Edison, the former owner of Solvay's Spinetta Marengo and Bussi sul Tirino sites compensates Solvay for breaching environmental representations and warranties relating to its sale to Solvay in 2002
Solvay receives compensation of €91.632 million after decisions by the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration tribunal, the Swiss Supreme Court, and the Milan Court of Appeal, all of which ruled in favor of Solvay. The outcome follows more than 10 years of legal proceedings in relation to Solvay’s claims of environmental breaches by Edison, a subsidiary of EDF, in the context of Solvay's acquisition of the Italian company Ausimont in 2002.
The compensation relates to costs, losses and damages suffered by Solvay up to the end of 2016. Additional arbitration procedures are currently ongoing regarding costs, losses and damages suffered by Solvay from January 2017 onwards. Solvay is confident in the merits of its claim for additional significant compensation for damage in this second phase and expects proceedings to conclude in 2024.
"Solvay acquired the Spinetta site based on representations which failed to disclose material environmental lapses. Upon discovering important deficiencies, Solvay initiated proceedings against Edison and mobilized significant technical and financial resources to undertake important remedial actions”, said Marco Martinelli, Country Manager Italy and Industrial Director for the Group. “Our actions resulted in a significant improvement in air and water quality, inside and outside the industrial site.”
“At Solvay, we constantly strive to go above and beyond regulations with respect to health, safety and the environment, and we will not hesitate to act responsibly," explained Augusto Di Donfrancesco, member of Solvay’s Executive Leadership Team. "In recent years, we invested heavily in optimizing and modernizing our plants to meet the standards we set ourselves. Our sustainability priorities are guided by Solvay One Planet, with ambitious targets to drive progress across climate, resources and a better life."
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Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 21,000 employees in 63 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.1 billion in 2021. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program. Learn more at www.solvay.com.
