Dear shareholders, chers actionnaires, I'm so excited to welcome you to Syensqo's Shareholder Meeting. In fact, this is our very first shareholder meeting as an independent company, and I couldn't be prouder of the journey we've taken to be able to stand before you today. In fact, an incredible journey, once in a lifetime, that had Syensqo today poised to explore, to create, and advance. Look at this, what a trip it has been. As you know, two years ago, together with our former chairman, Nicolas Boël, for whom we are extremely grateful, we initiated one of the boldest and biggest projects in our history. From the initial announcement almost two years ago to Capital Market Day and Syensqo's listing on Euronext Brussels and Paris, we landed all of our critical milestones without a hitch. Yes, we did that.
Of course, all of this would not have been possible without you, you, our shareholders, without your support. Et merci infiniment, les actionnaires.
Thank you very much to the reference shareholders. Thank you to the chair, to the President, Chairman of Solvac, to the Baron Janssen. Thank you to the members who represent the founding families today. Your support is very dear to my heart.
I will remember ringing the bell, and I will remember this number, and frankly, being emotional about it for the rest of my life. This figure is a testament of your trust, and I thank you so much. Your support for this bold breakthrough project is allowing two standalone and successful companies to now fly with their own wings, able to pursue their own missions and visions, primed to unleash their full potential. I must say, the first months of trading have been proving us right. By the way, this project is your project. It's also a project that has attracted new investors alongside our loyal and reference shareholders. Among the new joiners, I can highlight Fidelity Management and Research, as well as Newton, who are both based in the United States of America. Welcome to Syensqo.
In addition, we have seen some of our largest existing shareholders, such as Standard Investments, Norges in New York, as well as Henderson in London, increase their positions, and we thank you for that. We are convinced that the combined strength of all our shareholders will allow us not only to dream big, but to also make those dreams come true. Why? Because your company, Syensqo, has a unique value proposition that we are able to accelerate thanks to the separation. Your company has an unmatched portfolio with leading market positions. Your company is customer-obsessed, and we are an entrepreneurial team willing to put the needs of our customers at the heart of our inspiration and innovation. Yes, we are entrepreneurs. Yes, we are a newborn company with 160 years of experience. Imagine that.
We are rooted in a strong legacy with a powerful DNA, and we benefit from having a startup mindset. Imagine again, a legacy and a startup. We are the best of both. And above all, we are driven by a purpose. I've always believed personally, in my long career, in the power and impact of purpose-led companies, companies with a goal larger than themselves. At Syensqo, we found our North Star in the 1911 conference of our founder, Ernest Solvay. And we are rooted in the pioneering spirit of the great scientific minds of that time. And let me name a few of my favorites, of course, Marie Curie, Einstein, the second youngest president, Lorentz, Poincaré, Planck, and I could go on. All of these minds realized breakthroughs that have enabled humanity to propel forward.
Think about the start of a collective awareness for the understanding of quantum theory, for example. Since then, humanity has been changed forever. That conference and those pioneers are not only an inspiration, but a foundation upon which we choose to establish our own raison d'être. Like them, we are explorers that create breakthroughs that advance humanity. So yes, we explore, we create, and we advance. We explore the future in order to design and develop solutions that can be handed on to the next generations. Today's science is tomorrow's technologies. At Syensqo, we are explorers who push the boundaries of science, explorers who go where no one else has gone before, explorers who strive to win and break new records, all in the service of people and our planet.
So let us explore the future together, crafting solutions for our Earth, for the sky, and for the space of tomorrow. Let's start with our home, Mother Earth. Today at Syensqo, we are exploring, we are exploring other ways to live on this planet, other ways to move on this planet, and other ways to coexist on this planet more sustainably. One of our first explorations was to partner with the DS Penske Formula E team to take clean mobility to the next level. Our partnership explores the limits of safety, the limits of lightweighting, the limits of material resistance, and performance. Now, let me ask you to look up, to look up the sky, and let's explore together our solutions for the sky of tomorrow. How will it be to fly across the world with a zero-emissions, green hydrogen fuel plane?
