Sustainable Impact For Generations
Sustainability is in our DNA. 160 years ago, our founder Ernest Solvay reinvented the soda ash process, making it cleaner and more sustainable, while also championing social responsibility. We continue his legacy today through our commitment to building trust and value for Solvay, its stakeholders, and society. Planet and Life are the past, present, and future foundations of Essential Chemistry.
We recognized early on that sustainability is essential to the chemical industry's future and have made it a core driver of our strategy. Our sustainability program embodies this driving force, reflecting a fundamental shift in our operations. We are carefully considering the implications of this promise and are ready to act. The name also honors Solvay's heritage. As a company with shareholders who have belonged to the same family since its founding, and where some employees have followed one another for generations, this program resonates deeply.
This program is both realistic and ambitious. We've made clear choices about our priorities, focusing our efforts where we can make the biggest impact. Our program rests on two powerful pillars: Planet Progress and Better Life.
Planet Progress
Driven by our commitment to the planet and clear expectations from our customers, we are accelerating our efforts and tackling climate change head on.
Climate Change
Our climate roadmap focuses on reducing direct and indirect emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and addressing Scope 3 emissions throughout our value chain.
Environmental Protection
We aim to reduce our environmental impact on emissions, water and waste.
Nature Conservation
We are working to minimize the negative pressures of our activities on nature and leverage our land to deliver tangible, positive impacts.
More Circularity
We contribute to the circular economy and provide our customers with lower environmental footprint products.
Sustainable Portfolio
We deliver essential chemicals that are crucial for daily life. Our products help society move towards a more sustainable future.
Better Life
As a responsible employer, we are committed to improving and enhancing the quality of life for our teams and communities through various initiatives focused on health and safety, well-being at work, diversity, inclusion and social dialogue.
Health and Safety
At Solvay, safety is more than just a priority; it's a core value that guides everything we do.
Ethics and Compliance
Ethical and compliant behavior is essential to our people and to how we do business at Solvay.
Social Care and Dialogue
Empowering through social dialogue, building a sustainable future for generations.
Communities and Philanthropy
Making a difference to people, planet, and communities.
Solvay's key sustainability pillars
Solvay is committed to external measurable targets. Our sustainability objectives include:
Solvay is on track to meet its targets
Independent ratings of our performance
We are taking comments from ratings agencies very seriously. This includes eco-efficiency, ethics and compliance. Our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risk management approach protects human rights and the environment across our value chain.
Basics to start your ESG data analysis
Solvay Code of Business Integrity
To foster a culture of integrity, we established a Code of Business Integrity under our Ethics & Compliance program. This applies to all Solvay employees and third parties. Our Speak Up service, an ethics and compliance hotline, allows employees to safely report or seek help for any inappropriate or unethical behavior.
Environmental, Social, and Governance Library
Solvay is committed to safeguard people and decrease our impact on the environment. Click to view our Responsible Care Policy, and other important documents in our ESG Library.
Product sustainability and safety
The responsibility for the safety of the products Solvay provides to its customers is essential all along the life cycle of products, down to their end-of-life and recycling.
Responsible Sourcing, a global Procurement initative
Before entering into a business relationship, we expect our suppliers to commit to all principles of our Supplier Code of Business Integrity.
Our partners
Advocating for Workers' Rights Worldwide
IndustriALL Global Union, founded in 2012, is a powerful international trade union federation representing over 50 million workers in 140 countries across mining, energy, and manufacturing.
Based in Geneva, its core mission is to build union power, defend workers' rights, and fight for social justice, including fair wages and safe conditions globally. Highly recognized, IndustriALL promotes international labor standards and challenges corporate abuses through Global Framework Agreements with multinational corporations.
Solvay partners with IndustriALL on such an agreement, fostering dialogue and affirming a joint commitment to responsible labor practices and sustainable development worldwide
Protecting Our Planet
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world's largest environmental network.
Founded in 1948, the IUCN is a global authority on nature's status, uniting over 1,400 member organizations and thousands of experts. Its mission is to conserve nature and promote sustainable resource use. Solvay leverages IUCN's unparalleled expertise to guide our sustainability efforts, delivering tangible positive impacts for nature.
Biodiversity and Conservation Efforts
The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is a highly respected non-profit organization, founded in 1988, with the core mission of engaging corporations in biodiversity and conservation efforts. Recognizing the significant potential of private lands for nature, WHC was established to provide a framework for businesses to actively manage their properties for wildlife.
WHC Conservation Certification® program is the only voluntary sustainability standard designed specifically for broad-based biodiversity enhancement activities on corporate landholdings. This certification provides third-party credibility, verifying that companies are implementing robust conservation and education programs. Through their work, WHC demonstrates that business operations can, and do, contribute positively to environmental stewardship and support healthy ecosystems worldwide.
Solvay has received a WHC Gold Medal for its initiatives in Brazil.
Driving Sustainable Business
The UN Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, calling on companies to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000 by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, it serves as a non-binding framework to foster responsible business practices globally.
By committing to these Ten Principles, businesses not only uphold their fundamental responsibilities to people and planet but also set the stage for long-term success. The UN Global Compact helps companies integrate sustainability into their core strategies, drive collective action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and report on their progress, working to build a more sustainable and inclusive global economy.
Solvay's sustainability report serves as a progress report on the implementation of the United Nations Global Compact’s ten principles.
Driving Sustainable Mobility
Movin'On, an initiative conceived by Michelin, is a global "do-tank" fostering sustainable mobility. It unites diverse public and private sector leaders – from corporations and cities to academics and international organizations – to anticipate, innovate, and influence future mobility solutions.
Hosting the annual Movin'On Summit, it serves as a premier international forum. Through its communities, Movin'On accelerates co-innovation and develops concrete solutions, spanning decarbonization, accessible transport, and circular economy principles. Solvay is an active member, contributing to this vital effort.
Mobilizing Business for Biodiversity
Act4nature International is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in 2018 that aims to accelerate corporate action for biodiversity conservation. Driven by business networks, it brings together companies, scientific partners, environmental NGOs, and public bodies.
Its core objective is to mobilize businesses on their direct and indirect impacts, dependencies, and potential for positive action in favor of nature. Companies make voluntary, pragmatic, and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) commitments to integrate biodiversity into their strategies and operations, with these commitments being publicly recognized.
Act4nature International provides a framework for companies to measure and reduce their ecological footprint, restore ecosystems, and promote nature-based solutions.
Solvay is an active and recognized participant in Act4nature International, having renewed its commitments to this initiative to further its contributions to nature conservation.
Advancing Corporate Sustainability
Solvay is an active member of CSR Europe. CSR Europe is the leading European business network for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility. Founded in 1995 at the appeal of European Commission President Jacques Delors, it unites, inspires, and supports over 10,000 enterprises across Europe and globally through its corporate members and National Partner Organizations.
Its mission is to increase the integration of sustainability into business models and management, acting as a platform for collaboration and a catalyst for innovation. CSR Europe supports businesses in their transformation towards practical solutions and sustainable growth, aiming to co-build an overarching strategy for a Sustainable Europe 2030, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is highly recognized as a key dialogue partner for European institutions on CSR and sustainability policy.