Symrise has been nominated for the 2016 German Sustainability Award. The company focuses in particular on preserving biodiversity and ecosystems so as to be able to sustainably use bio-based raw materials, energy, soil and water in the future as well. The jury acknowledges Symrise for the sophisticated sustainability management of its supply chain and within its own company. Since 2014 Symrise has been reporting according to the strict standards of the internationally recognized Global Reporting Initiative (GRI G4).
Every year, the German Sustainability Award Foundation awards companies that put particular emphasis on running their businesses sustainably. Symrise has been nominated in the category “Germany’s most sustainable large corporation 2016” because of its pioneering work for biodiversity. Symrise has developed an intelligent system of measures and processes for preserving the diversity of biological resources over the long term.
Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, the Symrise Sustainability Board has coordinated the systematic integration of sustainability principles into its core business. In order to implement the measures efficiently in all organizational units of the Symrise group, the company recently created the new position of Chief Sustainability Officer. At the beginning of October, Hans Holger Gliewe assumed this position. The Symchronize™ Initiative, which the board has established, identifies approaches and potential within the supply chain for reducing the consumption of energy, water and resources, as well as cutting down emissions. Symrise has introduced a country risk assessment tool for Purchasing as well as a sustainability criteria catalogue for suppliers. By 2015, it had evaluated 82 percent of its primary suppliers using the catalogue, and plans to assess 100 percent by 2020.
Furthermore, Symrise sponsors projects that support small-scale farmers in applying sustainable cultivation practices in various countries. For example, the company is engaged in sustainable vanilla farming in Madagascar and ethical sourcing of raw materials in Ecoparque, a biodiversity hub in the Amazon region. “Our goal is to preserve local ecosystems so they continue to serve as a habitat for a wide variety of species while also serving as a source of raw materials for Symrise, and to furnish a livelihood for the local population,” says Hans Holger Gliewe in his new role as Chief Sustainability Officer at Symrise. “This includes empowering the local farmers with access to the market, paying fair prices, providing credit for getting through economic difficulties and investing in social infrastructure.”
Symrise relies on innovative production methods within its core operations.
For example, its modern plant for producing synthetic menthol cuts the process water and fresh water needed in half and reduces steam by 30 percent. It also saves 500 kilotons of CO2 per year. Between 2010 and 2015, Symrise managed to reduce its sensitive waste by 26 percent and its effluent load by 33 percent. And thanks to the patented SymTrap® process, the company is able to recoup valuable raw materials from wastewater streams.
Symrise makes information available to its commercial customers about all its sustainability measures and the progress of its sustainability management. The company employs a comprehensive product sustainability scorecard for this, which uses various sustainability criteria to provide specific information about the ecological impacts of ingredients. “Customers and consumers increasingly pay attention to how companies incorporate sustainable development processes into their core business. This means that creating ecological and social value and communicating transparently about sustainability are factors that contribute to our economic success,” says Hans Holger Gliewe.
About the 2016 German Sustainability Award
The 2016 German Sustainability Award will be granted on November 25 as part of the ninth German Sustainability Conference in Düsseldorf. This occasion has become the event for the green economy to attend at the close of the year.
The German Sustainability Award is an initiative of the German Sustainability Award Foundation in cooperation with the Federal Government of Germany and various municipal umbrella organizations, trade associations, civic organizations and research institutes. www.nachhaltigkeitspreis.de
About Symrise
Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances, flavors, cosmetic active ingredients and raw materials as well as functional ingredients. Its clients include manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, food and beverages, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of nutritional supplements and pet food.
Its sales of more than €2.6 billion in 2015 place Symrise as one of the global leading companies in the flavors and fragrances market. Headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, the Group is represented in over 40 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Latin America.
Symrise works with its clients to develop new ideas and market-ready concepts for products that form an indispensable part of everyday life. Economic success and corporate responsibility are inextricably linked as part of this process. Symrise thus takes sustainability into account in every part of its corporate strategy. The company was awarded the German Sustainability Award in 2012. In 2013, Symrise was certified as a “Green Company” by DQS.Symrise, always inspiring more...
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