environment and Sustainability in October 2024 has helped give us better visibility top-down on sustainable initiative from a business perspective. Ahead of that target date, we have set ambitious interim goals. By 2035, principles of circular economy will be embedded in all major projects. Our Infrastructure Projects will be designed using these principles as we drive to incorporate circularity for a lasting, sustainable legacy. Culturally we are looking to inspire everyone across the business to realise innovative circular practices, driving for the reduction of material usage and increasing reuse of business assets. Alongside our material reduction targets, by 2030 we also have targets to reduce waste and increase recycling. We continue to make tangible progress integrating ISO 20400 sustainable procurement framework into our commercial process and to collaborate with our supply chain partners to reduce our carbon and material footprints. We know that by working with our partners we will have a much greater impact in what is a vital area for sustainability. Drive in Material Reduction Our efforts towards reducing targeted materials are delivering. We have reduced the amount of consumer single-use plastic coming into our canteens and into our office stationery, by either sourcing similar products not made from plastic or by taking steps to remove the option completely. Other products are moving to a plant-based material and we continue to promote the use of reusable coffee mugs over disposables. Paper printing volumes have been kept under control, as digitisation initiatives continue. Last year we achieved a 50% reduction against the baseline (2018), aligned to Greening Government Commitments. Employees continue to use our inhouse work item sharing forum to ensure reuse of assets is maximised across our estate. Progress in Waste Management We continue to remain strong in our waste management, successfully diverting 99% of our controlled waste from landfill this year and also achieving a 97% reuse and recycle rate. This keeps us firmly on track to hit our targets and we continue to explore new ways of reducing our wastes with our supply partners. Minimising Food Waste We segregate our food waste in multiple locations onsite, collecting just under two tonnes each month. This is sent offsite for anaerobic digestion. Next year, we are installing a composter on site that accepts food and landscaping green waste. This will allow us to produce our own compost, reducing the carbon footprint associated with transportation of wastes offsite and delivery of compost to site. Collaborating with Our Supply Chain We know we cannot be successful in achieving a circular economy without working closely with our suppliers. We established quarterly supplier forums including partners in PPE, maintenance, catering, soft services and IT. These forums have been a great success and continue to generate fantastic ideas, trialling hydrogen powered lighting rigs, manufacturing bird boxes and bug hotels from some of our current wastes. RESPONSIBLE MATERIAL MANAGEMENT Our Current Priorities Our primary focus is the systematic reduction of hazardous materials, including uranium, plutonium, tritium and other contaminated waste, across all operations. We are sharply focused on minimising accumulations of materials through continuous recovery and processing initiatives. Central to this effort is our implementation of the waste hierarchy, which guides us to divert materials from landfill wherever possible. We do this by making the most of our material management routes, including incineration/combustion and metal recycling. By treating materials to meet standard disposal route requirements, we ensure they are handled responsibly at the end of their life. Inevitably, some low-level waste does go to landfill. Our approach is sending the right waste to the right place. We work with partners to remove waste appropriately, for example working with Nuclear National Laboratory who offer bespoke treatment for small quantities of depleted uranium. We are making strong progress in recovering contaminated valuable resources, including metals, plastics, wood, and water. This circular approach prevents usable materials from being discarded and reduces the need to purchase new raw materials. A significant achievement in this area has been our successful diversion of 100% of our low-level waste from the waste depository. [Stat: 100% successful diversion of our low-level waste from the waste depository] This work is driven by a clear, prioritised plan developed over the past year. This strategy identifies the most impactful opportunities for on-site waste reduction, and we are now actively expanding and baselining these efforts. Our commitment is delivering tangible results, we have already completed additional recovery operations and cleared 18 out of 24 contaminated targeted tanks this year. To maintain this momentum, we have re-baselined our approach to prioritise all other waste forms. We have commenced the physical drawdown of stores, a substantial undertaking that will continue to unfold over the next three to ten years as we continue to honour our environmental commitments. Evolving Collaboration We are committed to collaborating across the wider nuclear sector to seek comprehensive UK solutions for national challenges. This commitment has intensified through the Civil-Defence Nuclear Liabilities Collaboration. We believe that partnership is the key to developing effective and responsible solutions for radioactive waste. Cross-UK cooperation has been exceptionally strong this year. We are building robust partnerships with the Ministry of Defence, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and nuclear decommissioning authority groups. This work provides a powerful platform for future opportunities drives a significant amount of discussion, sharing expertise and