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SUSTAINABLE
SOLUTIONS
Sustainability Report 2011
K E Y G RO U P FIG U RES
2009
2010
2011
Business
Sales
€ million
1,362.0
1,571.9
1,583.6
EBITDA
€ million
245.6
331.2
315.9
%
18.0
21.1
20.0
Investments
€ million
56.7
70.5
67.3
Research and development expenses
€ million
95.7**
107.9
107.6
kg*
832.0
807.0
767.6
EBITDA margin
Environment
Carbon dioxide emissions (Scope 1 and 2)
Direct and indirect energy consumption
GJ*
9.3
9.1
8.6
Waste
kg*
116.9
121.1
107.9
Water consumption
m³*
13.1
12.1
11.6
Wastewater
m³*
12.3
11.4
11.2
FTE
4,954
5,288
5,434
%
4.4
5.1
5.5
Employees
Employees (as of December 31)
Fluctuation rate
Further training expense per employee
€
505
435
478
Number of accidents
MAQ
7.0
5.0
3.2
Accident severity
USQ
63
55
43
* per ton of product sold
** 2009 including restructuring expenditure
ABOUT THIS REP ORT
The central topics are chosen by the Symrise Sustainability Board.
The Sustainability Board identifies the topics that concern our
stakeholders and which should therefore be taken into account in
our sustainability reporting. In our report we have taken up all of
the topics identified in this way. Data is collected by business divi-
sion and compiled by the global Corporate Compliance organization in the context of systematic, target-related topic management.
In order to collect data, balanced scorecards, qualitative reporting
formats and the company’s existing reporting systems are used,
depending on the business division. Furthermore, in 2011 we adopted a data collection system that is customized for our sustainability strategy and activities and which will be refined further in
the years ahead. The data is reviewed in the course of annual inhouse sustainability audits.
The 2011 Symrise Sustainability Report covers the company‘s
global activities from January 1 to December 31, 2011. It will be
published on May 15, 2012, and is available in German and English. The contents of the report relate to Symrise‘s wholly owned
subsidiaries and Group companies. The environmental data relates solely to production sites. All other data, unless stated otherwise, relates to all Symrise companies. Symrise will continue to publish annual sustainability reports. The publication date of the sustainability report for the fiscal year 2012 will be announced in
due course. In addition, current coverage of the company‘s activities on sustainability issues can be found at www.symrise.com/
en/sustainability.
SY M R I S E S I T E S 2011
Mexico
USA
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Venezuela
Symrise sites
Regional headquarters
Egypt
Madagascar
South Africa
UAE
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand
Austria
France
Germany
Italy
Poland
Russia
Spain
Switzerland
The Netherlands
Turkey
UK
Ukraine
A B O U T T H I S R E P O R T /// K E Y G R O U P F I G U R E S
We published our first corporate social responsibility report, entitled We Have the Future in Mind, in 2006, and have since published an annual report on our sustainability activities. This 2011
Sustainability Report pursues the objective of continuing to increase the quality and transparency of our reporting. A major innovation is the clarity of structure achieved by arranging the report
under the headings Management, Sourcing, Innovations, Processes, Employees and Society. The performance part of the report,
with specific data on the implementation of our sustainability strategy, is complemented by reports, statements and interesting articles on corporate highlights. The aim is to inform readers about
how Symrise achieves lasting added value for all of the company‘s
relevant stakeholders by means of its activities. Our report is intended to address customers, employees and investors along with
our other stakeholders and to invite them to take part in a dialog
with Symrise.
GLOBAL NEEDS – Symrise is one of the world’s leading providers of fragrances and flavors and of basic ingredients and active agents for the perfume, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, food and beverages industries. We
are already thinking today about the consumer trends of tomorrow and the day after – in order to strengthen
the position of our customers’ brands by supplying innovative ideas and product concepts. The needs of
consumers are changing, in both established and emerging markets. Symrise knows the consumers’ wishes
in the respective product categories and markets around the world. This is our recipe for consistently being
among the most profitable companies in the industry. Symrise – always inspiring more…
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
“Delivering sustainable added value is key to our entrepreneurial activity. This means, specifically, that we
aim to offer our stakeholders added value along the
entire value chain and at the same time to open up
attractive growth potentials for our company. To do
so we collaborate closely with our customers, employees, suppliers and partners and make their requirements our own.”
DR. HEINZ-JÜRGEN BERTR AM
Chairman of the Executive Board
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Getting a Feel for Fragrances
There are very few schools at which the perfumer’s
profession is taught. Symrise runs two of them. In Holzminden, Germany, and Chennai, India, young people
04 – 19
learn all about scents and fragrances. They are training
for a career in which teamwork, exciting international
OVERVIE W
Statements
Symrise. Organization and Profile
Interview with the Executive Board
Sustainability Strategy
Highlights of 2011
tasks and creative challenges are all in a day’s work.
4
8
10
14
18
Fresh from the Tree
In Brazil, Symrise’s Global Citrus Center focuses on
one of the most important raw materials: the orange.
The supply chain – from the plantation via multiple
extraction processes and on to the customer – is becoming increasingly sustainable in the process.
20 – 47
JOURNAL
Respecting People
Caring for Nature
Securing Success
Serving Society
Skin Essentials
20
26
34
40
Researchers in the Life Essentials business unit are
looking for active botanicals which protect the skin.
