10 Sustainable Key Goals

Monitoring our progress through ten priority goals by 2030

Climate

Lowering greenhouse gas emissions worldwide

Solvay will double the rate at which it reduces emissions, with a goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions by 26% and aligning its trajectory with the “well below 2°C temperature increase” goal outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Key levers

• Switch to renewable and low carbon energies
• Improve energy efficiency continuously
• Develop clean technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released by chemical processes
• internal carbon price €50/metric ton of CO2 eq. applied in all investment decisions on GHG emissions
• Metric on GHG emissions of operations in senior management remuneration
• Explore Circular economy business models as an additional lever to zero-emissions challenge for energy generation.

Eliminating the use of coal for energy

Solvay will not build new coal-powered plants and commits to phase out coal usage in energy production wherever renewable alternatives exist.

Key Lever

• Switch to renewable and low carbon energies.

Reducing pressure on biodiversity

Solvay plans to reduce its pressure by 30% on biodiversity in areas such as terrestrial acidification, water eutrophication and marine ecotoxicity.

Key Lever

• The Group’s Climate plan and coal phase-out initiative will be the key driver to reduce our pressure on Biodiversity.

Resources

Increasing water use efficiency

Solvay will diminish its impact on freshwater withdrawal by reducing its intake of freshwater by 25%.

Accelerating the circular economy

Solvay will leverage its partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate the Group’s contribution to the circular economy. Its goal is to more than double the sales of products based on renewable or recycled resources to 15% of turnover.

Increasing waste recovery

The Group will reduce by a third its non-recoverable industrial waste, such as landfill and incineration without energy recovery.

Key Levers

• Recycling / Valorization as by products or in energy generation

Leveraging innovation to develop more sustainable solutions

Solvay will continue to shift its portfolio toward opportunities that grow its sustainable solutions, with a target of increasing sustainable solutions to 65% of total Group sales.

Key Levers

• Research & Innovation
• M&A
• Strategy
• Impact quantification

Better life

Prioritizing safety

At Solvay, we target a zero accident policy, to protect the safety and security of its employees.

Key Levers

• a strict application of our Life Saving Rules
• enhancing our safety culture and safety leadership

Embedding diversity and inclusion

Solvay will work to achieve gender parity for mid- and senior-level management by 2035. Solvay’s code of business integrity paves the way towards an inclusive work environment that welcomes diversity of any kind such as thoughts, race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Key Levers

• Boost coaching, mentoring and sponsorship initiative
• Participate in Education programs to foster women students’ interest in jobs of the future
• Develop women top managers with high educated programs

Extending maternity and paternity leave

Solvay is adapting its global policy of 14 weeks maternity leave to 16 weeks, extending it to co-parents employed by the company regardless of gender, by 2021.