World’s Leading Nuclear Power Plant Exporting Companies Hold Fourth Meeting to Review Industry Principles of Conduct

THE GLOBAL THINK TANK World’s Leading Nuclear Power Plant Exporting Companies Hold Fourth Meeting to Review Industry Principles of Conduct TORONTO—The participating industry civilian nuclear power plant vendors and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace have concluded a fourth meeting to review the implementation of the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct (POC). The POC constitute an industry code of conduct articulating and consolidating recommended best practices in the export of nuclear power plants. The meeting was convened in Toronto, Canada, on September 25 and 26, 2013, by the POC secretariat with the gracious local support of Candu Energy and Bruce Power. It was chaired by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Meeting participants updated each other on their implementation activities and shared best practices. Companies noted the high quality of the presentations and the benefits of building on each other’s most innovative internal implementation experiences. They welcomed the steady progress made by all vendors, including those that have either recently joined the process or gone through a corporate transition. Participants confirmed the value of the POC and discussed a number of ideas for advancing their objectives and strengthening the mechanisms through which those objectives can be achieved. They exchanged views on existing efforts to implement the POC and discussed guidelines and procedures for enhancing their effective implementation. In recognition of vendors’ commitment to upholding the highest standards of nuclear safety, Principle 1 was modified to include a reference to the World Association for Nuclear Operators (WANO) principles “Healthy Traits of a Nuclear Safety Culture.” This document was shared with vendors by WANO as part of its long-standing dialogue with the POC. Companies discussed key developments in nuclear regulation and best practices with internationally recognized experts in the fields of nuclear industry and nuclear energy regulation. Guests included: Michael Binder, president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission André-Claude Lacoste, expert on the POC process, former chairman of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, and chairman of the sixth review meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety Richard Meserve, expert on the POC process, chairman of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group, and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission These experts lauded the POC’s role in reinforcing high standards in the development of nuclear power. They offered concrete suggestions for advancing the POC process and broadening its scope in support of public safety. These suggestions were extensively discussed by participants and will be considered again at the next review meeting. Participants were also joined by Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Bruce Power and president of WANO, to reflect on some of the challenges currently facing the nuclear industry and ways in which these can be addressed. Frank Saunders, an expert on the POC process and vice president of Bruce Power, also joined. Roger Howsley, executive director of the World Institute for Nuclear Security, briefed companies on the institute’s key projects. The companies confirmed the ongoing outreach to emerging nuclear industry players, including small modular reactor vendors. They noted their appreciation for the IAEA’s central role in developing good practices for nuclear power and reiterated the invitation to the IAEA to attend future POC review meetings. Participants also welcomed a representative from the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC), a major developer of nuclear power plants in China. SNPTC attended the meeting as an observer while it contemplates adopting the POC. Companies updated antitrust guidelines to ensure that all aspects of the POC review process continue to comply with competition laws. Participants discussed one case study on the successful development of nuclear power programs. Vendors in attendance included: AREVA ATMEA Babcock & Wilcox Candu Energy Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Rusatom Overseas Toshiba Press Contacts: Danielle Kurpershoek | +39 02 9287 5124 |secretariat@nuclearprinciples.org Clara Hogan | +1 202 939 2233 | chogan@ceip.org More information about the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct is available at www.nuclearprinciples.org. ABOUT CONTACT UPDATE PROFILE UNSUBSCRIBE. Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees. © 2013 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.