Sometimes, old faithfuls such as the purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) come up trumps. However, it
takes a lot of lab work before these extracts can be
used in skin creams.
48 – 107
Vanilla’s Journey
REPORT
Madagascar is the land of vanilla. Around 80 % of the
Management. Sustainable Added Value
Sourcing. Responsibility Along the Supply Chain
Innovations. Product Development
and Customer Orientation
Processes. Environmental Protection and Efficiency
Employees. Responsibility for Our Staff
Society. Our Commitment Locally
50
60
70
82
92
102
108 – 110
of farmers depend on this exotic bean for their livelihoods. Many of them work with Symrise. Unlike any
other flavor manufacturer, the company is fully integrated into the Madagascan economy. This article recounts Symrise’s efforts to reconcile sustainability
with commercial success by working with everyone
involved.
LEGEND
Internet
APPENDIX
GRI Application Level Check Statement
Imprint
GRI Content Index
world’s total demand is grown on the island. Thousands
108
109
110
additional information at
www.symrise.com
Cross-reference
see page
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APPENDIX
Table of Contents
34
40
20
26
SUSTAINABILIT Y
What do you
expect from
Symrise?
OUR STAKEHOLDERS’ EXPECTATIONS ARE OF KEY IMPORTANCE FOR US. THEY HELP US TO
IDENTIFY THE MAIN AREAS OF FOCUS FOR OUR SUSTAINABILIT Y ACTIVITIES, REFLECT ON
OUR OWN ACTIONS AND SHOW US IN WHICH AREAS WE NEED TO INTENSIFY OUR EFFORTS.
IT IS ONLY VIA DIALOG WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE CAN UPHOLD OUR CLAIM TO
SUSTAINABLE VALUE CREATION IN EARNEST.
6
01.
SOARY ANDRIANARISOA ,
Project Coordinator, GIZ, Madagascar
“I am convinced that the private sector has
to play an important role in the sustainable development of society. Symrise has
already started its responsible sourcing
approach for vanilla seven years ago by
working directly with farmer cooperatives. Since 2010, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and Symrise work together to assess
and improve the living conditions of
small-scale vanilla farmers in Madagascar.
We help Symrise to better understand
the sustainability challenges and share our
tools and experiences in rural development. However, this partnership with GIZ
is just a start and we expect Symrise to
sustain the activities on the long run. So
far, the outlook is very promising.”
www.giz.com
02.
ODON DONALD R AMANAMBOHITO,
Vanilla Farmer, Madagascar
“My name is Odon Donald Ramanambohito
and I’m 42 years old. I own a piece of land
near the village of Ambohimanarina where
I grow vanilla for Symrise. Knowledge and
a reliable income are the most important
things for my family and the other farmers
here. Lots of people come, promise to help
us and then go away again. Symrise has
stayed. Last year, for example, I started
growing cocoa and cloves as well. I was
able to buy plants at very low prices through
Symrise. The company also enabled me to
take part in a course which taught me a lot
about farming. In a few years, the young
plants will bear fruit for the first time and
provide my family with an additional
source of income. My daughter goes to the
school here in the village, which is also
supported by Symrise. I don’t know whether she will become a farmer too one day
or not. She wants to be a doctor. Whichever
path she chooses, she will inherit my piece
of land some day.”
ANDRE AS HOL ZER ,
03.
ANGEL A PINHATI,
Supply Chain Manager, Natura, Brazil
“In 2011, Natura and Symrise signed a socio-environmental agreement with a threeyear vision to improve the targets for certain key indicators: CO2 emissions, water
consumption, waste generation and work
safety. It is important to note that Symrise
makes a wide range of investments in
training its employees as well as for social
inclusion projects. This social contract
aims to continuously improve Natura’s supplier base by establishing possibilities for
best practice benchmarking and identification. With each supplier improving its socio-environmental indicators, we will have
a more sustainable and differentiated logistics and operations chain.”
04.
Sustainability Analyst,
Bank Sarasin & Cie. AG, Germany
“From a sustainability perspective it is
crucial for Symrise to ensure supplies of
high-quality raw materials. That is only
possible if environmental and social aspects are taken into consideration systematically in the supply chain. This is in
keeping with the requirements of the customers and consumers. In recent years
Symrise has made substantial progress in
this respect. The well-developed business
activities in emerging markets are also
very positive. As a consequence, however,
the importance of business ethics aspects
such as competitive behavior and corruption increases. This is an area in which
Symrise will need to remain vigilant.”
05.
DONNA ROSA ,
Symrise, USA
“I’d like to see Symrise expand its sustainability efforts in the areas of environment and serving society. Many of our
customers have world class sustainability
programs, and they are beginning to
expect the same from their suppliers. We
are learning from them, and in the near
future, it will be the normal way of doing
business together. Symrise has become a
greener place over the last few years, but
we can do more by increasing environmental awareness and training among our
employees so they really live sustainability as a daily practice. We can also do
more to serve society. We need to work
with our customers in the food and nutrition sector to support global food security. As a business, we are working with
smallholder farmers and microenterprises
to improve their businesses and increase
incomes. There’s plenty more we can do.
I think we can really stand out in the flavor and fragrance industry if we establish Symrise as the sustainability leader.
Let’s get on that, shall we?”
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A PPE N D I X
Statements
01.
02.
What do you
expect from
Symrise?
03.
05.
04.
