Improving our environmental footprint
As a responsible manufacturer, we aim to reduce our environmental impacts:
Emissions
Always meeting our compliance obligations, we proactively seek to go beyond, to reduce emissions of substances of concern for the environment.
Water
We aim to reduce fresh water intake and water consumption in areas subject to water scarcity.
Waste
We aim to reduce both the amount and hazardousness of our waste. We also aim to maximize the recovery of unavoidable waste.
Monitoring and reducing emissions
Solvay ensures compliance with all regulations, and goes beyond. We proactively seek to reduce emissions of substances of concern for the environment. This work is made on two levels, requiring diverse expertise:
- Reducing air and water emissions from our production sites.
- Reducing the environmental footprint of our products throughout their whole life cycle.
Reducing emissions in production
In order to effectively reduce our emissions, we are taking several actions in parallel.
We carefully track our emissions. Our sites manage air and water emissions through strong monitoring systems. These systems comply with all regulations. Each site reports regularly on the substances they are permitted to emit, in accordance with their exploitation permits.
We keep a close watch on technology and studies. Solvay adheres to the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) to identify material emissions and evaluate the most environmentally effective and economically viable methods for preventing and controlling these emissions. We also closely watch the Best Available Techniques (BAT) guidelines and work with local groups to improve air and water quality.
We invest in technologies. We invest in advanced monitoring systems, in cleaner production methods to reduce pollution at its source, and in pollution control technologies to minimize pollutants released into the environment.
Our STAR Factory Program is aimed to radically transform our production sites, to improve their competitiveness and enable further responsible business opportunities.
We have installed SOLVAir® solutions in our sites
Our investment in pollution control benefits from the expertise that our SOLVAir® teams deliver within Solvay, even if they are primarily dedicated to external customers. Developed over the past 30 years, SOLVAir® (recognized as a BAT) handles the cleaning of exhaust gases with simple, innovative, and efficient flue gas treatment solutions. Thanks to sodium-based solutions, SOLVAir® removes acid gases (HCl, SOx, HF...) from exhaust for all types of industries such as energy from waste, industrial, marine, and energy production.
Fighting Non-methane volatile organic compounds
Paulínia site has initiated the Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) Program following US EPA guidelines to address fugitive Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) emission NMVOC emissions. Since its introduction, four units have participated, achieving a minimum 50% reduction in annual NMVOC emissions across three units.
Improving the environmental footprint of our products
Solvay is committed to minimizing the environmental footprint of its products throughout their entire lifecycle. To proactively address potential risks, we created the Solvay - Substances Risk Monitoring (S-SRM) list in 2015. This internal standard, which we update annually, allows us to rigorously track and manage Substances of Concern (SoCs).
Our dedication goes beyond simply meeting legal requirements. We strive to exceed regional and national chemical regulations, such as the European REACH, across our global operations. Specifically, we:
- Actively work to reduce the presence of Substances of Concern (SoCs) in our marketed products throughout the value chain, whenever feasible.
- Focus on replacing these substances with safer, more sustainable alternatives.
- Collaborate with our suppliers of raw materials to identify and implement opportunities for pollution prevention, reduction, and remediation. This ensures a more responsible supply chain.
Addressing water scarcity
In response to the increasing frequency of droughts and extreme weather events globally and acknowledging the associated environmental and industrial risks, Solvay has implemented site-specific water conservation action plans. Our primary objective is to reduce freshwater abstraction, particularly in regions identified as water-stressed.
Here's how we're driving change:
Rigorous, proactive, real-time monitoring. We provide weekly updates during drought periods, covering over 90% of our global daily freshwater withdrawals. Daily monitoring of site water intake is ensured through direct data collection from flowmeters, connected to Solvay's servers via our digitalization system. We've expanded our "water live dashboard" to 18 sites by the end of 2024, up from 10 in 2021, providing significant real-time monitoring capabilities.
Innovation investing. We are investing in advanced technologies to significantly reduce our water consumption while maintaining operational continuity and efficiency.
Decisive implementation. We're prioritizing implementation at facilities located in high-risk areas. Through our STAR Factory initiative, we're conducting periodic reviews and updates of our water reduction strategies. Our approach is driven by a constant commitment to reduce our impact on water resources and to contribute to the sustainable management of this essential resource.
Paulínia, Brazil
This project builds on the site's commitment to resource conservation, having already reduced water withdrawal by over 70% over the last decades. This new system circulates water for cooling, using towers to minimize river impacts and drift loss, cutting withdrawal by 4.2 million m3/year. This also improves water quality which reduces equipment maintenance.
Qingdao, China
At Qingdao in China, since 2024, by capturing condensation water from the production process and reusing it, the site has achieved 14,000 m³ of water saved annually - equivalent to six Olympic-sized swimming pools, reducing water withdrawal from the Yellow River.
Bernburg, Germany
To minimize surface water use and control well water intake, we continued to optimize cooling tower operations. For example, at our soda ash plant in Bernburg, Germany, we implemented a tracer-based system to reduce river water intake by 250,000 m³ annually starting in 2023.
Preventing and reducing waste
Solvay is committed to reducing waste through a strategic approach centered on resource efficiency and circular economy principles. Our waste reduction policy prioritizes minimizing waste generation and ensuring appropriate treatment for unavoidable waste.
Key initiatives include:
- Waste prevention: We focus on reducing waste at the source by optimizing production processes and improving resource utilization.
- Reuse: We actively promote the reuse of materials for their original purpose whenever feasible.
- Recycling: We pursue recycling opportunities, such as repurposing waste streams as raw materials for other industries (e.g., supplying materials to the cement industry).
Energy recovery: Non-recyclable waste is utilized for energy recovery where appropriate.
To support these efforts, Solvay:
- Provides employee training on resource efficiency and circular economy principles to foster a culture of sustainable resource management.
- Invests in and innovates to enhance resource efficiency and waste management practices.
Recycling wastewater treatment sludges
Solvay is committed to a sustainable approach for managing industrial waste. As a result of partnering and innovation, our Paulínia, Brazil site achieved its goal of Zero Non-Recoverable Industrial Waste in May 2024. This means that no waste was sent to a landfill or for incineration without energy recovery, thereby reducing the pressure on the environment.
This milestone has been established by repurposing part of the waste as fuel or raw material in the cement industry's co-processing. The site continues to collaborate with partners to identify additional alternatives, including the reuse of materials in the ceramic industry for brick production
Similarly, in Torrelavega, Spain, we recycled 35% of non-hazardous waste generated by our soda ash and bicarbonate activities with a local cement plant.