building a deeper understanding across the entire sector. We set an annual limit of 3 millisieverts (mSv) for nuclear workers. The maximum direct dose at the Aldermaston site boundary for 2023 was below this limit – 0.003 mSv – demonstrating the safety system we use works. For context, just by living in the UK, you will receive an annual dose of 2.7 mSv. For people living in Devon or Cornwall, this increases to 6.9 mSv. People EMPLOYEE HEALTH & WELLBEING The wellbeing of our people is a top priority and we take a proactive approach to supporting them in a number of ways. Over the winter, we vaccinated over 3,000 staff against flu through our onsite programme. This initiative significantly reduced absence rates and made our communities safer. To assist with physical and mental health at work we run our Help@Hand programme. This is a mobile app and telephone service line that provides confidential health and wellbeing services and support for our people and their families. Over half our workforce has registered and now has easy access to mental health support, GP services, lifestyle coaching, and physiotherapy. We see strong uptake in physiotherapy for minor issues, representing a positive preventative approach. We’ve partnered with West Berkshire Council to provide onsite health checks, providing first-time health engagement for some employees. These checks supplement what our occupational health provider already offer and between then they offer both reassurance and help for people to develop healthy habits. We are also working with partners to improve our women’s health strategy. We are expanding our menopause support to include all aspects of women’s health. By next year, we aim to have a comprehensive menstrual health policy that covers all age groups. To support our employees into their retirement, we run a programme to help our people think about pensions as part of their financial wellbeing. This included running a Pensions Week that engaged over 4,000 employees across all age groups and business areas. [Stat: 3,000 staff provided with a flu vaccination] Delivering Against Our Wellbeing Objectives We are actively advancing employee wellbeing through 10 dedicated workstreams, each targeting a specific health initiative. A significant focus is on enhancing our women’s health offerings, and we are equally committed to expanding our support for parents and carers. A key part of our strategy is to evolve our benefits package to ensure it delivers tangible health advantages. We believe in empowering our people with choice, allowing them to select the options that best suit their personal circumstances. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive menu of wellbeing resources, ensuring every employee has access to the support they value most and can easily opt into the programmes that are right for them. To help measure the effectiveness of our programmes, we track unique touchpoints to measure engagement with our wellbeing programmes. We monitor how many people voluntarily register for initiatives like Help@Hand. We also analyse sickness absence data across the business. This helps us understand what conditions affect our workforce most and how we can prevent them. For example, we target respiratory conditions through our flu vaccination programme. Ensuring Accessibility for All We have a diverse workforce, including a large proportion who do not work in front of computers. Our communication approach is devised to reach all our people, including webinars, which are available live or on demand. We balance impactful in-person events with proper digital support to make sure all our people receive the same level of engagement regardless of their location or role. Recent Improvements and Future Focus We want people working in healthy ways that prevent burnout and so are shifting our mental health approach from support to resilience building. We help people engage early and develop habits that prevent stress susceptibility. We focus on small, regular activities that build physical and mental strength over time and are exploring apps and external support options that genuinely help with stress resilience. Promoting Work-Life Balance We encourage teams to engage in social initiatives and gamified training. Activities like escape rooms provide both learning and team bonding opportunities. Our volunteering programme offers three days off annually for community engagement. Our Employee Assistance Programme supports both employees and their family members. This includes help for children or partners dealing with mental health or neurodiversity challenges. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS At AWE we realise we can’t do everything in house and so we collaborate with several external experts, including Unum for employee assistance and Nudge for financial wellbeing. We partner with Mind for mental health training, especially for line managers. We are seeking a new women’s health partner to enhance our offerings in this important area. We will continue focusing on women’s health plans through collaboration across teams and work with employee experience, health and safety, and various working groups to gather feedback and create a unified approach. INCLUSION Building a Workplace Where Everyone Belongs We are working hard to create a place where people feel they can be themselves, where differences are respected, and where everyone feels they truly belong. Our workforce is becoming more diverse, with women now making up almost 28% of our team. We are aiming for 30%, and while not there yet, we are proud of the progress and committed to keeping the momentum going. OUR INCLUSION STRATEGY: What We’re Focusing On We’ve shaped our inclusion strategy around three simple but powerful goals: • Representation: Making sure our workforce reflects the communities we are part of. • Culture: Building an environment where inclusion