* Scope: consistent with financial reporting.

Definition

Solvay defines diversity as all of the ways in which individuals are different, whether visible or not. Diversity includes more than gender, nationality, age, disability, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation. It includes thought and belief, culture, education, and background. In a business environment, it also includes corporate culture.

Inclusion means valuing and respecting difference, recognizing the unique contributions that many different types of individuals can make, and creating a working environment that maximizes every employee’s potential. The Group sees this approach as a way to enhance its performance in its role as employer. It is convinced that its approach will ultimately improve the overall performance of its workforce, and has therefore made diversity and inclusion a performance lever and a growth enabler.

Management approach

Commitments and policy

Solvay commits itself to equal opportunities and encourages diversity and inclusion at every level of employment in the company. This commitment is grounded in Solvay’s principles of ethical behavior, respect for people, customer focus, empowerment, and teamwork.

Group Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Diversity and inclusion are championed at the highest level in the organization by the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and the Leadership Council. Each Global Business Unit and Function entity management team is responsible for putting this commitment into practice. To reflect business objectives and cultural context, business, regional, and local leaders set specific and relevant objectives within the Group diversity and inclusion framework. Strategies and action plans have to be locally owned and driven by entity, region, and country to take into consideration local laws, customs, and priorities.

At the Group level, four areas of focus in terms of diversity receive specific attention and monitoring to ensure consistent improvement across the organization:

1. Improving the gender mix at all levels of the organization;
2. Leveraging the generational mix to optimize learning, knowledge, and experience;
3. Developing national and cultural talent that mirrors growth opportunities;
4. Enriching the team mix by leveraging experiences and backgrounds.

Indicators and objectives

Since 2017, Solvay’s actions have aimed to:

• Ensure leadership commitment and accountability;
• Foster diversity and inclusion awareness;
• Issue guidance in human resources processes such as recruiting, retention, and advancement.

A review of human resources processes focused on talent acquisition by offering guidance on candidate sourcing and selection.

Training and development programs have been focusing on initiatives such as raising awareness about inclusive behaviors and targeted development programs for female managers and for Asian talents, among others.

We also foster country-specific actions crafted in response to the local context, thanks to the Solvay Way network and best practices.

According to the above table, the age structure is currently:

• 33% older than 50;
• 55% between the ages of 30 and 49;
• 12% younger than 30.

2019 Key achievements

Solvay is #9 out of over 10,000 European companies in the Financial Times’ inaugural “Diversity Leaders” ranking.

The local deployment of the group policy, thanks to the Solvay Way network, was assessed in 2019 on 140 sites: 71 reached the level where an action plan to foster inclusion & diversity has been defined, approved by their referent Global Business Unit, and communicated to their employees.

More than 200 managers from all regions were trained this year on the six inclusive leadership behaviors: Listening to understand, Seeking multiple points of view, Giving & receiving feedback, Enhancing inclusion, Setting Processes & policies that foster Trust & Respect, and Cultivating self-awareness.

Our key International Management Seminar (IMS) happened in 2019: a six-month learning journey for 60 identified young talents from all regions and entities of the group, this program leads to inclusion and inclusive behaviors. The “IMS community” is an active group of 250 managers who have participated in the program since its start.

“WomenLeaders@Solvay”, a group of more than 100 executive leaders worldwide, has been working on “how to promote diversity at Solvay”. The group is sponsored by the top female leaders at Solvay. It is studying three specific themes and aims to make them more of a reality going forward.

Mentoring programs are tailored to female talents in some of our GBUs. The Soda Ash & Derivatives GBU, for instance, launched a three-year program this year.