8
SY MRISE. Organization and Profile
SYMRISE DE VELOPS, PRODUCES AND SELLS FR AGR ANCES AND FL AVORS AS WELL AS INGREDIENTS FOR
COSME TICS. IN ADDITION, WE PROVIDE BIOFUNCTIONAL AND BIOACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTANCES
AS SOLUTIONS IN THE HE ALTH AND PERSONAL CARE APPLICATION ARE AS. A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF OUR
ADDED VALUE CONSISTS OF DE VELOPING PRODUCTS WITH ADDITIONAL BENEFITS.
Examples include flavorings that enable the sugar or
salt content of foods to be reduced, or a moisturizing
cosmetic ingredient that lowers the proportion of preservatives in care products. Our customers include large,
multinational companies as well as important regional
and local manufacturers of foods, beverages, perfumes,
cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning and washing products as well as the pharmaceutical industry and
manufacturers of food supplements.
SY M R I S E B U S I N E S S D I V I S I O N S
FL AVOR
NUTRITION
SCENT
CARE
In 2011, Symrise achieved sales of € 1.6 billion, making
it the fourth-largest company in the global flavor and
fragrances market. The company sells its products in
160 countries. In 2011, Symrise generated 54 % of sales
in industrial countries in Western Europe, North America and parts of Asia. A total of 46 % of our sales were
achieved in the so-called emerging markets in Asia,
South America, Africa, the Near and Middle East and
Eastern Europe. Around 5,400 people work in the Symrise
Groupʼs two business divisions Scent & Care and Flavor & Nutrition. Symriseʼs headquarters are located
in Holzminden, Germany. Symrise employs 2,114
people here, the Groupʼs largest site. The company has
regional headquarters in the US (Teterboro, New Jersey),
Brazil (São Paulo) and Singapore. Important production
facilities are located in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, China and the US. With sites in 36 countries,
we have a local presence in our most important sales
markets.
Both business divisions are responsible for our operating
business. They each have their own research and development, purchasing, production, quality control, marketing and sales departments. This system allows internal processes to be accelerated. We aim to simplify
procedures while making them customer-oriented and
pragmatic. Both business divisions are organized into
four regions with separate regional managements:
Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME), North America, Asia / Pacific, and Latin America. Their activities
extend across several business units and application
areas. The business units in the Scent & Care division
are Fragrances, Life Essentials, Aroma Molecules and
Oral Care. The business units are also structured according to different application areas. Fragrances, for
example, is divided into Fine Fragrances, Personal
Care and Household. The Flavor & Nutrition division
concentrates on products in the Beverages, Savory,
Sweet, and Consumer Health application areas. In addition, the Group has a Corporate Center which encom-
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Symrise
passes the central areas of finance & controlling, corporate communications, investor relations, legal affairs, human resources, corporate compliance, internal auditing and global process design in
order to exploit cross-business synergies.
The extensive research and development (R & D) undertaken, which
is supplemented by a wide-reaching external network of research
institutes and scientific facilities, forms the basis of our product
development. Given the big differences in regional sensory preferences, comprehensive consumer research is also an important part
of our R & D activities. It creates the foundation for developing marketable products that are successful in the long term and that meet
the various needs of consumers in different parts of the world.
Symrise has development centers notably in Germany, Brazil, China,
France, Singapore and the US. An example is the Global Citrus
Center in Sorocaba, Brazil. Here we have direct and eco-friendly
access to high-quality raw materials. On this basis, we were able
to develop and produce a series of innovative, highly concentrated
citrus oils in 2011.
Along with our innovative spirit, our creativity and our reliable
supply chain, our customers increasingly appreciate our commit-
ment to sustainability and expect us to deliver it. Together with the
pursuit of excellence and added value, with creativity, commitment
and integrity, sustainability is anchored in our values and our
corporate strategy. We know that organizational success and responsibility go hand in hand. That is why we increasingly strive
for shared value in our business activity.
9
10
To think the future today and at the same time assume social responsibility – that is
what acting sustainably means for us. Global megatrends such as the growth of the
world population, an increasing scarcity of resources or ensuring health and food supplies are for Symrise both a challenge and an opportunity. We must review tried and
tested processes and points of view for sustainability. GLOBAL NEEDS and SUSTAINABLE
SOLUTIONS, the titles of our annual and sustainability reports, indicate how we see
our business. With our innovative spirit, new products and technologies, we aim to
contribute toward offering our customers solutions for the pressing issues of our time.
Delivering sustainable added value is therefore key to our entrepreneurial activity.
This means, specifically, that we aim to offer our stakeholders added value along the
entire value chain and at the same time to open up attractive growth potentials for our
company. To do so we collaborate closely with our customers, employees, suppliers and
partners and make their requirements our own. One of the best examples of this is our
work in the areas of skin protection and healthier nutrition. Together with key customers we draw up tailor-made solutions that offer consumers a greater functional benefit
and that go easy on the environment by using renewable raw materials – an added value that bears fruit for Symrise and its key customers by opening up new markets.
We have listed further examples of our sustainable value creation for you in this report.
Our comprehensive responsibility for people, the environment and society is bundled
in our sustainability strategy under the four dimensions Securing Success, Caring for
Nature, Respecting People and Serving Society. The basis of our activity is a stable
structure of values that is reflected in our mission statement, our corporate values and
our Group-wide guidelines for acting responsibly. This corporate culture is borne by
our employees. They breathe life into the sustainability concept in practice by means of
innovative ideas, personal commitment and as ambitious partners in the further development of our sustainability strategy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank
them.