is part of everyday life. • Support: Offering the right help to the people who need it most. This year, we are putting extra focus on women and our production colleagues on the front line. Our surveys showed these groups felt less engaged, so we are listening and acting. We are rolling out new initiatives designed to meet their needs and improve their experience at work. Support That Makes a Real Difference We’ve launched a Workplace Adjustment Passport to help people easily share what they need to thrive at work, whether that’s specialist equipment, flexible hours for school drop-offs, or other adjustments. We have also made some practical changes: free period products are now available in all toilets, guidance to support colleagues who are transitioning at work and we have workplace assessments available which help put support in place for our colleagues who face barriers in the workplace such as assistive technology, coping strategies and mindfulness techniques. We are running career journey workshops to better understand the experiences of women, especially around pregnancy, maternity leave, and returning to work, so we can offer the right support at the right time. Designing with Everyone in Mind When we build or change something, we ask: who might this impact and how can we make it better for them? Our equality impact assessments help us do just that. Feedback from colleagues, like making sure doorways are wide enough for wheelchair users, is now shaping how we design our spaces. Our Employee Resource Groups are also helping us create more inclusive environments by continuing to mark awareness days not just to celebrate, but to make sure people know where to find support if they need it. SAFETY Our Safety Culture in Action Safety is at the heart of everything we do. We actively drive a safe and caring culture under our ‘We Care’ banner, a comprehensive programme that sets the expectation from AWE about the values we place on health, safety, environment, security, learning from experience and wellbeing to support delivery of the mission. Central to this initiative is the creation of an open culture where every individual is encouraged to speak up to share their knowledge, experience and views to drive improvements in safety. ‘We Care’ embodies our collective commitment to taking care of ourselves, each other, our programme and our sites. A cornerstone of this philosophy is our empowering ‘stop work’ ethos. We expect every employee to halt any operation they believe to be unsafe. This critical commitment is supported by our executives and line managers, ensuring this vital principle filters down from the highest levels of leadership to every individual on the ground. To ensure we continue to improve, we constantly measure our progress through a safety cultural assessment programme. This enables us to understand how we are meeting national and international expectations of safety culture on a nuclear licensed site. This provides invaluable insight into our safety journey, helping us to understand our position and identify key areas for improvement. Establishing this honest baseline is essential to our commitment to becoming better every day. Promoting Best Practice and Accountability We uphold the highest standards of accountability through robust and clearly defined measures. This includes closely monitoring reporting and investigating all incidents and near misses, with a dedicated focus on ensuring both the timeliness and quality of investigations. Our performance is rigorously tracked through key metrics, with our Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) serving as a crucial benchmark. We measure ourselves against both OSHA and RIDDOR standards (Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, respectively), and we are proud that our current performance exceeds not only industry averages but also recognised world-class rates. Adhering to Global Standards We hold ourselves to the most rigorous standards. A disciplined approach for conventional safety allows us to conduct detailed risk profiles of key areas, such as asbestos management and lifting operations. We perform monthly self-assessments against these profiles to ensure all critical controls are not only in place but operating effectively. To ensure our standards remain at the forefront of safety excellence, we actively benchmark our performance with industry leaders. Our membership in the Safety Directors’ Forum provides invaluable insight, enabling us to compare our practices with other nuclear licensees like EDF and Sellafield. Furthermore, our collaboration with US partners through joint working groups offers a wider, international perspective. This continuous process of external benchmarking consistently reveals that our performance often exceeds our own perceptions, providing both validation and a powerful driver for our journey of continuous improvement. External Recognition and Our Achievements We have received significant external recognition of our safety culture through the decision by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to reduce its intensity of oversight. This move followed a period of Enhanced Regulatory Attention and stands as a powerful testament to our vastly improved health and safety management systems. The most telling sign of our success is the marked increase in incident reporting. Rather than indicating a decline in safety, this trend demonstrates that our people are now more empowered and proactive than ever, confidently performing interventions and reporting concerns without hesitation. This increase is a clear and positive indicator of a healthy, transparent, and proactive safety culture where vigilance is valued and encouraged. Recent Improvements and Looking Ahead Our commitment to safety continues to evolve through the ongoing development of our We Care programme. We have introduced new initiatives