Name

Biodiversity and natural areas

Solvay 7 action lines

Pierre Coërs

HSE – Industrial Management

Name

(Solvay Elclor Brazil: large natural

areas to protect)

1. Rehabilitating large quarries

and settling ponds

2. Promoting biodiversity in our

sites

3. Taking part in protection of

natural environment around

our sites

4. Ensuring sustainable

biosourced raw materials

5. Assessing the impact of our

effluents on living organisms

6. Protéger la ressource en eau

dans les régions en stress

7. Supporting science on

biodiversity

Biodiversity and natural areas 7 action lines for Solvay

1. Rehabilitating large quarries and settling ponds

• Multi-annual, large-scale rehabilitation

programs of natural areas are on-going

in many Solvay sites. In particular, the

biological rehabilitation of old dikes and

quarries on Solvay’s lands has been

under way since decades.

• Around 2000 hectares have been

actively replanted, often with trees.

Some of the rehabilitated areas are even

now recognized as nature reserves to be

protected.

• In addition, Solvay owns and maintains

over 8000 hectares of land around its

sites, where biodiversity is de facto

protected from housing or roads and

plays its role as a natural buffer.

Example of Couillet, Belgium

2000 ha replanted on Solvay lands,

1bis. Rehabilitating natural areas

example in Dombasle (Jura)

2000 ha replanted on Solvay lands,

• Partie importante des surfaces du site de l’usine gérée en «zones vertes », en zones humides et en plans d’eau, soit au total 300 ha.

• 200.000 arbres et arbustes replantés

2. Promoting biodiversity in our sites

Young falcons in Jemeppe, Belgium

Many action on a case

by case basis in Solvay

sites

ex :

•Neder Over Hembeek

•Nature reserve in

Santa Luce (Italy)

•…

3. Taking part in protection of natural environment around our sites

Example : "Clean Up Day" (septembre 2012) du

Galgenschor, une réserve naturelle le long l'Escaut

(en face de Solvic Lillo).

Journée organisée par Natuurpunt. Solvic Lillo a

collaboré à nettoyer cette réserve naturelle (déchets

venant des bâteaux sur l'Escaut).

Name

4. Ensuring sustainable biosourced raw materials

(*) based on projected final energy demand in 2020

Expected world Biomass Trade Routes (*)

• wood pulp

• bio-ethanol

• C12-C14 alcohols

• guar split

• lauryl alcohol

• hydrogenated coconut oil

• glycerin

• coconut fatty acid

• + Several industrial projects thoroughly

investigated in wood-based energy

sourcing.

Solvay’s green chemistry

cover a range of renewable

raw materials

Name

4bis Ensuring sustainable biosourced raw materials : The Epicerol® process

Chlorinated

byproducts

Chlorine

consumption

divided by 10 divided by 2

Water

consumption

divided by 8

Pull out from oil

chain

Solvay’s manufacturing units based on its proprietary

Epicerol process probably constitute one of the

world’s largest “green chemistry” projects (excluding

the biofuel industry), in terms of volumes of bio-

based chemicals produced. The Epicerol process

meets the 12 principles of green chemistry as defined

by the US Environmental Protection Agency:

• From the extraction of raw materials to the output of our

factories, the process reduces by 55% the consumption

of non-renewable energy and by 60% (of which 35% of

biogenic CO2) the overall impact on climate change,

compared to the conventional method based on

propylene.

• In its own industrial perimeter, the Epicerol process

reduces by a factor 8 the volume of chlorinated by-

products, of 10 the water consumption and of 2 the

chlorine consumption. It also significantly reduces the

volume of liquid effluents.

The Epicerol® process is one of the world

largest “green chemistry” industrial projects.

It relies on natural glycerin, a by-product of

biodiesel from rapeseed, oil palm or

soybean

Solvay strives to work with suppliers who share its

sustainability commitment.

• Rapeseed - of European origin, it is covered by the European

Directive on renewable energy which commits suppliers to

various criteria of sustainability, including biodiversity.

• Oil palm - of Southeast Asia origin, suppliers are members of

the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Part of

the supply by RSPO’s members is certified according to

RSPO’s criteria on protection of biodiversity, soil, water,...

and working conditions (no child labour).

• Soybean oil - of Latin America origin: the supplier is

committed to environmental specifications excluding

deforestation, child labour, or the irresponsible use of

pesticides.

5. « Indices biotiques » pour mesurer l’impact sur la biodiversité aquatique

Objectifs

suivre l’amélioration continue de la qualité de nos rejets aqueux (après traitement physique et/ou biologique) par des mesures in situ dans le milieu naturel

Principe la qualité écologique du milieu récepteur aquatique (rivière, baie) s’évalue par la richesse de sa flore et de sa faune (biodiversité) – « decision tree »

Name

5,45,9 6,3 6,4 6,4

5,6 5,85,2

5,4 4,0

1,5 0,8 0,71,0 0,7

1,3

0,6

2,5 3,3 3,3

2,9 2,9 3,0

0,7

0,0

2,0

4,0

6,0

8,0

10,0

12,0

14,0

1998 2003 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Con

sum

ptio

n (M

m3/

y)

surface underground Public purif. plant ARETUSA

Site Water Consumption (excl sea water) Rosignano factory soft water consumption

Sea

Water

90 %

Soft Water 10%

Rosignano Factory

Soft Water Consumption Total Consumption

6. Protecting ecosystems by saving the water resource 35 sites identified as in

potential water scarcity

situations

Action plans to reduce water

withdrawals focus in priority

on groundwater abstraction

and on the 35 sites

identified as in potential

water scarcity situations,

current or future, due to

climate change.

• Currrent freshwhater water

withdraxwals by Solvay

amount to 600 Millions m3.

The impact on water

availability is lower as a

large part of water is used

for cooling purposes and

then returned to the same

environmental compartment

(surface to surface).

Example : Solvay now recycles

water and has reduced

consumption from phreatic by 4

million m3/year in its Rosignano

plant in Tuscany, protecting the

phreatic and the natural

ecosystems

Example : Technical and

financial support to

international scientific

missions:

Studying the biodiversity of

the tropical primary forest :

the “SolVin - Bretzel” in

Madagascar (2001),

Panama (2003),

the "Arbodôme" in Vanuatu

Islands (2006)

7. Supporting science on biodiversity

Name

Biodiversité – Edward O Wilson

Auteur de “The Crisis of Biological Diversity”, publié

en 1985, (…)

• « Nous devons la base même de notre existence à ce

que produisent les plantes vertes, ainsi que des

légions de micro-organismes et de tout petit

invertébrés.

• … « Le grand défi du XXIème siècle sera de donner à

chacun sur terre un niveau de vie décent tout en

préservant autant que possible ce qui reste du monde

vivant. »

Approche milieu, exemple

Amélioration continue de nos effluents par des

traitements physico-chimiques

et/ou biologiques

Suivi de la Qualité écologique

du milieu récepteur par la mesure d’indices biotiques

Approche amont/aval rejet

avec note associée

IBD (microflore algale)

IBGN (macroinvertébrés benthiques)