January 2018

Sustainably successful

In the view of the global environmental reporting platform CDP, Symrise is counted among the world’s most sustainable suppliers. CDP analyzes how companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions, use water responsibly and protect forests. Symrise received an A, the highest possible rating, in the categories of climate and water protection. In the “CDP Global Supply Chain Report 2018,” Symrise was also one of 100, out of 4,800 companies participating worldwide, to receive an A rating for its responsibility throughout the entire supply chain.

February 2018

Code of Nature®

Consumers are placing increasing emphasis on naturalness. They want to understand exactly what the ingredients of their food are and where they come from. They expect products to come from sustainable agriculture. Foods and beverages should be carefully prepared and properly stored so that they retain their original taste and nutritional value. This trend toward naturalness is a global phenomenon. Symrise is meeting this demand with code of nature®, a comprehensive concept based on four pillars: Best naturals, applied science, transparency, consumer driven.

March 2018

Growing African market

The African continent, with its large and rapidly increasing population, is also becoming increasingly important for the fragrance and flavoring sector. Symrise reiterated its commitment to the West African market at the agrofood Nigeria trade show in Lagos, where it presented natural and authentic concepts for foods and beverages that have been precisely coordinated to suit the wishes and preferences of customers and consumers in the region.

April 2018

Growth investment in China

In April, Symrise opened its new Creative Center in Pudong/Shanghai. The production facility in Nantong also celebrated the completion of the first construction phase. China, where Symrise has been active for 36 years now, is one of our key sales markets. Symrise has invested € 8 million in the new Creative Center. Here, experienced perfumers will develop as many as 9,000 different fragrances for the Chinese market every year. In Nantong, the total investment is planned to amount to € 50 million. Over 7.3 million people reside in this region alone. China is on its way to becoming the world’s largest market for fragrances and flavorings.

April 2018

FSC certification for Symrise

Symrise has become the first manufacturer of fragrance and flavoring substances to receive a certification from the renowned Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC^®)* for its ingredients originating from forestry production. The FSC certificate represents sustainability, transparency and traceability in the collection of a key raw material from pine trees that serves as a basis for many scents and flavors used daily.

* FSC^®-C139971

April 2018

Scientifically based climate targets

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBT) certifies climate targets according to whether they are in line with current research and are working to reduce CO2 emissions on par with the standards of the Paris Climate Agreement. Symrise was one of the first three German companies to receive approval from the Science Based Target Committee in June 2017. Because Symrise had already reached its goals for reducing CO2 emissions by 2020 in the 2016 fiscal year, we are now in the course of implementing climate goals approved by the SBT Committee, which are much more ambitious: By 2025, we plan to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50 % in terms of value added compared with the base year 2016. We also require our suppliers, who supply raw materials accounting for at least 80 % of our total purchasing volume, to commit to their own climate targets by 2020. We ultimately want to be climate-positive by 2050. With a current reduction in CO2 emissions of 10.8 % (2016 – 2018), we are well on our way to achieving this goal.

May 2018

Eight dividend increase in a row

On May 16, 2018, the Annual General Meeting of Symrise AG in Holzminden resolved to increase the dividend per share from € 0.85 in the previous year to € 0.88 for the 2017 fiscal year. This means that the distribution to shareholders has continuously increased since 2009.

June 2018

Drinks for the isle

Our British subsidiary Cobell is the largest supplier of juice products and taste solutions for beverages in the UK. With the expansion of the expertise center for beverages in Exeter, Cobell intends to strategically expand its partnership with British beverage companies.

June 2018

For dogs and cats

In June, Diana Pet Food began operations at a new production site in Cervera, Spain, with an investment of € 7 million. The southern European market will be supplied with applications for pet food from Spain. The significant expansion in capacity fulfills high standards regarding sustainable energy production, avoidance of waste and wastewater, and a low level of emissions.

September 2018

Natural care

Symrise presented Hydrolite® 5 green, the “green” variant of a multi-functional ingredient which has met with a great deal of success for 25 years, at the in-cosmetics Latin America trade fair in São Paulo. The new product is manufactured from sugar cane, a renewable raw material, and combines a high level of effectiveness with naturalness. Hydrolite® 5 green moisturizes the skin and boosts the effectiveness of many substances in cosmetic formulations.

September 2018

Halal ingredients for cosmetics

The Arabic word halal can be translated as “permitted” or “allowed.” It is used to describe all things and activities that are deemed permissible under Islamic law. As a global provider of cosmetic ingredients, Symrise is addressing the specific wishes of the growing Muslim population and offers a broad range of halal-certified products. Examples of the more than 200 products available include Frescolat® ingredients for cooling and refreshing skin care and the SymHair® product family of hair care products, which protect against hair breakage and make hair glossier and easier to comb.

October 2018

Breaking new ground in fragrances with artificial intelligence (AI)

Symrise and IBM Research have developed a method of using artificial intelligence (AI) to create perfumes based on digital fragrance models. The “Philyra” project combines Symrise’s rich archive of formulas and historical data with the IBM Research’s AI developed for product design technology. The AI identifies existing fragrances and suggests complementary additional components and formulas. Symrise perfumers then optimize the fragrances’ impressions. This results in novel creations – the first two fine fragrances will be brought to market in 2019.

December 2018

Reconstruction of a school for children

Symrise initiated a project to rebuild a school following the earthquake in Mexico last year. The facility is located near the Symrise site in Monterrey. Work has begun and will continue for about five months. At the start of construction, Symrise employees presented the teachers and students with a symbolic check for € 50,000.

December 2018

Award-winning sustainability management

For the sixth time in a row, the rating agency EcoVadis awarded Symrise its coveted Gold status for proven sustainability. In 2018 as well, we met the rating agency’s steadily rising standards, and even improved our overall rating in the areas of the environment, social aspects, ethics and sustainability in the supply chain. This puts Symrise in the top 1 % of all companies evaluated in the chemical sector.

December 2018

German Sustainability Award goes to Symrise

Our commitment to climate protection, the sustainable design of the supply chain and the conservation of biodiversity was once again publicly recognized: In December 2018, Symrise was awarded first place in the category “Germany’s most sustainable large corporation 2019.” This honor is a real highlight for us. It is a confirmation of the efforts of all our employees worldwide in the area of sustainability and a motivator to continue on this path – for the benefit of Symrise, for the protection of the environment and for the good of society as a whole.