Solvay’s Biodiversity Program encompasses a series of initiatives developed by the company aimed at conserving native species of fauna and flora within its Paulínia Industrial Complex in Brazil. This program made Solvay the first company in the chemical/textile sector in the country to obtain certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), an international organization focused on biodiversity conservation practices in the private sector. In the first assessment in 2021, WHC awarded the Paulínia Industrial Complex with its Gold Certification, the highest level of certification available. Within the Solvay Group, the Brazilian program was also the first in the world to obtain this recognition. The Biodiversity Program is part of the organization's strong commitment to sustainability, which ranges from a strategic focus on innovation and development of sustainable products to our Group Sustainability Program, defined by ambitious goals to be achieved by 2030.
Factories in an oasis of Biodiversity
Solvay's unique history in Paulínia began in 1942, during World War II. With the blockade of the Brazilian coast, the company's unit in Santo André stopped receiving the alcohol needed to manufacture its products, which came from Northeast Brazil. The solution was to buy a farm in Paulínia (Fazenda São Francisco) to plant sugarcane and produce its own alcohol. Industrial activities in Paulínia began in 1958 and have been expanding ever since.
Today, the Rhodia complex in Paulínia is an example of how a company can grow by sowing the three pillars of sustainability.
The area, which is crossed by the Atibaia and Anhumas Rivers, is home to:
- 27 factories producing chemical products for industries such as food, automobiles, paints and varnishes, clothing, personal hygiene, and cleaning products, among others. Of the total 16 million square meters, only 15% is occupied by industrial operations, including the transit area, administrative and social structures, such as the employee restaurant.
- A forest with thousands of Atlantic Forest tree species planted and maintained by Rhodia.
- A diverse fauna, including birds, fish, pollinating insects, reptiles, and several mammals, such as capybaras, snakes, monkeys, jaguars, and other species.
- A greenhouse gas abatement unit (internally called Projeto Angela), which eliminates approximately 5.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year. Launched in 2006, to date this is the largest project of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world.