to embed this culture deeper into our daily operations, including the rollout of routine toolbox talks, targeted portal messages, and the installation of new on-site screens to prominently display key safety information. Underpinning these efforts are significant enhancements to our training programmes. We have strengthened our site access training for all personnel, ensuring everyone arrives with a clear understanding of our safety expectations. INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION IN STEM We are deeply passionate about inspiring the next generation to pursue exciting careers in STEM. To achieve this, we run a number of key programmes designed to engage students at every stage, from school starters to university graduates. Our year in industry programme offers university students invaluable insight into a professional career at AWE, providing a practical bridge between academic study and the working world. Our commitment extends to financial support through the Defence STEM undergraduate scholarship scheme, which covers bursaries and tuition fees for selected individuals. We further enrich this experience by inviting scholars into our business for summer placements, allowing them to gain firsthand knowledge of AWE and the diverse opportunities we offer. Our outreach continues within schools, where we provide careers viewpoints and facilitate connections between students and our own apprentices. To help young people navigate their options, our online ‘Match me tool’ assists students in determining if an apprenticeship is the right path for them. We also provide mentoring opportunities for applicants seeking guidance, alongside ad-hoc support with CV writing and interview skills. Building Strong Community Partnerships We are committed to maintaining strong, collaborative partnerships with both our local and national communities. Our outreach efforts are focused primarily on schools within a 20-mile radius of our main sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield, with some of our satellite locations engaging with schools even further afield, an initiative we are actively looking to grow in the coming year. This past academic year marked a significant shift towards a more proactive approach. We dramatically expanded our engagement with primary schools, increasing our reach from 30 to 87 institutions. This effort includes running ‘People like me’ events and sponsoring a primary science centre in Basingstoke. In total, our programmes successfully reached over 50,000 students during the 2024-2025 academic year. Our popular primary school STEM boxes contain hands-on kits focused on core subjects, and we bring these to life through fun, interactive sessions like ‘1,2,3 Blast Off’ and ‘Catapult Chaos’. The engine behind this success is our growing network of STEM Ambassadors. We have more than doubled the number of volunteers available, empowered by our policy of granting all employees three days to volunteer in local schools and colleges. We now have more than 400 STEM Ambassadors across AWE. Our people work throughout the year, in more than 200 events, including hosting a primary school takeover day at West Berkshire Museum. This event welcomed 180 students from five local schools for a carousel of engaging activities, including a robotic dog and LED displays. [Stat: 50,000 students reached during 2024-2025] Supporting Higher and Further Education For higher and further education we offer programmes ranging from level 3 to level 6. These cover science, engineering, health and safety, IT, and HR. We provide opportunities for those who want employer-based learning instead of traditional university. We run engineering apprenticeships from our Aldermaston site. We also continue to have entry level roles available on our careers site. Our Skills Academy has been running for more than 70 years and is where we deliver engineering apprenticeships. As we continue to grow and invest in our future skills, we are planning to move to a facility with better equipment aligned with the rest of our business. We are partners in Destination Nuclear, which focuses on attracting, retaining, and enabling talent across the country’s nuclear industry. Mentoring is key to our apprenticeship scheme. We match applicants with a mentor from the very start and, this year, we launched a ‘Keep Warm’ campaign to engage applicants during the security clearance process. This includes webinars and face-to-face sessions where apprentices can bring parents. Also new this year was a personalised induction events for all new starters. The theme was connection and we focused on connecting to each other and to our mission as an organisation. We provide tailored support for those in their first full-time role. Partnerships and Post-Graduate Engagement We have strategic relationships with seven universities, forming a vital pipeline for talent and innovation. This network has recently expanded through new alliances with the University of Manchester and the University of Strathclyde, alongside a newly established partnership with Space Park Leicester. To actively shape the future workforce, we fund university prizes, our experts deliver guest presentations, and our staff serve on industrial advisory boards to oversee course development and aligning to the evolving needs of our industry. Our collaboration extends to developing centres of excellence in specific technical areas critical to our mission, such as high-performance computing. This initiative is designed to bolster UK capability in these key fields. Recognising that support extends beyond academia, we have also expanded our holistic wellbeing package to include sponsored PhD students, who now benefit from access to our employee assistance programmes and discount schemes. Beyond academia, we partner with other industry leaders through forums like the Nuclear Skills Task Force and are proud