In the reporting year we made consistent progress in expanding our sustainability
activities. We revised our Code of Conduct and our mission statement, focusing them
more on sustainability. From fiscal year 2012 onward, a part of the bonus payments
made to our Executive Board members and senior executives will be subject to the at-
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Interview
THE E XECUTIVE BOARD
HANS HOLGER GLIEWE
BERND HIRSCH
DR. HEINZ-JÜRGEN BERTR AM
ACHIM DAUB
Head of Flavor & Nutrition
Chief Financial Officer
Chairman of the Executive Board
Head of Scent & Care
• Member of the
Executive Board
since November 2009
• Appointed until 2015
• Born 1959
• Member of the
Executive Board
since December 2009
• Born 1970
• Member of the
Executive Board
since November 2006
• Born 1958
• Member of the
Executive Board
since November 2006
• Born 1962
12
tainment of clearly stated sustainability targets. We have continued to systematize our
supplier management and extend it to cover additional sustainability aspects. As a
part of our Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) we are investing in innovative technologies and continuously improving the quality, safety and efficiency of our processes
and products. In the reporting year we were able, for instance, to significantly reduce
the number of accidents at work. Our energy consumption per unit sold was also
down on the previous year. In the Aroma Molecules business unit we forged ahead in
2011 with the expansion of our production capacities for synthetic menthol. The new
plant is due to become operational in 2012 and will set new standards for energy-efficient
menthol production. As a member of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) we achieved
the second-greatest improvement of all German companies in the investor CDP in 2011.
These examples reinforce our belief that we are heading in the right direction. But we
have no intention of resting on our laurels, however. Symrise has set itself ambitious
sustainability targets to be achieved by 2020. With this sixth Symrise sustainability
report, we are for the first time reporting in accordance with the highest application
level, the A level, of the G3 guidelines of the international Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI).
Come with us on our way to sustainable value creation. We hope that you will find this
exciting reading and we look forward to the dialog with you.
DR. HEINZ-J Ü RGEN BERTR A M
ACHIM DAU B
H A NS HOLGER GL IEW E
BER N D HIRSCH
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Interview
“The central issues for the future of society are the crux of sustainable value
creation. That is why we develop products that not only create added value for
our customers but which also go easy on the environment and address the global
challenges of our time in a targeted manner. Efficient processes, motivated
employees and social acceptance are the basis for doing so. Sustainability is a
task that requires responsibility in all of our companyʼs business divisions.”
DR. HEINZ-JÜRGEN BERTR AM, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
“Sustainability creates values, and this is a conviction that we share with a
growing number of investors who are interested in a long-term return on
their capital. By additionally minimizing environmental and societal risks we
ensure reliability and trust. Innovation for the future and responsibility for
our business activity are arguments with which we gain an important competitive advantage with stockholders and investors.”
BERND HIRSCH, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
“Combining nutrition, health and well-being is a central objective of the Flavor
& Nutrition division. In view of new patterns of consumption, of changing
demographics and of flexible working and life models, solutions are required
that map tomorrowʼs world today. That is why we are engaged in continuous
research into new biofunctional ingredients and taste solutions for products to
enable consumers around the world to lead healthy lives.”
HANS HOLGER GLIEWE, President Flavor & Nutrition
“Opening up new application areas for our products is the driving force behind
growth at Scent & Care. We create added value by means of an integrated understanding of sustainability. For example, we develop ingredients that combine
cosmetic properties with health-promoting effects and which are also based on
environmentally friendly raw materials. We are taking our portfolio forward
continuously and aim through our innovative spirit to remain our customersʼ
partner of choice.” ACHIM DAUB, President Scent & Care
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14
SUSTAINABILIT Y STR ATEGY
OUR SUSTAINABILIT Y STR ATEGY IS AN INTEGR AL PART OF OUR BUSINESS STR ATEGY AND IS BASED ON
THE COMPANY ’S MISSION AND ITS CORP OR ATE VALUES. FOR US, ECONOMIC SUCCESS GOES HAND IN HAND
WITH SUSTAINABILIT Y AND, INDEED, SUSTAINABILIT Y SUPP ORTS OUR GROW TH AMBITIONS.
Symrise sells over 30,000 products to customers in
more than 150 countries. These products contribute to
the fulfillment of basic human needs. Health and nutrition, care and wellbeing are intangible goods for which
there is an increasing demand from a growing world
population. In 2050, there will be more than nine billion
people on the planet.
O U R B U S I N E S S S T R AT E GY
VISION
SUSTAINABILIT Y
GROW TH
That confronts us with enormous challenges and at
the same time presents immense opportunities. On
the one hand, we must rethink how we handle water
and food and consider how we are to ensure future
supplies of energy and access to healthcare. On the
other, we already know what important contributions we can make toward growing, producing and
distributing food more efficiently and fulfilling the
increasing need of a growing world population for
health and hygiene.
That is why sustainability is a part of every business
decision at Symrise and is directly connected with the
individual targets of all of the company’s management
employees. From fiscal year 2012 on, a part of the bonus
payments made to our Board members and senior executives will be subject to the attainment of our sustainability targets.
We aim to cater better than our competitors to consumers’ needs and wishes by means of innovation and creativity. That is why our focus on research and development and on new and innovative product concepts
and groups is intended to help give a further boost to
our market shares in the high-value and high-margin
product segment.
