Communities

Developing constructive and sustainable dialogue

Out of respect for our host regions, we make every effort to ensure that our sites are well integrated into the surrounding communities. We are continuously improving our industrial risk management processes, and more generally, our supply chain process. We share our accident and nuisance prevention efforts with local residents and other local stakeholders. Our first commitment: to disseminate transparent, explicit information in a proactive manner.

With Solvay Way, we have committed to: 

Ensuring the integration of entities within their territories 

  • We ensure the integration of communities by really listening to what they have to say. We have communication & dialogue initiatives in many sites like open doors, neighborhood newspapers, discussions with journalists, and participation in association meetings.  
  • We sponsor an XperiLAB truck  – a roving educational science facility in Belgium that can accommodate a whole class of pupils to carry out real experiments and encourage fun learning.

Controlling industrial risks related to entities’ presence in their territories 

  • All of our facilities have procedures and resources to protect the health and well-being of people in the neighborhood, including managing air quality, groundwater and noise exposure. Emergency preparation and public information plans are deployed at all major-risk sites.

Controlling supply chain risks and prevent accidents 

  • We carry out and improve transport safety, notably through implementation of the Cefic guidelines on best practices in transport and logistics operations, in dialogue with our logistic service providers.

In action

Since Haiti’s earthquake in 2010, the SBS Information Systems team has participated in “PCs for Haiti”. Its ambition is to donate 1,000 Solvay computers to Haïtian schools and universities, through the French Association GRAHN. The team is working in close collaboration with teams from the Brussels Campus, Dombasle, Paris and Tavaux sites. So far 874 computers have been shipped.

The Solvay Jiangsu site, in China, organizes initiatives to support the children and the elderly. For example, they have donated funds for scholarships to support local students from poor families. For nearby nursing homes, they also donate personal care items and gifts to elderly men and women who have no children to look after them.

The Aroma Performance plant in Salindres, France is part of ALIZE (Actions Locales Interentreprises en Zones d’Emploi). Companies like Solvay are engaged in helping smaller ones develop, donating time and expertise.

Germany’s Bernburg site sponsors an annual community race called the Solvay Cup. Elsewhere in the country, the Group’s Hannover site provides a mix of donations to children’s hospitals and sponsors cultural events, and in Freiburg, teams support activities for refugee kids.

And across the 40 + sites in the United States, a range of activities have taken place. In Alpharetta, Georgia, employees participate in “Habitat for Humanity,” helping to construct homes for low-income families. In Houston, Solvay is a major supporter of Junior Achievement, contributing funds and sending an average of about 20 employees per semester to teach six-week business-related courses to school children. In Cranbury and many other sites, Solvay employees strongly support United Way, a national system of volunteers and contributors to local charities. In addition, Solvay’s Chemistry Connection® sends employee volunteers to local schools to demonstrate science through hands-on experiments.

These initiatives, among many others, help build the strong community relationships enjoyed by our sites across the globe.