members of the National Lab Alliance. To showcase emerging talent and foster collaboration, we are working towards hosting a dedicated conference where PhD students and early-career researchers can present their work, helping to build the strong, connected community essential for national security. Key Achievements and Looking Ahead We have significantly increased our graduate and apprenticeship places, growing from 80 to 160 apprenticeship places joining in August/September 2025. Last year was about preparation for this growth. We filled over 2,800 roles and grew our organisation by nearly 1,500 people. This year we have introduced a talent pipeline to offer contracts before students finish university. Our Defence undergrad scholarship scheme saw diversification of applicants this year enjoying an increased uptake from female applicants. Places COMMUNITY Building Strong Community Connections We know that what we do can cause concern, particularly for our local communities. While security must remain paramount, we strive to be as open and transparent as we can. Central to this effort is our Local Liaison Committee, which we host twice a year, and represents more than 500,000 people. We invite local parish councillors to two full days, annually, of detailed updates, providing them with the opportunity to ask questions and share this information directly within their communities. This dialogue is a two-way process where community feedback directly shapes our partnerships and initiatives. Acting on this input, we began developing a new Community Charter over the past year. This charter will serve as a guiding framework for how we engage locally on our infrastructure plans, matching our actions with local expectations. We further this communication through our biannual ‘Connect’ magazine, which is distributed to local residents and features updates about our organisation and local news. To meet the community’s expressed desire for greater openness, we have enhanced the magazine with QR codes and links to our online news. Our commitment to accessibility was also demonstrated through eight public drop-in events, held both in village halls and online, which attracted over 300 attendees interested in learning about upcoming infrastructure developments. The feedback from these engagements has been invaluable. We received 72 survey responses that expressed a strong desire for us to be more open and involved in local projects. In direct response, we published a comprehensive feedback report in February and shared it widely. To ensure continuous access to information, we have also launched a community-focused website using Citizen Space. This platform allows residents to read about our plans through accessible formats, and we aim to develop it further with interactive mapping tools to foster even greater understanding and collaboration. Employee Involvement in the Community We actively encourage people to make a positive impact in their local community. To support this, every employee receives three dedicated volunteering days, separate from STEM engagement activities, plus an additional day for team-based volunteering. This commitment has proven immensely popular, with volunteering activities doubling year-on-year to more than 1,000 activities. Our people are passionate about making a difference. For example, a group from our Communications team volunteered at Silchester Village Hall - providing painting and gardening to a very thankful local community, largely sourcing their own opportunities. Broader activities supported include litter picking, maintenance of parks and school grounds, as well as supporting the Royal Naval Association. [Caption: Below: Our Local Liaison Committee celebrating our 75th anniversary in April 2025] In October 2024, we launched a new charity partnership with Parents and Children Together (PACT), an organisation chosen by our employees through a company-wide vote that saw over 2,500 people participate. This partnership has already generated fantastic momentum, raising £27,000 for PACT in our first year of partnership through a variety of fundraising activities. Our spirit of giving extends to our annual festive collection, which supports local food banks and provides toys and gifts for those in need. This year, we proudly added donations to PACT’s wish list to our efforts. In a particularly special initiative, our Executive Director, Estates and Liabilities, with his senior leadership team, personally helped women supported by the charity to choose and wrap gifts for their loved ones, providing a joyful and memorable experience. Beyond these hands-on efforts, we are also sharing our story with the wider community. Since November, we have been hosting an exhibition at the West Berkshire Museum to celebrate AWE’s 75th anniversary, offering the public a chance to engage with our history and our ongoing mission. Keeping Employees Informed We keep our employees updated of our initiatives and achievements through multiple channels across our sites. We use our internal online portal, updating and publishing articles regularly. We have also made great progress in increasing the number of screens across the communal areas of our sites to share key information especially to those who don’t always have access to the online portal. To help support our initiatives further, we use Engagement Champions and Wellbeing Champions who sit across all areas and teams. They help communicate updates and survey results supporting different locations and senior leaders throughout our estate. SECURITY Enhanced Security Measures and Performance Our security commitments remain as steadfast as ever. Until March 2025, we maintained our key performance objective of fewer than 1.5 serious security incidents per 100,000 hours worked. We successfully achieved this target with no major security incidents last year. From April 2025, we implemented