Definition
A sustainable solution is defined by Solvay’s Sustainable Portfolio Management tool as a product in a given application which makes a greater social and environmental contribution to the customer’s performance and at the same time demonstrates a lower environmental impact in its production phase.
Indicators and objectives
Within Solvay, the Global Business Units are accountable for delivering sustainable business performance and contributing to the Group target of generating 50% of revenue from sustainable solutions by 2025.
% of turnover |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
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|
|||||||||
Solutions |
53 |
50 |
49 |
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Neutral |
27 |
30 |
31 |
||||||
Challenges |
7 |
7 |
8 |
||||||
Not evaluated |
13 |
13 |
12 |
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By the end of 2019, 53% of sales in the assessed portfolio of Product-Application Combinations qualified as “solutions”, a slight improvement compared with the previous year.
Most of the progress made over the last five years has been achieved through changes to Solvay’s portfolio and the natural adoption of sustainable solutions as market standards (neutral), as a result of the market dynamic on sustainable topics. Today, the integration of sustainability in the business processes creates a positive dynamic to deliver more revenue in business solutions category. Therefore the Global Business Units have raised their ambition that will contribute to reach 65% in solutions by 2030.
Sustainable Portfolio Management’s comprehensive, systematic approach reveals an increasing number of new market signals on sustainability that require discussion between the business and its customers to better understand their potential business impact.
The Sustainable Portfolio Management systematic portfolio assessment is aligned with the Group’s financial scope. Changes in scope during the year, as outlined in the financial report, are reflected in the Sustainable Portfolio Management scope. The portfolio assessment is based on the 2019 revenue.
Correlation between Sustainable Portfolio Management analysis and sales growth
Sustainable Portfolio Management is designed to identify business accelerators or obstacles with respect to sustainability in order to help Solvay’s business deliver higher growth and superior sustainable value. Over the last three years, Solvay’s products have experienced significantly stronger annual revenue growth rates in cases where customers and consumers are looking for products to match their social or environmental needs.
Annual volume growth rate per Sustainable Portfolio Management category:
- Solutions: +4%;
- Challenges: -5%.
(based on 2016-2018 sales with the same product, same application, and same Sustainable Portfolio Management ranking over the last three years, representing 43% of Group sales).
2019 Key achievements
World Alliance for efficient technologies
Solvay joined the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions, created by Solar Impulse founder Bertrand Piccard, to promote efficient technologies, processes, and systems that help improve the quality of life on earth. Alliance members include start-ups, companies, institutions, and organizations. They assess the solutions submitted by their Members, with the help of independent technical and financial Experts, and select 1000 of the most promising ones. They will be labelled as Efficient Solutions and presented to governments, businesses and institutions to encourage them to adopt more ambitious environmental targets and energy policies.
In 2019, 7 Solvay products have been labeled as Solutions:
- AgRHO® S-BoostTM increases root development: the plant gets stronger quicker because it favors nutrients and water uptake, so less pesticides and fertilizers are required, and irrigation requirements are lower.
- SOLVAir®: It’s a solution for treating exhaust gases from factories incineration (like Nox, SO2, HCI,...) plants and ships hence contributing to cleaner cities by using innovative Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) process.
- Solef® PVDF: Applied in batteries, this fluorinated polymer improves the performance and durability of electric vehicles. It’s a solution without any additives, it has the intrinsic stability inherent to fluoropolymers even when exposed to harsh environments, providing the user with a unique combination of properties resulting in longer equipment life.
- Capterall®: mineral formulations treat polluted water to reach lower discharge concentrations and manage fluctuations in pollutants in order to be compliant with strict regulations.
- Alve-One®: foaming solutions are an innovative generation of high-performance and cost-effective chemical blowing agents based on 100% safe raw materials helping fulfil the plastic industry’s needs of moving towards a circular economy.
- MAX® HT: This solution enables all of our customers to enjoy increased heat transfer coefficients and evaporator steam economies that result in reduced energy consumption, caustic losses and maintenance costs (acid and labor).
- Paramove® : An approved veterinary medicine used in salmon farming to control sea lice and promote salmon welfare.