Remember Auguste Piccard, a good friend of Ernest Solvay, the grandfather of Bertrand Piccard, who made a world tour with the Solar Impulse plane, revolutionized aerospace a century ago with his helium-pressurized gondola or balloon. In fact, we are exhibiting a model, by the way, in the catering space, so please have a look later. Now, dear shareholders, your company is exploring a bigger dream together with Climate Impulse. In fact, we want to prove that it's possible to fly around the world nonstop in just nine days without expending any emissions. Yes, what's unheard of today will be tomorrow's standards. And we are exploring, we are exploring another way of air travel that will transform your future travel forever. Now, let's elevate even higher. Let's go from the sky to the space. Did you know that Syensqo was on board the rocket that brought Neil Armstrong to the moon?
More recently, were you aware that we were also part of the extraordinary launch of the James Webb Telescope, which is now in orbit at 1.5 million km? I've got one more for you. Did you know that NASA relied on our solutions for the successful launch of Artemis I, the first of a series of missions that will bring us to Mars one day? Unbelievable, right? Ladies and gentlemen, we explore to create breakthrough technologies that can already be used today. In fact, we explore the future in order to impact the present and write a better history. In our quest to find more and more solutions and to address the questions our world faces, we are proudly supported by our customers, and not just supported by them, but we are inspired by them. What keeps them up at night keeps us and me up at night.
So let's start with our solutions that enable carbon neutrality. Take electrification. Did you know that Syensqo is in 1 out of 2 electric vehicles in the world? Our solutions bring weight savings, more energy density in the batteries, increasing driving distance, giving you more autonomy and thereby reducing the range anxiety. When it comes to enabling natural resources efficiency, as you know, copper is essential for modern living. Did you know that about 1/3 of the world's copper is recovered using our solutions, and we improve mining productivity? Now, let's talk about sustainable aviation. I bet many of you may not know that Syensqo's composite materials enable aircraft to fly with up to 25% lower CO2 emissions thanks to our solutions for lightweighting and increased manufacturing efficiency. Indeed, Syensqo is in 85% of all flying vehicles, traditional and advanced.
In fact, we are not only helping to lighten traditional aircraft models, we are also enabling the serial production today of pioneering short-haul electric aviation. That's fantastic, right? Now, let's turn to the new fuel of tomorrow, the Holy Grail, green hydrogen production and conversion. Did you know that our solutions are needed for 80% of the green hydrogen economy? This is an emerging market, not yet established, with a potential of $2 billion by 2030, and we are already there. Now, let's dive into our role in advanced connectivity. When it comes to advanced connectivity, whether it's your phone, your laptop, your child's game console, or maybe your own game console, we are in there too. This is a fast-growing market, and today, about 90% of advanced chips have Syensqo inside. Our creations, by the way, are not only limited to mobility and connectivity.
We, as a company, are also curious about how nature itself can inspire the way we work, we produce, we innovate. We want to create a world where chemistry and biology augment each other. A world where traditional formulas are replaced by natural-born products, making processes such as post-use treatments unnecessary. Imagine less pollution or no waste. A world where only bio-based ingredients find their place in food, in agriculture, and in cosmetics. So, in the area of beauty care, we have recently acquired the South Korean ceramide specialist, Jin Young Bio. In fact, this acquisition allows us to extend our product portfolio into what we call biomimetic ceramides for skin and hair applications to create sustainable beauty care and dermocosmetics, a market forecasted to grow 11% between now and 2030. We also create for sustainable agriculture. Some of our patents and green solvents are manufactured from waste.
They have no impact on the environment, no toxicity, and they improve the performance of crop protection by up to 30%. Now, one of my favorites, very personal favorites. The world needs more clean water. Without water, there is no sustainable life. So, what are we doing at Syensqo about water treatments? We've developed sustainable technologies for efficient and economical water treatment membranes. Did you know that more than 170 million people worldwide rely on seawater treated through reverse osmosis using our solutions? Finally, we create to help save lives. Did you know that one out of two hemodialysis patients use our products, which ensure purity, quality, bio, and sterilization compatibility? So, listen, whether we are creating to move people, to connect people, to feed people, or save people, remember this: 13,100 explorers around the world create close to and in collaboration with our clients across the globe.
