Sustainability
management

We make our more than 35,000 products from about 10,000 raw materials, most of which are naturally occurring – and in doing so we work with tens of thousands of people around the world. Diversity is the foundation of our business operations – and sustainability, in all of its many facets, is an integral part of our business model, our strategy and our purpose. We have deeply integrated this mentality into the Group over the years: with committees, structures and dedicated employees.

Four pillars for greater sustainability

In recent years, Symrise has collected, analyzed and evaluated key sustainability aspects for the Group. We have bundled the aspects of sustainability that are relevant to Symrise into the four pillars of environmental protection (footprint), sustainable innovation (innovation), raw material sourcing (sourcing) and employees and society (care). We have drawn on these four pillars to formulate specific goals that we intend to accomplish by 2025 (see 2023 track record and 2025 goals). Each goal has a direct connection to our major issues and is based on such programs as the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aims of our pillars are closely interwoven into our business model, a strategy that is based largely on a circular economy. In turn, this tight integration enables us to form a bond between our commercial success and sustainable company management and social acceptance.

All are called on

All employees are urged to constantly reevaluate their work processes in terms of efficiency, safety and resource conservation, and to develop ways to improve them. A global network of more than 150 Sustainability Ambassadors carries out targeted initiatives on energy and waste management, climate, water and environmental protection, and occupational health and safety at the company’s business locations. Managers are responsible for integrating sustainability into their teams and setting clear goals. Sustainability objectives are also a component of individual goals for all senior executives, including the members of the Executive Board. This enables us to vigorously apply our sustainability strategy in all divisions.

To complement the work performed by individual teams at all of our business locations, we have structured the Group in a way that further advances sustainability. The global and cross-business Symrise Sustainability Board is comprised of the sustainability officers for the business segments Taste, Nutrition & Health and Scent & Care; one representative each from the staff departments Human Resources, Finance / Investor Relations, Corporate Communications and Corporate Sustainability; and the Head of the Responsible Sourcing Steering Committee. The board meets several times a year and is led by the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). The Sustainability Board ensures that topics relevant to sustainability and issues important to key stakeholder groups along the entire value chain are taken into consideration. It sets sustainability objectives that are achieved directly in the company’s individual divisions. Direct responsibility for strategy lies with the Chief Executive Officer of Symrise AG, who receives regular reports on the progress of all sustainability activities.

Exceptional commitment

Our commitment to sustainability regularly receives recognition. Symrise has earned a top position once again on the annual sustainability ratings issued by CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). The company received two top “A” grades in the categories of climate and water and an exceptional “A –” in the forest category. The Sustainable Future Award 2023 given by the F.A.Z.-Institut and Cision Germany was also presented to Symrise for its exemplary activities as a sustainable company – and the company became the first producer in its sector to be certified as a B Corporation in Brazil. We are proud of these honors – they motivate us to become even better. The challenges are multiplying: We continue to face the negative impact of climate change and the decline in biodiversity. We must use resources responsibly. We are also still working to overcome the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

Dialogue with all stakeholders

We seek out conversations with all relevant stakeholders for the purposes of positioning our company as broadly as possible, discussing current developments and considering the expectations that various stakeholders have about sustainable company management. Examples of this dialogue include various WBCSD committees, the global representative bodies IFRA and IOFI and such initiatives as OP2B and the Development and Climate Alliance. We also conduct a particularly in-depth dialogue about sustainability with the company’s shareholders, investors, voting proxies and rating agencies. Such rating agencies as MSCI, Sustainalytics and ISS ESG have a high degree of quality and a major impact for our company regarding the communication of our ESG performance to investors. In addition, internationally recognized institutions like CDP, EcoVadis or SEDEX regularly grade our sustainability performance. This is important because both our customers and our investors expect us to continuously enhance our sustainability reporting. This is the only way that we can make our business processes more transparent and better estimate the opportunities and risks of our business activity.