Sustainability

We’re proud to be the first company in our industry worldwide to be awarded Science Based Target (SBT) approval for our climate initiatives

By optimizing our value chain, we’re able to reduce emissions, conserve resources and minimize our environmental impact.

We take such improvements very seriously because we want all stakeholders to benefit appropriately from the company’s success. Only together can we minimize risks and, through meaningful action, ensure that our business remains viable in the long term.

We achieve a particularly high impact on:
Decent work and economic growth
Responsible consumption and production
Climate action
Life below water
Life on land
Partnerships for the goals
Our goal: Climate-positive starting in 2030

Our goal:

Climate-neutral starting in 2030 (Scope 1+2)

Symrise has been committed to climate protection for many years. Because the threats of climate change are becoming ever more obvious. And because we take responsibility for future generations.

We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of being climate-neutral starting in 2030. This means that the business activities of Symrise will contribute to preventing or sequestering more greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere than we produce through our operating activities. We report transparently about our climate protection measures and the preliminary results of our efforts.

Climate-neutral 2030
Our basic achievementsOur path

Our basic achievements

  • Leadership status in climate protection / Rated A by CDP since 2015
  • First company in our industry worldwide with approved, scientifically based climate protection targets (SBT)
  • Member of the RE100 initiative, the Alliance for Development and Climate and Business Ambition for 1.5°C.
  • Demonstrable procurement of external power needs worldwide from renewable sources since 2020

Here you will find further information on the topic of climate change and our contribution to reducing emissions.

Our path

  • Make sourcing of all strategic biological raw materials sustainable by 2025
  • 100 % sustainable packaging materials by 2025
  • Recycle 95 % of suitable plastics by 2025 to the extent allowed by local capacities
  • Expand the production of biodegradable products based on green chemistry and raw materials from sustainable sources
  • Support high-quality, certified climate protection projects all over the world
  • We achieved our goal for 2020 of improving the eco-efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions by 33 % compared with 2010 ahead of schedule. We have now set for ourselves the 2025 goal of increasing the eco-efficiency of emissions by more than 60 % compared to 2016.¹
  • We reduced Scope 3 GHG emissions in category 1 “purchased raw materials and services” by around 43 % between 2016 and 2023. We now want to reduce absolute emissions by 15 % by 2025 compared to 2020.
  • Improve the eco-efficiency of the chemical oxygen demand in wastewater by 4 % annually by 2025 or by a total of 60 % in relation to base year 2010.¹
  • Improve the eco-efficiency of hazardous waste by 4 % annually by 2025 or by a total of 60 % compared to base year 2010.¹
  • 15 % reduction of water use at all production sites in arid regions (2018 – 2025).

 ¹ All figures relative to the value added

We’re not just meeting our sustainability objectives in this respect – we’re also exceeding many of them. Our strategy is built around four key areas:

Conserving precious resourcesMore

Conserving precious resources

Efficiently sourcing raw materialsMore

Efficiently sourcing raw materials

Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystemsMore

Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems

Creating greener factoriesMore

Creating greener factories

Conservation of resources

Conservation of resources

The effective conservation of resources is crucial to the sustainability and profitability of our company.

By investing in efficient technologies and processes, we’re able to reduce raw materials and save on the costs connected to them. We aim to develop truly end-to-end supply chain solutions wherever possible, in order to identify potential reductions in our energy, water and resource consumption.

The fragrance of forests

The fragrance of forests

We are one of the largest producers of fragrances from natural and renewable feedstocks. Examples of our key raw materials are crude sulfate turpentine, a byproduct from the pulp & paper industry, and D-limonene, a byproduct from the citrus industry. We’re proud of providing sustainable alternatives to the industry for over 100 years.

Find out more

Sustainable forestry is becoming increasingly important for us in this regard. Many of our suppliers are already certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)* and/or the Sustainable Forest Initiative. By participating in the CDP Forest Program, we can make our progress and approaches more transparent.
Our two facilities in North America – Jacksonville, FL, and Colonels Island, GA – are Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)* certified.

* FSC®-C139971

SymTrap®: Energy-saving technology

In the early 2000s, we began working on a process that optimizes the recovery of natural flavor molecules from fruits like apple, strawberry and raspberry. After eight years of meticulous research and development, we finally patented the resulting technology: the award-winning SymTrap® Technology.

SymTrap® works by capturing side streams produced in fruit processing. It concentrates the natural aromatic fruit ingredients present in the water phase, which can then be infused into the end product. SymTrap® also requires minimal processing, giving the end products a more natural and authentic taste. This contributes further to the process’ ‘green’ credentials, as no heating means it only requires low amounts of energy.

Efficiently sourcing renewable raw materials

Efficiently sourcing
renewable raw materials

Wherever possible, we work with renewable raw materials. By sourcing traceable, certified, locally produced materials, we’re able to maximize efficiency and minimize our footprint.

100%

Sustainable sourcing of all strategic biological raw materials by 2025.

Sustainable banana growth

Sustainable banana growth

In Ecuador, Diana Food produces high-quality fruit and vegetable powders, flakes and purees with a strong emphasis on sustainability from the plantation to production.