So, yes, we explore and we create. And in doing so, we advance your company in so many different ways. So, before I share our numbers, I'd like to take a moment to reintroduce you to our CFO, Chief Financial Officer, Christopher Davis. He has been with us since September last year and has successfully hit the ground running with me and with the team, including the many roadshows we did together. So, thank you, Chris, and welcome again. Thank you. You may have heard me say again and again in the past that we have to focus on both the microscope, that's my chemist side, and the telescope, managing the short-term headwinds and uncertainties, not wasting a good crisis while ensuring we are prioritizing our investments that will generate the most long-term value.
This was truly tested in 2023, and I'm proud to say that we were able to do both: meeting the full year target we set and delivering on all the key milestones throughout something which was huge, our separation journey, and as well, accelerating the execution of our longer-term growth strategy, which we shared with you at our Capital Markets Day. While 2023 was a challenging year for our industry, we ended the year with improved momentum across a number of our businesses and with a balance sheet that is even stronger than the one we presented at the Capital Markets Day in November. Looking at the full year results for 2023 in a bit more detail, net sales were EUR 6.8 billion with our high margin materials segment contributing almost 60% of the total.
In fact, the standout performer being composite materials, which grew by 15% due to strong demand in aviation. Importantly, and thanks to our teams, very proud of them, our focus on pricing discipline and cost within our control means that we were able to generate EUR 1.6 billion of EBITDA and EBITDA margin of 23.7%. Now, some of you have heard me saying it: cash is king. So, I'm also extremely pleased to report strong cash generation with positive cash flow from operating activities of EUR 1.3 billion and a cash conversion of 85%. Now, remember, this company is a growth company. And in 2023, we spent close to EUR 500 million of capital expenditure on growth and innovation, which will deliver improved returns to you, our shareholders, in the next five years aligned with our midterm plans. Look at this. The numbers speak for themselves.
Syensqo has a proven track record of delivering strong profitability and creating value. Looking at the last two years to the end of 2023, Syensqo has consistently outperformed the majority of our peers, delivering top quartile sales and EBITDA growth while improving returns on capital employed better than most of our peers. Yes, we have outperformed, and it's our intention to continue over the coming years in line with our midterm plans. Now, while we have maintained a disciplined approach to capital management, we have continued to invest in organic growth. As you will see in a minute, Syensqo has a very strong pipeline of organic growth opportunities over the next decade. We've invested almost EUR 500 million towards these growth opportunities already.
Turning to our strong financial position, and that's my preferred slide, I'm pleased to report that as we commence our journey as a newly listed company, we have a strong balance sheet with our leverage ratio at only one times. Both Standard & Poor's and Moody's have confirmed our strong investment-grade credit rating. As you can see, with EUR 2.9 billion of cash and enrolled committed bank facilities, that gives us the firepower to execute on our growth strategy and create value. Finally, a few words on our quarter one performance, which we reported last week. In line with expectations, we delivered net sales of EUR 1.6 billion and EBITDA of EUR 363 million with strong cash conversion. I hope it's clear to you by now that we have a strong financial position to invest in the future of your company. Your company wants to be the benchmark for innovation.
To achieve this, we are investing 5% of our sales in it. So, what does that look like concretely? Today, 15% of our workforce are researchers, innovators working in 12 major sites around the world. Another data point: currently, 21% of our sales come from products that were not in our portfolio five years ago. That's the power of innovation. Now, remember earlier when I spoke to you about our growth pipeline? Here we are. By 2030, the market opportunity for our four growth platforms combined exceeds EUR 10 billion. And Syensqo has created four growth platforms with dedicated team and focused resources in materials for batteries, in thermoplastic composites, in green hydrogen, in renewable materials, and biotechnology. We've dedicated our teams to each of these platforms where they eat, they breathe, and dream, joking, of our technologies.
This way of working brings increased visibility, increased focus, increased speed, and unleashes the startup spirit. The battery platform team made it first. We recently officially broke ground on the largest capacity production plants for battery materials in North America, along with our partner Orbia. I salute. These massive projects for Syensqo were supported by a $178 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and more than $50 million state incentives. Once fully operational, the plants will provide enough material to produce and cater more than 5 million electric vehicles or hybrid cars by year. Now, how else are we activating our purpose? Well, Syensqo Ventures is an evergreen fund that we have established to tap into the global community of entrepreneurs and startups. Advancing humanity takes a village.
