Solvay Corporate Governance
Solvay governance in practice
Solvay governance bodies – the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee – are responsible for setting out the Group’s long-term strategy, upholding the vision of Solvay’s founder and implementing our transformation strategy.
How is Solvay implementing an effective corporate governance?
Solvay is administered by a Board of Directors and run by an Executive Committee. The Board of Directors is entrusted with challenging and supporting the executives in the development of strategies. The Executive Committee, in turn, oversees the Group’s business operations.
Solvay’s Governance Bodies reflect the culture of collaboration that the Group aims to reinforce across its teams. The Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO maintain regular and constructive dialog, sharing information and embodying this culture at the highest level.
Detailed respective functions and responsibilities are defined in Solvay Governance Charter, available in the downloadable documents below.
Solvay governance bodies
Solvay Board of Directors
- 15 members
- 10 independent directors (65%)
- 7 nationalities
- 7 women (45%)
- 4-year mandate
- Age limit: 70
Solvay Executive Committee
- 6 members
- 5 nationalities
- 1 women (15%)
Shareholders & shareholders' meetings
Solvay major shareholders
Solvay’s reference shareholder, Solvac, has a holding of over 30%. 80% of its capital is owned by descendants of Solvay’s founding families: 2,400 people who have no individual influence on the Group’s strategic decisions, but who provide strong support for that strategy. This shareholding structure is a key asset for the Group, ensuring permanence for its long-term strategic vision.
Shareholders' meetings
The General Meeting of Shareholders is convened once a year, on the second Tuesday of May, for its Ordinary meeting. A General Meeting of Shareholders may also be called in Special or Extraordinary circumstances whenever the Company interests dictate. Rules relating to General Meetings and main rights and obligations of Shareholders are further detailed in the Corporate Governance Charter.
Main corporate governance documents
Solvay has adopted the Belgian Code of Corporate Governance (second edition) published on March 2009 as its reference Code taking into account the specific international aspects of the Company.
The Corporate Governance Charter established by the Board of Directors aims at providing a comprehensive and transparent disclosure of the Company’s governance.
It defines the system of checks and balances between the shareholders/investors, the Board and the management to shape an efficiently functioning company, ideally geared to produce long-term and sustainable value. As part of these rules, Solvay has adopted a code of Business Conduct and a code of Share Dealing.
To complete this range of documents, we have also implemented additional codes that represent our key guiding principles such as Solvay's Responsible Care policy and the Human rights policy.
Articles of Association & by-laws
Solvay SA is incorporated in Belgium, with its registered office at rue de Ransbeek 310, 1120 – Brussels. See below Solvay Articles of Association updated in 2012, 2014 and 2015.