EFFICIENCY
PORTFOLIO
VALUES
GROW TH: We constantly strengthen our cooperation with strategic
customers across the world and expand our business in emerging
markets. We ensure that we remain the innovation leaders in our
core competencies.
EFFICIENCY: We constantly work to improve our processes and
concentrate on products with a high level of value creation. We
work cost-consciously in all areas.
PORTFOLIO: We constantly enhance our product portfolio and
tap into new markets and segments. We continue to expand our
expertise in the areas of nutrition and care.
Sustainability is a key factor in this process. Our customers, after all, face the same challenges and opportunities as we do. By making their challenges our own,
understanding the sustainability requirements of their
business and, by sharing information with our stakeholders focusing more sharply on relevant sustainability
issues in the future at an even earlier stage, we ourselves will derive economic benefit and be able to continuously improve our own sustainability balance.
That is why the aim of Symrise’s sustainability strategy is to ensure sustainable value creation across the
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entire value chain – from the procurement of raw materials via our own processes to relations with our customers, our employees and our social environment. In
this way, we aim to ensure long-term economic success,
to make sustainability an inherent part of our business
model and to gain a clear competitive edge.
We are the only company in our line of business with
a strategic focus on the health and nutrition, care and
skin protection segments. In the process, we are continuously making our procurement more sustainable, we
are investing in research and development to make
existing products and technologies more sustainable,
and for the same reason we are also pioneering the
development of new products and technologies. We are
optimizing our production and logistics processes continuously; we are boosting the efficiency of our use of
resources and reducing our emissions. We consider
the impact of our products throughout their entire life
cycle.
The idea of shared value is always our guiding principle:
improvements in our ecological footprint mean both
increased efficiency in the company and benefits for
the environment as well. Investing in our employees
leads ideally to long-term loyalty of key personnel to
the company and to the further personal development
of our colleagues. Supporting social concerns by means
of donations, sponsorship and commitment has positive
implications for the company’s image, its reputation at
our locations and its attractiveness for young professionals. It also helps to take social concerns forward
and to solve problems beyond our factory gates. And
close cooperation with our customers on more sustainable products and processes helps us, helps them and
helps the consumers.
D I M E N S I O N S O F T H E S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y S T R AT E GY
We formulate the targets of our sustainability strategy
along our entire value chain. In this process, we aim
to improve continuously and generate shared value in
every phase of our value creation in respect of four
dimensions: Securing Success, Caring for Nature, Respecting People and Serving Society. These are the
yardsticks by which we structure our decisions at every
stage of the value chain. They give us our orientation
and show us where to launch our activities.
“We all bear an individual and collective
responsibility for sustainability, and
we can learn a lot from each other. Today,
the critical challenge is to integrate
sustainability worldwide at all levels in
the organization. That’s why we will
be further implementing our ambassador
network in the regions over the course
of 2012, to translate our corporate and
divisional strategies into action and to
generate local responsibility.”
ANNE CABOTIN, Global Sustainability Ambassador Scent & Care
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O U R S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y S T R AT E GY
SUSTAINABLE ADDED VALUE
SECURING
SUCCESS
CARING FOR
N AT U R E
RESPECTING
PEOPLE
SERVING
SOCIET Y
SUSTAINABLE CORPOR ATE GOVERNANCE
SOURCING
INNOVATIONS
PROCESSES
Securing Success means: “We work hand-in-hand
with our clients to develop innovative and sustainable product solutions which enhance consumers’
quality of life.”
We can only make our contribution toward more sustainable development if we are commercially successful.
That is why the challenge we face is to combine sustainability and economic success at all levels of what we
do. We want to understand our customers’ sustainability challenges and to make a valuable contribution
toward their objectives. In the process, we cooperate
with our customers on a basis of partnership and develop innovative, high-quality and sustainable products.
With our commitment, unique in the industry, in the
skin protection, skin care and nutrition segments, we
deliver innovative consumer benefit. And we thereby
secure a unique market position.
Caring for Nature means for us: “We act responsibly
in handling the resources that are available to us.”
EMPLOYEES
SOCIET Y
This is the dimension in which we subsume our challenges in respect of environmental, climate and nature
conservation. Our business activity has an influence on
the environment in many ways, and we want to reduce
these repercussions as much as possible. Our ongoing
aim is to consume less water and energy and to generate less waste, less waste water, less CO2 and fewer other
emissions. We also want to rely increasingly on sustainably sourced raw materials. To do so, we assess and
evaluate our ecological influence across our entire
value chain: from procurement via product development,
production and logistics to the use of our products by
our customers.
Respecting People means: “We make long-term investments in our employees and show them appreciation and respect.”
Our employees are the key to Symrise’s success. Without their commitment neither our economic success
would be possible nor would we be able to breathe life
into our responsibility for the environment and society. We support our employees and encourage them to
take on responsibility. That is why we see promoting
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them and giving them an opportunity for personal and
career development as a further part of our challenge.
We want to offer all of our employees a healthy and safe
environment at work. We want to behave honestly and
transparently towards our employees and to involve
them in decisions. And we want to be the most attractive and the most responsible employer in our industry.
Serving Society formulates the objective: “We act
on and encourage a sense of social responsibility,
which creates a framework for our employees and the
society we live in.”
We cannot view our corporate activity in isolation because we are networked in our societal surroundings.
