Breakthrough
The Rhodia group constantly strives to maintain operational excellence and to consolidate its strong position in the markets in which it trades. As an innovative and forward-thinking company, we are also committing resources to breakthrough projects that we feel address many of today’s major challenges to industry.
Our core values are:
To preserve energy through the application of renewable resources
To pursue the protection of the environment and the safety of all who live on earth
There is, today, an increased awareness of how the chemical industry’s products and processes impact on consumer health and the well-being of our environment. Rhodia’s research and development function is highly committed to sustainable development and evaluates, prior to committing itself to any project, its societal and environmental impact.
Responsible chemistry
Responsible chemistry requires the application of sustainable development criteria within R&D processes. In 2007, Rhodia’s research and development department created a team dedicated to evaluating the company’s economic, energy and eco-efficiency products and processes by quantifying their impact on the environment, human health, the use of resources and greenhouse gas emissions.
The company’s Science and Innovation Council, created in 2007, also plays an important role in supporting our breakthrough programs. It is composed of leading industry and academia experts, internal and external, who are acknowledged as authorities in the Group’s key competences from both industrial and marketing perceptives. They add a valuable and independent landscape to Rhodia’s innovation strategy and ensure that the products we develop are not only innovative but also marketable.
Collaborative network
Our long-established and proven links with major academic bodies enable us to move these challenging programs forward. We take these links one step further by creating laboratories where research scientists from Rhodia and from France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) work together. These pools of expertise focus on specific scientific domains of interest to Rhodia, such as complex fluids.
Rhodia also collaborates with a network of industry partners, including suppliers, customers and even competitors, to enhance the Group’s skills in the management of these ambitious programs. This includes taking a leading position in the international competitiveness cluster Axelera, the French Federation of Chemicals Industry and Suschem, the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry.
To preserve energy through the application of renewable resources
We live in a world which is constantly changing. In common with all responsible companies, Rhodia wants to put the limited oil resources that we have to best use and employ more renewable resources, which must be equally efficient but have less impact on the well-being of the planet.
Rhodia has already achieved considerable success in this field with the development of "green tire" products that resulted in a five percent reduction in oil consumption and the development of polyamide automotive structural parts and body panels lighter than traditional metal parts.
It is part of Rhodia’s culture to seek out new sources of energy. Already, nine percent of the raw materials we use are renewable, such as the ethanol we source in Brazil, guar that we use for industrial and personal care applications and erucic acid extracted from colza.
In the future, we intend to materially increase the percentage of natural raw materials through internal and external initiatives. Rhodia is for instance involved in the Bio-Resources 2015 program launched in association with Axelera, with a view to replacing fossil-based raw materials with renewables such as starch, glucose, glycerol, straw and wood waste. Also Rhodia has taken an active part in the creation of Chimie du Végétal (the Association of Plant Chemistry), which promotes bio-products.
To pursue the protection of the environment and the safety of all who live on earth
Rhodia is dedicated to the development of breakthrough programs to enhance the quality of the environment.
This commitment by the Group is now a reality. Society faces major challenges in relation to greenhouse gas emissions and our Rhodia Energy ServicesEnterprise develops projects to reduce emissions on the Group’s industrial sites as part of the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. Also, Rhodia was a pioneer in gas emission reduction in the automotive industry with its innovative rare earth and silica based products.
Focusing on tomorrow, Rhodia is undertaking internal and external programs to boost innovation and create value for its stakeholders. The company’s program to establish a "factory of the future", utilizing compact and streamlined manufacturing facilities that use less energy and non-renewable resources, is one example of Rhodia’s breakthrough ambitions.
Rhodia is also involved in the Valorsites project, launched in association with Axelera. This project is devoted to the eradication of soil pollution and aims to manage the risk of persistent bioaccumulative and toxic substances and to promote phytoremediation - treatment using plants. This process is clean, efficient, inexpensive and, unlike procedures that require soil excavation, will not disturb the environment. Also, as from 2009, our R&D teams will take part in the Accacia project launched by Axelera, to capture and realize value from CO2.