Having an evergreen fund means that we reinvest all the proceeds into new deals, which allows us to constantly expand our portfolio of innovative solutions that benefit from our market access. We also go beyond in fundamental science. Since 2013, we have awarded the Ernest Solvay Prize to pioneering scientists who shape the sciences of tomorrow. These laureates are an example for all of us at Syensqo to keep pushing the limits of science. This year, I'm so glad we awarded the prize to Dr. Omar Yaghi for his pioneering contribution to reticular chemistry, a field dedicated to constructing chemical structure from molecular building blocks. And I'm so proud of our Wall of Fame, as you can see here, and proud of what the laureates represent for the field of chemistry, for our industry, and for humankind. Now, in every sense, advancing your company means advancing on sustainability.
This is our mission. Let us pause here. Let us really pause, reflect to present a very special project, one that makes me incredibly proud, and you will understand why. Just like our founder, Ernest Solvay, who sponsored an expedition to Antarctica in the last century, Syensqo has sponsored a new scientific expedition there too, which has been documented by movie makers. Early next year, you need to be patient. You will be invited to watch the Antarctica Expedition movie in cinemas, while I believe personally we no longer have the luxury to choose. That's why at Syensqo we are accelerating, because it's the right thing to do, because it's the only thing to do. At Syensqo, we will be carbon neutral by 2040. So, how do we accelerate? Well, look at our credentials over the past years. Just to name a few, we joined the Paris Accords.
We committed to reducing biodiversity pressure. We are working on Scope 1, 2, and 3, which, as you know, are the emissions along the value chain. At Syensqo, we are committed to being sustainable and profitable. For us, that's not negotiable. Our ambition is to reach 40% of emissions reduction by 2030, compared now to our 2021 baseline. As you can see, we are halfway there. In just 2 years, and I thank the team warmly, our teams have achieved incredible results. Let me give you a few examples of our industrial sites' initiatives. Hervé, who is on stage with me and us, our Chief Operations Officer, is leading this workstream. Today, 19 of our industrial sites, representing 92% of the water extraction of Syensqo, have reduced by 13% their water extraction. That's like saving 4,300 Olympic swimming pools' worth of water.
The same site, 19 sites, have also reduced by 23% their CO2 emissions and by 29% their waste. And listen, we are just at the beginning. All of our factories will be part of our Star Factory program and yield similarly impressive results by 2030. As I mentioned, we are also committed to Scope 3, which is harder to achieve, as you know, as it's about the emissions we don't control from our suppliers and customers. But we are determined to play our role to deliver a 23% reduction by 2030. And as you can see, we are already halfway. So, for today, let's celebrate. Let's celebrate three particular successes. Since 2022 in China and since 2023 in the United States of America, all our sites have been running on 100% green electricity. Amazing. In countries where there are no real carbon pricing.
Here in our home country, I'm so proud to say that since this year, our Kallo-Beveren site has become our first carbon neutral site worldwide. I know that some of these explorers are in the room. Please stand up. Kallo-Beveren colleagues, where are you? Hey. The others, give them a round of applause. It's not easy to be carbon neutral. You are an example, and thank you. Syensqo colleagues around the world are working hard to follow you, working hard on decarbonization. To date, we count 47 energy transition projects. If you take all of these projects together, it's the equivalent of removing 1 million combustible engine cars off the road every year. We need more than that. That's not all. We are reinventing chemistry. I wish I am a younger chemist again.
We are reinventing chemistry through circularity, where we prepare each product for a second, for a third, a fourth usage, and beyond. In fact, we are moving from a linear model of consumption to circularity by design, to recyclability and lifespan extension. So, that's why, as part of Syensqo One Planet, we've committed to 18% of circular sales by 2030. And we aim to enable EUR 500 million in new business and new sales in these areas by concretely addressing renewable carbon and of life management and leveraging biotechnology solutions. In this incredible journey, obviously, we do it with our customers and partners. We are proud to partner with my dear friend Ellen MacArthur with her foundation, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose renowned methodology supports our efforts. Let me give you one of my favorite examples for circularity.
