Solenis Releases Sustainability Report for 2022

Published: April 20, 2023

Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals used in water-intensive industries, has released its 2022 Sustainability Report, summarizing the company’s environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governance (ESG) initiatives for the previous fiscal year. The report — Solenis’ third annual report and first as a Platinum Equity-owned company — is available for download at www.solenis.com/en/sustainabilityreport.

“2022 was an outstanding year for Solenis,” said CEO John Panichella. “By maintaining our focus on people, performance and results, we are continuing to reach significant achievements. Last year, we posted Solenis’ third consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth; our best safety performance ever; our second Platinum rating from EcoVadis; improvements in diversity, equity and inclusion; and our highest-ever employee satisfaction rate.”

“As our company grows and strengthens, so too do our sustainability initiatives,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Lotta Kanto Oeqvist. “At Solenis, not only are we making strong progress toward our own sustainability goals, we support the communities around our sites and help our customers reach their sustainability targets. This most recent report provides a heightened amount of disclosure and transparency to match those increased efforts.”

The 2022 report is based on the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Universal Standards, which were published in October 2021 for use in reports published beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The Solenis report has been externally validated by an independent certification agency. Important highlights include:

• Solenis’ second annual Platinum rating from EcoVadis, a leading rating agency in corporate social responsibility and sustainable procurement. The Platinum status indicates that Solenis scored in the Top 1 percent of chemical companies that were evaluated for sustainability management.
• A revised and expanded materiality assessment. The study identified and highlighted the 20 most important material priorities upon which Solenis will focus its commitments and strategic efforts.
• Solenis’ best-ever safety performance. Solenis achieved a Total Recordable Rate¹ (TRR) of 0.3, which is a 27 percent improvement over the prior year. In addition, 32 out of 48 manufacturing facilities have operated for the entire fiscal year without any recordable incidents.
• Significant environmental improvements. In FY2022, Solenis reduced the occurrence of environmental incidents by 20 percent. Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions² were flat versus the prior year. And the company’s water consumption decreased 11 percent versus last year.
• A new, Scope 3 GHG assessment. The company’s first published Scope 3 measurement indicates that 99 percent of Solenis’ Scope 3 emissions are categorized as Purchased Goods & Services; Downstream Transportation and Distribution; Capital Goods; and Fuel and Energy-Related Activities.
• Improvements in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I). Solenis reported on several newly launched DE&I programs, including a new scholarship winner. Overall diversity³ was 30.7 percent; global gender diversity was 26.4 percent; and women in executive leadership positions were 20.4 percent. The company is on track to double its diversity by 2030⁴.
• Solenis’ highest-ever employee satisfaction rating. The overall engagement score on Solenis’ annual culture survey increased from 8.6 out of 10 in 2021 to 8.7 in 2022, marking the third consecutive year of improvement. Also, Solenis was once again named a US Best Managed Company.
• Solenis reported on targets and key performance indicators of its sustainability goals that include customer relationships, R&D innovation and digitalization. Each of these goals works as part of a broader initiative to address global issues such as water scarcity, deforestation and climate change.

“Sustainability has been a part of Solenis’ DNA from the beginning,” said Panichella. “It is inherent in our business simply by virtue of what we do: we improve water quality. We have our challenges and obstacles. But I’m proud of our accomplishments to date. I know that the quality of our people and our culture — supported by a strong management framework — will enable us to not only meet but exceed our objectives.”

¹Calculated by multiplying the total number of incidents that meet the criteria of being recordable by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in one year by 200,000 hours and divided by the total number of hours worked by all employees.
²Scope definitions according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol as promulgated by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative.
³Global gender diversity plus U.S. race/ethnicity diversity.
⁴From a 2018 baseline.