Sustainability

— DQS recognizes German companies with sustainability Awards

— Symrise impresses with responsible sourcing management and its own ecoscorecard

Symrise, the globally operating company based in Holzminden, received two prizes at the German Awards for Excellence. The fragrance and flavoring manufacturer took home awards in the Responsible Sourcing and Life Cycle Assessment categories. At the award ceremony held in June, DQS recognized ten companies in twelve different categories for exemplary sustainability management.

The four-person panel of experts at the Awards for Excellence deemed Symrise’s responsible sourcing model the best of all those submitted. Responsible sourcing refers to sourcing management that recognizes and upholds social responsibilities with regard to both ethical and environmental impact along the supply chain. To do this, Symrise maintains long-term and close partnerships with its suppliers, particularly those in developing and emerging markets, while also engaging in social and ecological projects in the local producer communities. The panel was particularly impressed with the Symrise project for the sustainable cultivation of vanilla in Madagascar. To help secure its collaboration with approximately 7,000 farmers in roughly 90 villages on the island, Symrise invests not only in education and environmental measures, but also in the local infrastructure. For instance, the construction of a vanilla extraction facility in Madagascar shortens transport distances, lowers emissions and concentrates a greater share of added value in the region.

Life Cycle Assessment: Environmental Impacts Considered at the Start

Symrise received the award in the Life Cycle Assessment category for its systematic approach to analyzing the environmental impacts of raw materials and products over their entire life cycle. Symrise uses its own Product Sustainability Scorecard System to assess the environmentally relevant impacts of raw materials and products via a comprehensive, scientifically sound analysis. This standardized approach ensures the comparability of the results and better enables Symrise to select the most environmentally friendly alternative compared to other options.

Dr. Helmut Frieden, Vice President Corporate Sustainability at Symrise, personally accepted the awards at the DQS Sustainability Conference 2016 in Düsseldorf. “We are pleased with the recognition of our efforts to integrate greater sustainability into our business,” says Frieden. “These awards, along with the responses from our customers and other stakeholders, show that we are on the right path. We want to be a role model, both for other companies and our own employees, and inspire them to even higher levels of sustainability management.”

About the German Awards for Excellence

With the German Awards for Excellence, DQS recognizes companies for their active commitment in the area of sustainability. The annual ceremony took place for the second time in 2016 and aims to inspire companies to greater social responsibility.

This year, the four-member panel of experts selected ten winners in twelve categories from a total of 164 applications. The experts based their selections on the international guideline ISO 26000 for social responsibility as well as the relevant international standards for the respective categories.