The challenge that we face is to shape the societal
effects of our business activity positively and to create
more value not only for us but also for our stakeholders in society. That begins with taking ethical and social
aspects into consideration in the procurement of our
numerous natural raw materials around the world. It
also includes global support for nonprofit initiatives
to advance fundamental needs that arise in connection
with our business: nutrition, health and education.
Furthermore, we take on many and wide-ranging commitments in the societal surroundings of our corporate
locations and encourage our employees to follow suit.
I M P L E M E N TAT I O N O F T H E S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
S T R AT E GY
These four dimensions determine what we do at all
stages of the value creation process. Our sustainability
strategy is pursued by all of our business divisions
and integrated into all of their business activities. It is
not a static structure but one that responds to changing demands of stakeholders, customers and business
developments. That is why sustainability is a process
of constant improvement at Symrise. We have continuously consolidated our corporate and sustainability
strategy and progressively dovetailed sustainability with
our business activities. But there’s still a lot more we
can do.
In implementing our strategy and defining targets
within the four dimensions, we are guided by the fundamental sustainability challenges and opportunities
that we face as a company from our stakeholders and
from the requirements of sustainable and lastingly
successful corporate governance.
“The concept of shared value has the
potential to unleash the next wave of
global growth.”
MICHAEL E. PORTER , Harvard Business School
Our targets across the value chain were developed in
focus groups and workshops by the operational business divisions and by the corporate headquarters’ service functions. Detailed explanations and targets will
be found in the sections headed Sourcing, Innovations,
Processes, Employees and Society. We are happy to be
measured by these targets. To ensure the transparency
of what we do, we will from now on publish our targets
annually and report on what we have achieved.
cf. materiality analysis
in Management chapter
on page 52
18
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2011
THE GOAL THAT SYMRISE HAS SE T ITSELF IS TO COMBINE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WITH SUSTAINABILIT Y –
ALONG THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN AND ALSO IN REL ATION TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND THE COMMUNITIES IN
WHICH WE ARE LOCATED. THE SUCCESSES WE HAVE HAD AND THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE PROVE THAT
WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TR ACK .
AWA R D
Sustainability Report Takes Home Econ Award: In the
category sustainability / CSR reports, the Perspectives
2010 report received the bronze Econ Award. The Econ
Awards are a renowned prize in the area of corporate
communications and are conferred by the Econ Verlag
in Berlin and the Handelsblatt business newspaper.
–31%
WATER CONSUMPTION IN 2011
COMPARED TO 2007*
2007
2011
T R A N S PA R E N C Y
2007
Extension of SEDEX Membership: In 2011, we up-
–23%
graded our membership of the Supplier Ethical Data
Exchange (SEDEX) to “AB”. The goal is to further
consolidate our sustainable raw material supplies
and to use the increased transparency to identify
risks systematically.
2011
I N N OVAT I O N S
Natural Care: With extracts of echinacea, quinoa,
pumpkin and other valuable sources, in 2011,
Symrise put the spotlight on nature at the in-cosENERGY CONSUMPTION IN 2011
COMPARED TO 2007*
metics trade fair in Milan. In these products,
Symrise unites functional care properties with
the increasing demand for natural ingredients.
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A PPE N D I X
Highlights of 2011
S TA F F P R O M O T I O N
Targeted Personnel Development: In 2011, we
–29%
launched the Career@Symrise initiative in order
to support the integrated development of our
employeesʼ careers. Linking the target agreement
process, skills management and succession planning is an important milestone on our way to becoming an employer of choice.
PRESERVING BIODIVERSIT Y
A Sustainability Topic that Hits Close to Home: In
partnership with the China Exploration and Research
2007
Society, Symrise is committed to protecting the
2011
musk deer. This animal, which used to supply the exotic musk fragrance, is today among the world’s most
endangered species. Symrise is one of the major providers of synthetic musk aroma compounds.
–46%
WASTE IN 2011 COMPARED
TO 2007*
E XEMPL ARY
Good Practice: The Naschgarten in Holzminden,
a successful approach to promoting children’s
ACCIDENTS PER MILLION HOURS
WORKED IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2007
health, was honored with this award. A cooperative
association set up by the German Federal Center
for Health Education (BzgA) is therefore recommending that the project be replicated elsewhere.
2007
2011
I N N OVAT I O N S
Functional Botanical Extracts: With Actiplants®,
the umbrella brand created in 2011, Symrise is expanding its expertise in the area of Health & Nutrition.
2007
2011
Tasks that bioactive ingredients perform include
strengthening the cardiovascular and immune systems and supporting mental fitness.
*per product unit sold
–22%
CO 2 EMISSIONS IN 2011
COMPARED TO 2007*
RESPECTING PEOPLE
Getting
a Feel for
Fragrances
THERE IS A SCENT OF LILY OF THE VALLEY, ROSES, HYACINTHS AND MUCH MORE.
MANY FRAGRANCES INTERMINGLE IN A PERFUMERY LAB. DISTINGUISHING
ONE FROM ANOTHER REQUIRES YEARS OF TRAINING. YET THERE ARE VERY FEW
SCHOOLS AT WHICH THE PERFUMER’S PROFESSION IS TAUGHT. SYMRISE RUNS
TWO OF THEM. IN HOLZMINDEN, GERMANY, AND CHENNAI, INDIA, YOUNG PEOPLE
LEARN ALL ABOUT SCENTS AND FRAGRANCES. THEY ARE TRAINING FOR A CAREER
IN WHICH TEAM-WORK, EXCITING INTERNATIONAL TASKS AND CREATIVE CHALLENGES
ARE ALL IN A DAY’S WORK.
