External initiatives

Symrise wants to drive up its corporate value and the sustainability of its business activities over the long term. This is the reason the management and supervisory committees at Symrise AG align their activities with various principles of responsible management. The aims of the German Corporate Governance Code, for instance, serve as the standard for good management in both the Executive and Supervisory Boards. The ten principles of the United Nations’ Global Compact, which we signed in 2012, provide additional guidance for our entrepreneurial actions. Thanks to our “advanced level” reporting, which we first implemented in 2014, we’ve strengthened our commitment in this area even further. Furthermore, we support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which it published in 2015. In an initial step, we reviewed the compatibility of our sustainability strategy and objectives with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that apply to Symrise. Through this, we were able to identify further areas for improvement.

2013年,Symrise成为Sustainabl的一员e Spices Initiative (SSI). Sustainably cultivating and purchasing raw materials are a central focus for both Symrise and the SSI. Together with customers, suppliers and NGOs, we want to actively cooperate with the SSI, sharing our knowledge while also gaining new experience. With the acquisition of Diana and the corresponding expansion of our portfolio, animal welfare has received greater prominence on our agenda. That is why we founded the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef together with other companies in 2015. The goal is to continually improve the value chain for beef.

In addition, Symrise has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2015, and we have set high goals for ourselves, some of which we’ve already achieved. By the middle of 2016, we converted our supply chain to palm oil certified as 100 % RPSO “Mass Balance.” Between now and the end of 2018, we will be working with our strategic suppliers on implementing fully sustainable sourcing for our primary palm oil derivatives and on switching to materials made from 100 % RSPO “Mass Balance”–certified palm oil. We have the same goal in place for our sourcing of secondary palm oil derivatives by the end of 2020. In addition, we are committed to ethical sourcing in line with the Natural Stewardship Circle (NRSC) as well as the code of conduct of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).

We have been a member of the Sustainable Agricultural Initiative (SAI) since 2016, which underscores our commitment to sustainably sourcing natural raw materials and to achieving the strategic goal of backward integration.