Our Natural Blend is 100% natural, bio-based, and biodegradable guar thickener used in your shampoo, in your body wash, and hair conditioners. Use guar shampoos. Good for the business. And beyond circularity, what also makes me proud of this brand is that it is ethically sourced and produced from guar grown in the farm villages of Rajasthan, India, which are parts of our Sustainable Guar Initiative program. Look it up at our website. And along with customers, partners, L'Oréal, Henkel, Procter & Gamble, Hichem, the NGO TechnoServe, who is supporting us, we train local farmers in climate-smart agricultural practices using even blockchain technology. And more than 12,000 farmers across 60 villages benefit from this program. And I'm proud to say that almost 30% are women. Now, to begin to close out, let's turn to a very important pillar, I should say our most important pillar at Syensqo, the better life.
Our people are our great assets, the greatest assets. And of course, safety is our priority number one. While the improvements in safety, as you can see, have been significant since 2014, this is an area where we will never be totally satisfied. In fact, we go for zero. And to accelerate that journey, we continue to nurture what I would call a safety-centric culture. And we are setting the tone at the top. Our executive leadership team, and all of them are here in the room, have visited more than 30 sites worldwide, globally, since the beginning of the year. And all of our senior leaders have committed to experience a night shift in 2024. We are all on this together because one accident is already one too many. Now, did you know that one out of four employees is a shareholder at Syensqo?
That's an incredible amount of faith they have in our company, in your company. Our people have skin in the game. And thank you. Thank you, dear employee shareholders, for your support and your trust. And we mirror that gratitude through our Syensqo Fund. We are committed to continue supporting our employees, those facing distress or enduring disasters, and improving conditions for our communities. The EUR 19 million of new funding serves four pillars: protecting the planet, nurturing innovation, fostering education, and supporting solidarity. Back within Syensqo, we are committed to improving quality of life for all. And that's why we pursued our long-standing partnership with IndustriALL Global Union. And I know our EWC and Global Forum representatives are in the room. We have also committed to ensuring our employees take home a living wage to meet a fair standard of living aligned with the United Nations Living Wage Initiative.
Our first assessment took place in China, the United States of America, in the U.K., and we are evaluating 10 more countries as we speak, representing 96% of our workforce. By the way, like everything else, we are moving on this fast. Now, as our dear Chair, Rosemary Thorne, mentioned, 60% of our Board of Directors are women. That's incredible in our industry, indeed. We also have 30% of women in our Executive Committee. It's good, but just being good means it can be better. 10 years from now, we want to achieve gender parity in mid and senior management at Syensqo, coupled with ensuring equal pay for equal jobs. Of course, diversity goes beyond gender. This year, we will further work on attracting underrepresented groups, people from different backgrounds, different nationalities, different orientations, and different abilities and disabilities.
Between you and me, when it comes to disability inclusion, there is still a lot to do, but it's well within our priorities. That's why I'm proud to share with you today another beautiful partnership, a partnership that inspires every colleague in Syensqo and reminds us how to nurture the best environments in which our employees can thrive and succeed. Like us, our three para-athletes partners insist on redefining the notions of resilience, perseverance, and excellence. When all is said and done, it's all about people and people and people. At Syensqo, we believe in the power of inclusion to make our workplace a caring and innovative and a successful one. Inclusion benefits everyone. So, I'm very happy to share with you our very first Pearl Survey results. Look at these figures.
They tell us that our people explore, create, and advance in an environment where they feel included and respected. We know that this is a race without a finish line. We can always do better, and we will, by the way. We must also take the time to recognize how far we've come, right? You heard it. We are creative. We are learners. We are committed. We take risks. We have fun, by the way. We are adventurous. We are inclusive. We are bold and curious. We are visionary. We think outside the box. We are pioneers. We are inventors. We are explorers. Dear shareholders and dear new shareholders, I hope you now understand that armed with all of this, we have a very unique value proposition for you.
We have the talents, the track record, the legacy, the entrepreneurial spirit, the balance sheets, the people, the faith, and the guts to make our dream, your dream, come true. We will win together. We will make a difference together. Together, we will advance humanity. Thank you very much.