22
Marion Becker is concentrating on her work. She looks
at the slip of paper on the table next to her, then carefully empties colorless liquid from a pipette into a glass
on the scales. She checks the display, keeping an eye
on the weight. “One drop weighs around 0.02 grams,”
she says quietly, letting the fragrance drip a little
more slowly from the pipette. “It has to be exactly the
right quantity,” she explains.
Marion Becker creating a violet fragrance. She selects the individual
components from the comprehensive raw materials portfolio. When
composing the scent, she writes down the ingredients she uses and
their amounts in order to document the formula.
Becker, 27, is creating a violet fragrance consisting
of isoraldeine, heliotropin, methylionone and nine other
ingredients. Next, she mixes it with alcohol. After
around 15 to 20 attempts she likes the perfume she has
created and calls it Violuzz. “Itʼs a fantasy name that
combines violet and Toulouse,” she says with a slight
smile. “Many of these flowers are grown there,” adds
Becker, who is French and comes from a small village
in Normandy. She enjoys the precision work with its
highly creative elements. “The combination is exactly
what I wanted to do,” she says, looking up briefly from
her work. She speaks in English, because the perfumery
school in Holzminden prepares its five students for
the international market. In addition to Marion Becker,
Marilia Duarte, Lisa Fleischmann, Tanja Schumacher
and Nikolaj Koralewicz have been learning their fragrant profession since May 2011. Over four years, the
five students from three countries, all in their mid-20s,
will learn all about essential oils, extracts, oil and
water phases, chemical analyses and synthesis procedures – and, of course, about how to recognize fragrances and how to combine and use them, be it for
fine fragrances, personal care products, laundry care
or air fresheners.
Marion Becker may work with the utmost concentration
in hundredths of a gram, but the atmosphere is otherwise relaxed in the bright, newly designed laboratories
at Symriseʼs head-quarters. “We laugh a lot at work,”
says the chemistry graduate, who applied to study at the
perfumery school after an internship with Symrise in
Holzminden and Paris. “That,” she says, “is partly because we are able, in the early stages of our training,
to experiment and try out a great deal for ourselves.
And things naturally go wrong at times.”
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The perfumery students carrying out the morning olfactory test.
The prevailing good mood is positive for the team spirit.
And that is precisely what Béatrice Favre-Bulle, in
charge of the worldwide education and training of perfumers at Symrise, has in mind. “Nowadays,” she
says, “perfumers are not going to get very far by going
it alone, although we naturally aim to enable everyone
to develop their own creations.” But basics must first be
right, Favre-Bulle explains. “Everyone is capable of
smelling. But you need thorough training to recognize
fragrances, to distinguish between them, to put them
into words and to combine them to achieve the desired
result.” In their first two years, the trainees are taught
in a modular system to distinguish between all of the
major raw materials used in making up fragrances.
There are more than 1,200 of them, and some differ from
others only in olfactory nuances, while the students
also have to identify fragrance notes that combine several basic materials. They learn the composition of
complex fragrances, what the effect of individual aromatic substances is in combination, and how to incorporate them in different applications. The talented
trainee perfumers are guided by experienced master
and senior perfumers who take turns as mentors.
“Everyone is capable of smelling. But you need thorough
training to recognize fragrances, to distinguish between
them, to put them into words and to combine them to
achieve the desired result.”
BÉ ATRICE FAVRE- BULLE, Senior Vice President Fragrance Creation Home & Personal Care
Every morning the students take an olfactory test.
“One of us prepares twelve scent strips that we then
jointly evaluate one after the other,” says Lisa Fleischmann, describing the morning ritual. “A green note,”
says one of the trainees, “But which one?” asks another.
“Lemon with a hint of grass,” the third says, and in this
instance they all agree. “But fragrances are incredibly
complex and we donʼt always identify the same facets.
Discussing it with the others and sharing opinions is
very exciting. Smelling one together reveals the complexity of a fragrance,” Fleischmann says. She comes
from Nuremberg and noticed as a young girl that she
had a special relationship with smells and fragrances.
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24
A lesson at the perfumery school in Chennai, India.
“I think I must have gotten on many peopleʼs nerves
back then with my sensitivity to smells.” For her Abitur,
or school-leaving exam, she wrote about plant fragrances
and created a perfume from them. “Iʼve known since
then that this was the industry I wanted to work in.”
Fleischmann served an internship with a perfume manufacturer, studied food technology and went on to
study at the perfumery school after working her way
successfully through the Symrise Assessment Center.
Her fellow student, Nikolaj Koralewicz, took an entirely
different route. The tall, amateur basketball player
joined Symrise in 2004 to start training as a chemical
laboratory assistant. “I wanted to become a chemist
and go on to study,” he says, collecting a few bottles from
the wall of shelves in the laboratory. But when working
in the companyʼs perfumery as part of his training he
realized just how fascinating fragrances were for him.
On completing his training he successfully worked as
a fragrance evaluator, selecting new products for certain applications and managing projects, too. He ended
up working at the Creative Center in Paris, from where
he applied to study at the perfumery school. He is now
working on his first fragrance notes. “We started with
rose, jasmine and lily of the valley,” the young man says.
