By Pierre Bertrand


Solvay SA said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement regarding industrial waste with activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners, which had previously called for its chief executive officer to resign over the issue.

The Belgian chemical company agreed that it will reduce the discharge of limestone residue into the sea from its plant at Rosignano in Italy, and will invest in a new soda-ash production process.

The initiative should enable Solvay to further cut its carbon-dioxide emissions and reduce any discharge of limestone residues to zero by 2050, the two said in a joint statement. The measure, part of Solvay's One Planet sustainability plan, brings to an end a pressure campaign by ESG-focused fund Bluebell, which in September 2021 called for Solvay's CEO to resign over environmental concerns relating to the Rosignano plant, on Italy's Tuscan coast.

"We have been pleased with our continuing and productive dialog and engagement with the Solvay management team," Giuseppe Bivona, Bluebell's co-founder, said. "We have always been appreciative of Solvay's One Planet roadmap. Our primary concern was soda-ash production at Rosignano and the recent announcements to significantly reduce the discharge of solid materials directly into the sea and accelerate investments to reinvent the soda ash production process with all its environmental benefits are huge steps forward."

As part of its soda-ash manufacturing process, the plant discharges limestone residue into the Mediterranean Sea. It is what gives the local beaches their white color, Solvay says on its website.

The company said in February that the process only uses natural materials, doesn't involve heavy metals, and that the discharge is safe and in compliance with national and European Union regulations.

The plant's permit was renewed by the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition in January for the next 12 years, according to Solvay's website.

But Bluebell, which owns one share in Solvay, accused the company in an open letter sent to media organizations in February of dumping suspended solids containing nickel, cadmium, chrome, arsenic and mercury into the sea.

As part of the two companies' agreement, Solvay said it will invest an estimated 15 million euros ($14.9 million) in its Rosignano facility for targeted improvements and optimization. As well as cutting the amount of limestone discharged at the plant, it will test a new soda-ash production process in France designed to emit 50% less carbon emissions, reduce water, brine, limestone consumption and completely eliminate limestone residues, the company said Tuesday in a separate release.

"We appreciated the recent constructive engagement with Bluebell and I'm thrilled we have found a common ground," Solvay CEO Ilham Kadri said.


Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-06-22 0608ET