a broader range of security measures. We now use 17 measures across cyber, physical, personal and supply chain security. This provides a more comprehensive view beyond just incident reporting. Learning and Improving Through Insights Our 2024 security survey showed strong engagement and positive responses, and our people continue to demonstrate high confidence in understanding their security obligations. Deeper analysis revealed we needed to better support new joiners. Subsequently, we are enhancing our induction courses and implementing new online learning. This mandatory, self-led training will help embed security knowledge during employees’ first 100 days. We constantly learn from experience reports and exercise evaluations to improve our practices. Strengthening Partnerships and Capabilities We developed our partnership with the Ministry of Defence Police and implemented a new policing model that makes our security more agile and responsive. This fresh approach better uses all available resources. In addition to this we also enhanced our nuclear forensics capability significantly. We now provide a 24/7 operational support to the police following incidents involving radiological or nuclear material. Our cybersecurity continues to improve through work with partner agencies. We continue to provide operational support and advice to the police, to aid security posture for events of national importance, for example Royal and State events. Supporting Our Growing Supplier Base Our supplier base has grown significantly in the past year, and we have expanded our team. We have published new security requirements – visible to all on our website – and provide ongoing assurance about the implementation of proportionate physical, personnel, technical and procedural security arrangements. We work closely with suppliers so they are clear of the security requirements of working with us. Collaborating for Best Practices Ever keen to expand our knowledge of security best practices, we learn from industry partners beyond our normal sector. In addition to this we maintain strong relationships with HMNB Clyde and defence regulators, while our capital build programmes incorporate secureby-design principles through close collaboration with construction firms. [Stat: Fewer than 1.5 serious security incidents per 100,000 hours worked] ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY Living Our Values Every Day We strive to build a culture where people consistently do the right thing. Our Code of Conduct guides daily behaviour for employees, covering safety, security, respect, and keeping promises. It also addresses whistleblowing issues like fraud or policy violations. These matters can significantly impact our business and reputation. Our employees speak up confidently, knowing they are safe to do so, and we encourage everyone to report anything they witness that seems wrong. They can do this without fear of repercussions or retribution. Promoting Transparency and Accountability We maintain strong measures to ensure ethical conduct. All our people complete annual mandatory ethics training, which focuses on a different topic each year and we regularly promote our internal speaking-up mechanisms through various communication channels. In addition to this, we have significantly expanded our Ethics Ambassador programme and now have 32 ambassadors across our main sites, up from 16 last year. Ambassadors serve as proactive points of contact for employees and provide information about how to speak up and discuss concerns informally. Reporting and Addressing Concerns Our network of Ethics Ambassadors serves as a vital first point of contact, offering confidential advice and guidance to colleagues. They provide a safe space for initial discussions and can recommend raising concerns more formally through our established ethics channels if needed. Every report submitted is carefully reviewed by our dedicated team, which involves relevant departments for a comprehensive and fair response. We handle each investigation with the appropriate level of diligence, tailored to the seriousness of the concern. While some matters are resolved through straightforward conversations, others require formal meetings, detailed witness interviews, and thorough analysis. Every investigation concludes with a formal report that includes clear, actionable recommendations for managers to implement. Underpinning this entire process is our strong commitment to support. We provide robust mechanisms for any employee facing an ethical issue, ensuring they never have to navigate these challenges alone. Our Help at Hand initiative and wider wellbeing schemes stand ready to offer valuable, confidential assistance, safeguarding both the individual and our ethical standards. To further strengthen our ethical infrastructure, we are reforming our conflict of interest declaration process. We have implemented annual reminders for employees to declare any potential conflicts and are making the system itself more effective and user-friendly to encourage compliance and clarity. Our Commitment to Continuous Improvement Our work in ethics is rooted in a philosophy of continuous improvement. We are adopting a more proactive approach to managing conflicts of interest and enhancing how we communicate our Code of Ethics beyond the initial induction process. To ensure ongoing engagement, we plan to introduce automated processes that confirm employees are regularly reading and acknowledging the code, embedding these vital principles into the daily life of our organisation. BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Business Transformation: Evolving Our Culture and Strategy In 2025, we celebrated our 75th anniversary with a new mindset, a new brand and a renewed sense of purpose. The Government’s Strategic Defence Review laid out the country’s security priorities, placing nuclear deterrence