Beetroot cooperation

Beetroot cooperation

Diana Food uses French red beets for natural coloring and health & nutrition properties, sourced entirely from 30 farmers and cooperatives in Northern France. The longest path from field to factory takes around three hours, keeping CO₂ emissions to a minimum.

Promoting sustainable lavander

Promoting sustainable lavander

We’re one of the first fragrance companies to purchase CENSO-certified lavandin oil. This secures our access to a key natural raw material for fragrance creation while promoting the sustainable development of the French lavender and lavandin oil industry.

The whole onion

The whole onion

Onions are one of our most important raw materials, and we source them from local farmers in Germany and France. Significantly lower transport costs and storage expenses save costs and energy, and we’re also optimizing quality through close collaboration with farmers and research institutes.

Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems

Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems

We’re committed to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and were one of the first signatories of its Biodiversity Pledge in 2016. Its three objectives are:

  • The conservation of biodiversity
  • Sustainable use of resources
  • The fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from natural resources

2025 biodiversity targets

Accomplishing our biodiversity goals enables us to offer our customers innovative and ethically-sourced solutions. By contributing to local biodiversity conservation and social inclusiveness, we’re able to ensure the long-term availability of our crucial raw materials. Protecting biodiversity and thus natural habitats on land and in water is therefore a particular concern for Symrise.

Symrise Sascha Liese
For Symrise, biodiversity is an invaluable source of inspiration and innovation for new flavors, fragrances and cosmetic ingredients. We consider intact ecosystems and species richness as the natural capital of our company.”Sascha Liese, Biodiversity Expert and Sustainability Manager at Symrise
2025 biodiversity targets

Develop new innovative raw materials from biodiversity through our purpose-built centers of excellence in Madagascar and Brazil

2025 biodiversity targets

Fully integrate our R&D procedures in line with evolving international regulations on biodiversity-based innovation

2025 biodiversity targets

Assess all local growers according to biodiversity criteria

2025 biodiversity targets

Increasingly assess strategic supply chains with respect to the ethical sourcing of biodiversity

2025 biodiversity targets

Ensure all staff are aware of biodiversity and its value to our business

2025 biodiversity targets

Implement biodiversity measures at all of our main premises

OP2B

Symrise founds the coalition “One Planet Business for Biodiversity” (OP2B) together with 17 other international companies. The partners are committed to working together to develop environmentally friendly agricultural methods and to change how they create value. The aim is to preserve biodiversity as the basis for a stable agricultural system in times of global change.

The coalition aims to achieve the following three goals by 2030:

  • Developing regenerative farming methods to protect the soil
  • Increasing diversity in the range of products among food companies to foster endangered crop varieties
  • Creating strategies to protect threatened ecosystems
Creating greener factories

Creating greener factories

Manufacturing is a core part of our business, and we’re always looking to lessen the environmental impact of the technologies and processes we use.

Mastering green efficiency: A closer look at our new flagship plant in Colombia

Even in the planning phases of new projects, sustainability and climate protection play a huge role. Symrise developed an “instrument case for a green factory,” which was used for the first time in the construction of a new factory in Tocancipá, Colombia. It includes the installation of solar collectors for electricity production, water and wastewater management systems and environmentally friendly recycling of waste.

The unique environmentally friendly production process emits significantly less CO₂ overall than comparable facilities.

Symrise discontinues use of plasticSymrise discontinues use of plastic

One of the primary environmental goals at Symrise is to avoid waste whenever possible. This is especially true for plastic materials that are used primarily for packaging and in disposable containers. Symrise set itself three clear goals in late 2020:

  • We will recycle more than 95 % of the plastic we use by 2025 wherever local conditions permit.
  • We will use exclusively sustainable packaging materials by 2025.
  • No single-use plastic-based aids will be used since mid-2021.

In so doing, we will not compromise on quality, safety or compliance with legal requirements. An international, interdisciplinary team is driving the project forward, and the Symrise Sustainability Board is monitoring its implementation.

Focus on sustainable packagingFocus on sustainable packaging

By 2030 at the latest, Symrise aims to have a neutral climate footprint. To achieve this ambitious goal, the company must review all operational processes worldwide for their climate compatibility and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An important issue in our zero-waste strategy is the implementation of numerous measures for sustainable packaging. The focus is on avoidance of waste, reusability and recycling. Together with customers and suppliers, the supply chain experts at Symrise are constantly looking for innovative and sustainable solutions. Paper bags instead of plastic bags, large barrels instead of small canisters, and reusable metal cups are a few examples of the many improvements. In addition, unavoidable CO₂ emissions caused during production and transport are increasingly being offset by certified climate protection projects.

Contact

Symrise Friedrich-Wilhelm Micus

Friedrich-Wilhelm Micus

Director Corporate Communications

always inspiring more...

Financial Report 2023More

Corporate Report 2023

Download

Find out more about our companyRead more

Find out more about our company

Discover how innovation is helping us become more sustainableRead More

Discover how innovation is helping us become more sustainable