Nature is essential to healthy ecosystems, resilient communities, and sustainable development
Our nature conservation approach focuses on protecting biodiversity, restoring ecosystems, and delivering tangible positive impacts for nature through commitments, partnerships, and action on the ground.
By 2030, Solvay will have allocated 30% of permeable land located near biodiversity-sensitive areas to support nature conservation and restoration efforts.
Explore the key elements of our nature conservation approach:
Protecting and restoring land to support biodiversity
We’re actively working to minimize the negative pressures of our activities on nature. We also leverage our land to deliver tangible positive impacts for nature. We contribute to the core objectives of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted at COP15 in December 2022. Utilizing IUCN's Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) and WWF's Biodiversity Risk Filter, we prioritizeour global manufacturing sites locatednearbiodiversity areas.
Each site’s action plan focuses on:
Gathering information on local flora and fauna
Measuring impacts in collaboration with local stakeholders
Identifying projects to protect biodiversity and support regeneration
Developing nature-based solutions
Solvay Travel Carbon Fund
We are changing the environmental cost of business travel into a positive force. Our Travel Carbon Fund is a bold initiative that turns carbon footprints into real, local benefits.
Committing to protecting biodiversity isn't just about rainforests and vast oceans. In the Les Petons Quarry in Belgium, a lot can be done as well, and one Solvay site is proud to be showing the way.
Our commitment is brought to life through long-term biodiversity conservation, habitat restoration, and climate action. From reforestation and wildlife protection to native bee preservation and the Angela Project’s greenhouse gas abatement efforts, the site shows how industrial activity and nature stewardship can coexist.
Partnering with IUCN to achieve tangible positive impacts for nature
In 2025, we entered a three-year collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a globally recognized organization with more than 16,000 experts, to strengthen biodiversity action across our operations and help deliver tangible positive impacts for nature.
Protecting nature requires collaboration, scientific expertise and action on the ground. By working with IUCN, Solvay benefits from science-based recommendations, tools and methodologies that help strengthen our biodiversity action plans and support our 30x30 commitment.
Bringing biodiversity action to life at Dombasle
At our Dombasle soda ash site in France, Solvay and IUCN completed a pilot project using the IUCN RHINO approach to better understand biodiversity priorities, assess nature-related risks and opportunities, and identify actions that can deliver meaningful outcomes for nature.
The pilot combined scientific expertise, local ecological knowledge and site-level data to help strengthen the site's biodiversity roadmap and support long-term conservation and restoration efforts. It demonstrates how Solvay is translating biodiversity commitments into measurable action while helping build resilience for the future.
The lessons learned through the Dombasle pilot will help inform biodiversity action across additional priority sites as Solvay advances its biodiversity roadmap and 30x30 commitment.
Protecting nature requires a collaborative approach and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to partner with the IUCN. By drawing on expert knowledge we will deliver tangible positive impacts for nature.
Building upon our previous initiatives in Brazil, Italy, and Spain, among others, IUCN is providing us with science-based recommendations, tools, and indicators.
“The combination of Solvay's sustainability leadership in the chemical sector and IUCN's standards and latest scientific approaches - such as the IUCN approach to measuring Nature Positive," explains Susanne Pedersen, Director of IUCN’s Centre for Science and Knowledge "should help demonstrate that credible, high integrity outcomes for the planet, the people and the economy can be achieved by transforming business production practices to better integrate biodiversity.”
Dombasle
Dombasle, France
In Dombasle, France, Solvay is pioneering a science-based biodiversity blueprint through a landmark pilot with the IUCN. By implementing the RHINO approach and STAR metric, we transform global sustainability goals into measurable local action, creating a replicable model for nature-positive manufacturing worldwide.
Paulinia was awarded both a Gold Conservation Certification by the Tandem Global for its initiatives implemented since the 1970s to promote Solvay’s harmonious coexistence with nature. The 16 million m² site, with only 15% occupied by buildings, features Atlantic Forest vegetation, rivers, and close to 83 species of diverse wildlife like capybaras and jaguars.
The lake at this site, now the Santa Luce Lake Nature Reserve, was highlighted by the IUCN as an example of corporate biodiversity action. Originally built in the 1960s for water supply, it now serves educational and scientific purposes.
Recognized by the IUCN for transforming the Cuchía quarry into a bird sanctuary and natural area for the local community, exceeding regulatory obligations.
In 2024, we adopted a holistic approach to biodiversity through the renewal of our commitments within the “Act4Nature” initiatives. These commitments address various pressures such as climate, land and water use, and pollution, emphasizing the importance of a site-specific approach. Act4Nature International is a business-led initiative that collaborates with scientists, NGOs, and governments to mobilize companies for biodiversity conservation actions.
Solvay joins It’s Now for Nature
Solvay joined It’s Now for Nature, a global initiative that brings together companies committed to accelerating action for nature. The initiative provides a platform for peer learning and accountability, helping participating organizations turn biodiversity commitments into tangible action on the ground.
