Solvay unveils its Group purpose

Today Solvay unveils its Group purpose: Solvay exists to bond people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress – and its new tagline: “progress beyond” – evoking its pathway towards the future. The purpose was developed using insights gained from 13,000 responses to an internal survey, 288 listening sessions and 75 hours of individual interviews with employees, customers and other stakeholders.

The Group-wide purpose expresses the connection, collaboration, innovation and progress that have characterized Solvay since its founding, and embodies the company’s vision to create shared, sustainable value for all. It is the foundation for the recently-announced G.R.O.W. strategy to unleash Solvay’s full potential by collaborating across the company to create solutions that address megatrends, challenges and the needs of future generations.

“Solvay can be the driving force behind the next big breakthroughs that will enable humanity to protect the resources we all share,” said Solvay CEO Ilham Kadri. “We are called to take on a new chapter of responsibility as a purpose-led organization. Our purpose calls us to go beyond who we are and where we stand today, to bond together and invent future forms of progress – with the aim of creating sustainable shared value for all through the power of science.”

Solvay today also launches a set of core beliefs that will guide the transformation of its business, which are:

• Purposeful responsibility: Solvay’s commitment to uncompromising ethics, safety and wellbeing, and sustainability;
• Unity, not uniformity: Solvay believes in the power of inclusion and diversity, the universal connection between all human beings, and values the unique contribution of each individual; and
• Passion for performance: the drive to achieve, challenge the status quo, and manage through meritocracy.

These new values and core competences will have a direct impact on the company as it will be the basis for the evaluation of Solvay employees and have an impact on their variable remuneration.

Today’s purpose announcement represents the first step in a transformative journey and cultural evolution for the Group, enabled by the new operating model, Solvay ONE. Over the next weeks and months, Solvay will be implementing measures to advance its new purpose-led mission and strategy, including further commitments in the areas of sustainability, diversity and inclusion.

Solvay is an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company, committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. Solvay innovates and partners with customers worldwide in many diverse end-markets. Its products are used in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, as well as in mineral and oil and gas extraction, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Its lightweighting materials promote cleaner mobility, its formulations optimize the use of resources, and its performance chemicals improve air and water quality. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with around 24,500 employees in 61 countries. Net sales were €10.3 billion in 2018, with 90% from activities where Solvay ranks among the world’s top 3 leaders, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 22%. Solvay SA (SOLB.BE) is listed on Euronext Brussels and Paris Bloomberg: SOLB.BB - Reuters: SOLB.BR), and in the United States its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a level-1 ADR program. (Figures take into account the planned divestment of Polyamides).