Solvay

Stakeholder engagement
Solvay discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. The company discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups. The company discloses how its stakeholder engagement activities impact its sustainability strategy. The company’s stakeholder engagement covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues.

Lobbying
Solvay discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Solvay reports on its global biodiversity assessment and relies on the ReCiPe methodology (reducing pressure on terrestrial acidification, climate, water eutrophication, marine ecotoxicity). It has set a target to reduce their pressure on biodiversity by 30% by 2030, as compared to 2018 and reports that it has decreased its pressure on biodiversity by -24% versus 2018.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Solvay reports quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance.

Water
Solvay has reported a target of 25% reduction of freshwater intake by 2030 (compared to 2018), with an intermediate target of -15% by 2025 and reports progress against the target.

Solid and air pollution
Solvay has reported that they closely monitor the Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) listed in the EU REACH Candidate list and EU REACH Authorization list, by identifying all marketed products sold in the EU and worldwide containing a concentration of those substances above 0.1%. The company has reported its target is to phase out all SVHCs present in their marketed products at a concentration above 0.1% by 2030, wherever feasible and reports progress against the target.

No leading practices were identified for Solvay in the area of Social inclusion and community impact.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While Solvay discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. While the company indicates that its highest governance body has expertise in regard to sustainable development, no evidence that it has expertise with respect to its most material pressures on nature could be found.

Lobbying
Solvay does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
While Solvay reports that its nature impact assessment’s value chain scope is from raw material to distribution, no evidence of upstream impact results was found.  The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations. The company does not disclose any assessment of dependencies on nature of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
Solvay discloses the locations that “55% of Solvay sites are within a 5km radius of a protected area”, however, no evidence of the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important to biodiversity within its own operations could be found. The company does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. While the company discloses the number of species potentially affected by its operations over a five-year period, no evidence that the company discloses the specific species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations could be found.  The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to the locations of its suppliers. The company does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
Solvay does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. While the company gives evidence of historical restoration efforts and discloses its ambitions to “develop local restoration projects in partnership with associations and local stakeholders”, no evidence of a clear commitment regarding the restoration of ecosystems could be found. The company discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Solvay does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company discloses activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
No evidence that Solvay reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. While the company states “Specifically, we focus on reducing the impact of freshwater withdrawal and Chemical Oxygen Demand releases”, no evidence or examples of activities demonstrating that it reports a decrease in water pollution could be found. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company regularly reports on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
No evidence that Solvay reduces the production of hazardous substances was found. The company does not disclose a commitment to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. No evidence that the company is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
No evidence that Solvay reduces its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions was found. The company has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company does not report progress against its scope 1 and 2 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. The company is reducing its scope 3 emissions.  While the company discloses that it is in the process of setting a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions which will be validated by SBTi, no evidence that the company has yet published such a target could be found. The company does not report progress against its scope 3 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that Solvay identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations. No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its value chain.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
Solvay does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Solvay does not disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

Solvay describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships.  The company states that it assesses human rights risks through two parallel processes, however, there is no evidence the company has identified what human rights are at the risk of being impacted and therefore there is no evidence of a process for assessing the saliency of these risks. No evidence was found that the company has a global system in place to act on, prevent or mitigate its salient human rights issues.  No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found.  While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

Solvay has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers.  The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. No evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements.   The company states that suppliers must not threaten or penalize employees for their efforts to organize or bargain collectively where permitted by the laws of the country where the worker is located, however, it does not describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Solvay discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations.  No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships.  No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.