Symrise is crowned as one of the five most sustainable large corporations in Germany, according to 12 experts of the 2016 German Sustainability Awards.
The company impressed the judges with its systematic sustainability management, continual improvements both in the supply chain and within the company as well as measures to preserve biodiversity.
The sustainability awards were presented to companies of different sizes in 11 categories as well as municipalities and researchers during the ninth German Sustainability Day in Düsseldorf, Germany on November 25, 2016.
The 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.
The panel of judges includes scientists and representatives from the environmental protection group NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V.) and the chamber of commerce and industry DIHK (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag e. V.).
Symrise sees commitment to increased social and ecological sustainability as an integral part of its corporate strategy.
The company has created a Sustainability Board and the initiative Symchronize, which identifies areas and opportunities to reduce emissions and the amount of resources used across all levels of the company, including in the supply chain.
Symrise also focus on measures to protect biodiversity in the countries where its plant-based raw materials are produced as well as fair trade relationships with the producer communities.
It sponsors projects that support small-scale farmers, emphasizes environmentally friendly farming and invests in the social infrastructure, such as its vanilla project in Madagascar and its involvement in the hub of biodiversity known as Ecoparque in the Amazon region.
Sustainable production is an integral part of the business model at Symrise.
Its workers in Lower Saxony saved 50% of the fresh water needed to produce menthols and 500 kilotons of carbon dioxide each year.
The company also extracts raw materials from side streams through its patented Symtrap process.
Between 2010 and 2015, Symrise managed to reduce its chemical waste by 26% and its effluent load by 33%.