at the centre of UK defence. AWE stands ready to support the needs of defence, now and in the future. Business Transformation We are evolving our organisation to become higher performing and more agile to meet the needs of the nation. To support this, AWE has launched a new transformation plan with eight defined initiatives, each owned by an accountable member of the Executive, that aligns to our business objectives. This includes the Business Framework: the restructure of AWE into focused units to simplify how we operate. The realignment of transformation and change efforts secures our four core mission outputs: Trident, Astraea, nuclear threat reduction and enduring national capability. All transformation programmes and priorities align directly to our mission: to design and manufacture warheads and provide nuclear services to meet the needs of defence. This clarity of purpose drives accountable delivery and decision-making across our organisation. Progress of our transformation is reported directly to our executive team to ensure accountability and decision clarity. We are strengthening our communications approach so updates reach every level, enabling leaders to act decisively. Each transformation initiative has clear objectives and benefits, underpinned by delivery plans to reinforce the importance of pace, productivity and price. This common language helps everyone in AWE understand and track our progress. Inclusion and Engagement In September 2024, we launched an experience survey that revealed frontline workers – those who work directly with our products – were the least engaged. To address this, we are implementing structured plans to incrementally improve employee experience through improved career pathways, a clearer focus and leaders spending more time engaging with these teams. We have spent significant time with employees and senior leaders to articulate what a high performance culture looks like in AWE and we will be taking steps to implement a renewed ‘cultural deal’. With our new three-year inclusion plan, we are also taking great care to build an inclusive culture that values and respects all AWE employees. Our Built Estate We are making significant progress in modernising our infrastructure. We produced a refreshed Establishment Masterplan that outlines our vision to 2050 and guides how we will achieve modernisation, consolidation, and create a more sustainable campus environment. Our Establishment Masterplan includes elements like landscaping, active travel routes, and welfare features. We measure progress toward this masterplan in phases, focusing on 0-5 years, 5-10 years, and 10 years plus, ensuring we remain ready to meet evolving customer requirements. Strategy, Culture and Estates We also updated our Infrastructure Capability Plan. This document describes the infrastructure needed to support our nuclear weapons enterprise programme until at least 2060. It captures all estate interventions required to deliver our business requirements both now and in the future. Managing Our Ageing Infrastructure Exit Strategy In 2024/25 we developed a comprehensive strategy for moving and refurbishing buildings on our sites. We have a significant task to design buidings for the future to help us deliver the replacement warhead, while maintaining Trident. This means we need to sustain key facilities, identify space requirements for constructions areas and develop alternate accommodation solutions. All of which we have made good progress on in the last year. This means taking a short and long term view of whether some ageing facilities need to be sustained to maintain capability or whether safe demolition is required. This takes significant planning to maintain safety and delivery on what is always a live and active site. Next Steps in the Hub Project and Estate Reduction The Hub is our new state of the art facility that will bring together teams that are currently located across our Aldermaston site. The Hub will see the consolidation of many ageing labs, stores and offices into one campus environment, meaning we can demolish buildings that are no longer fit for purpose. Our demolition programme is gaining momentum with 14 buildings demolished in 2024/25, bringing the benefits of additional space, increased energy efficiency and reduced safety risks. We completed extensive preparation work, including scrub clearance at Burghfield. This prepares the way for large-scale demolition in the coming years. For 2025/26, we plan to demolish 2,500 square meters of footprint across both sites. Upgrading Utilities for Current and Future Needs Parts of our estate are ageing and require an electrical upgrade to strengthen resilience, improve efficiency, and increase power capacity for future demands. This substantial investment will replace or refurbish all 36 high voltage distribution substations and all cabling, as well as bring new substations to site. Alongside electrical, we are also making improvements to our heating systems, on site water treatment and utilities. For example, we repaired or replaced 270 street light heads with upgraded, more efficient units. [Stat: 270 street light heads upgraded] Creating a Modern and Energy Efficient Estate For energy efficiency, we have installed new metering equipment to help us determine energy consumption. This means we now have greater means to identify, prioritise and hold users to account for the energy they use. In addition to this, we are deploying a power purchase agreement for new solar farms at our Aldermaston and Burghfield sites, reinforcing our commitment to our net zero obligations. We are also actively pursuing a diesel-free strategy through electrification and biofuels, and rationalizing gas and liquid fuel heating supplies while moving toward heating electrification. We maintain a rolling energy audit programme to identify efficiency investments across our existing estate.