Pharmaceuticals Sector - Solvay

50
Solvay Global Annual Report 2005
Dialogue with our
markets:
safety and
environmentalimpact
management
Numerous initiatives have
increased the eco-effi ciency of
our products (see box).
Various programs have also been
launched to reinforce the integrated
management approach to health
and environment.
These include:
– a new program to explore
organic chemistry solutions in
photovoltaic energy and new
lighting technologies;
– providing a Daimler-Chrysler fuel
cell vehicle to Inergy in the US for
an assessment of the hydrogen
storage system;
– creation of a “Soil Remediation
Reagents” team within the
Chemicals Sector, to promote the
marketing of on-site soil remediation
products and, in the USA,
the uniform marketing of a range
of fl ue gas cleaning systems
under the SOLVAIR label;
– NOVOSOL ® , a new, global
technology for stabilizing and
recycling polluted dredging mud
and other contaminated mineral
residues. This technology has
confi rmed its potential in a pilot
project with the Walloon Region
(Belgium) and a major European
road builder;
– active participation by Solvay
Fluor in the development of
a European regulation covering
fl uorinated gas emissions.
Responsible use of these gases
- which are essential for
(1) SQAS : Safety and Quality Assessment Scheme.
(2) ESAD : European Single Assessment Document.
(3) EA-Tool : Exposure Assessment Tool.
refrigeration, air conditioning,
medical applications and highperformance
thermal insulation
- contributes to reducing energy
consumption and hence the
climate impact of associated
emissions;
– extension of security audits in
the logistics chain. Audit of bulk
transport vessels by the Chemical
Distribution Institute, participation
in SQAS (1) audits by road carriers
transporting our hazardous
products and ESAD (2) verifi cations
of our chemicals distributors are
providing a basis for a genuine
dialogue on the topic of safety.
Dialogue with local
communities:
proximity initiatives
at our sites
The Group regularly invites external
entities to verify the conformity of
the environmental management
systems at its different sites.
By the end of 2005, 60 sites had
received certifi cation of their environmental
management systems
to ISO 14001 or the equivalent.
Projects to reduce water uptake
have continued at a number of
sites, in many cases in cooperation
with municipal water companies.
These involve improving our
production processes and replacing
well water with recycled water.
For example, the project now
nearing completion at Rosignano
(Italy) will reduce by over 3 million
m 3 /year the amount of underground
water drawn for industrial
use. Prevention and remediation
programs for the long-term management
of soil have continued at
various sites, in particular in France
and Brazil. Specifi c programmes
have also been defi ned with the
local authorities in Italy.
Many recently acquired plants have
adopted new operating methods
and adapted their health, safety
and environmental management,
in particular in Latin America,
Eastern Europe and Italy.
The new SA8000 (social accountability)
certifi cation, obtained in
response to a request by a
Brazilian customer, and help
provided to a Bulgarian hospital
are just two examples of the varied
involvement of our sites in their
local communities.
Major incident simulations have
been undertaken with local authorities
at certain “SEVESO” category
sites (Jemeppe, Belgium and Martorell,
Spain), to test the effectiveness
of the intervention systems.
Among the activities undertaken
to improve our environmental
performance, joint action by
our vinyl sites has enabled us to
meet the stringent emission and
discharge standards defi ned by the
European ECVM charter.
In Brazil the replacement of an
air-based oxychlorination unit at
our Santo Andre site with a new
oxygen-based unit has signifi cantly
reduced air emissions.
A general program to improve
the quality of liquid effl uent from
fl uorinated polymer production
facilities has also been introduced.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, our
European energy production sites
affected by the European Directive
on emission trading have received
their local CO 2 emission permits
under the quota system that came
into force in 2005.
Dialogue with
our employees and
subcontractors:
initiatives for health
and safety at work
The safety performance objectives
for subcontractor personnel
working on our sites have been
brought in line with those applicable
to Solvay employees.
For example, the shutdown of our