To acquaint themselves with the full range of fragrances, the students are also allowed to compose cola
or apple notes – after sniffing them out first on the
fresh fruit. The repertoire also includes unfamiliar fragrances such as are encountered when working
abroad. The third and fourth years of training include
two stays of at least half a year at Symrise Creative
Centers around the world. That is when the students
begin to work with others on projects and to develop
their own creative style. “That is an opportunity I find
The daily routine of perfumers in training: Tanja Schumacher (left)
and her colleagues learn to identify fragrances using scent strips.
very exciting,” Koralewicz says. “I am looking forward
to spending a few years abroad and getting to know
other cultures and other fragrances.”
“Consumersʼ fragrance preferences are strongly marked
by cultural influences and by regional fragrance icons.
On the Indian subcontinent, for example, they include
special scents such as sandalwood, jasmine and herbal
notes inspired by the Ayurvedic tradition,” Favre-Bulle
says. “That is why we need perfumers who know their
local markets and their fragrances,” she explains. Along
with the training in Holzminden, Symrise has set up
its first perfumery school in Asia – in Chennai, India.
Students are taught both by local staff and by perfumers from Europe, and the curriculum is identical at
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BÉ ATRICE
FAVRE- BULLE
Senior Vice President
Fragrance Creation
Home & Personal Care
The perfumery school has a longstanding tradition at Symrise. We
offer talented youngsters training that goes well beyond knowledge
of raw materials, encouraging their creativity and enabling them to
achieve peak performances. But even experienced colleagues can
always learn something new in the world of fragrances, according
to Béatrice Favre-Bulle, Senior Vice President Fragrance Creation
Home & Personal Care.
Ms. Favre-Bulle, does there not come a time as a perfumer when you
have smelt every fragrance at least once?
No, definitely not. There are so many different fragrances and
combinations of fragrance notes that you can never learn it all,
and that is what makes the work so exciting. That is why, at the
Symrise Perfumersʼ Academy, we promote the continuing education and development of our creative employees.
How does Symrise ensure that employees constantly have new inspirations?
both locations. In addition, students in Holzminden and
Chennai are developing a new Symrise perfumery
training manual in international cooperation. Béatrice
Favre-Bulle sets great store by close networking: “After
developing a Perfumersʼ Forum for all Symrise perfumers we are now using instant messaging and video
conferences on the Web, including using them in lessons.
These new communication channels enable us to promote sharing expertise and experiences internationally.
And not just for training purposes.”
We provide further education seminars and workshops. For example,
our perfumers go back to the roots of perfumery with our 360° creative approach. In creative sessions they jointly work out the olfactory
interpretation of the latest trends and create totally new fragrance
notes inspired by a selection of Symrise raw materials. These moments that transcend the daily round of business are felt by the perfumers to be stimulating and motivating. Many fragrance notes that
have taken shape here form the basis of successful new fragrances.
There is not only the Perfumersʼ Academy, but also the scent expeditions ...
Thatʼs right, we send our experienced perfumers out into the
world on these expeditions – partly to find new inspirations but
also to gain a better understanding of peopleʼs lives and our
customersʼ needs. Participants go out into the fields and markets,
get to know new plants, herbs and scents, and observe people
and their habits – in other words, they experience the countries
with all of their senses. Our perfumers later incorporate these
impressive experiences into new fragrance concepts. So far, our
travels have taken us to India, Oman, China and Tasmania. And
we are already planning our next destination.
25
CARING FOR NATURE
Fresh
from the
Tree
IN BRAZIL, SYMRISE’S GLOBAL CITRUS CENTER FOCUSES ON ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
RAW MATERIALS: THE ORANGE. THE SUPPLY CHAIN – FROM THE PLANTATION VIA MULTIPLE
EXTRACTION PROCESSES AND ON TO THE CUSTOMER – IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY SUSTAINABLE IN THE PROCESS.
28
The little lady hurries back to the yellow metal ladder.
Her grayish shirt is bathed in sweat at the shoulders
– small wonder at 31°C (88°F) with not a breath of
wind blowing! With the ease of routine she climbs four
meters to the top of the lush green orange tree. Leaning against the steps of the ladder, she holds tight until
her work shoes gain a secure hold. She wears thick
leather gaiters over her shoes to protect her from the
snakes that wriggle through the grass from time to
time.
Then she starts work. With her right hand she reaches
out for the oranges, making swift, short, time-saving
movements. She tosses them into the sack that hangs
over her shoulder. One, two, three, ten, twenty, thirty
oranges roll into the firm fabric and the bag is full in a
matter of minutes. The fruit picker climbs back down
and slips between two trees to the next three-meter
aisle between the rows of trees. There she pours the
contents of her bag into big sacks. She picks three tonnes
a day in this way. The skills and hard efforts of her and
her co-workers ensure that the fruit harvested from
around 160 million trees make São Paulo state a leading player in the global citrus industry.
Symrise works directly with the farm owners and juice
suppliers to ensure availability of a wide range of freshly
produced orange co-products – the oils and essences
produced when the oranges are pressed. These raw
materials are made into products for the flavorings
market, where citrus fruit derived flavors are one of the
largest segments. “That is one of the reasons why we
decided to set up our Global Citrus Center here in Brazil
in the main production area,” says Erlon Pereira. The
Symrise center is in Sorocaba city, population 600,000.
“This proximity enables us to shape the entire value
chain as efficiently and sustainably as possible,” says
the 35-year-old Global Competence Director for naturally citrus!® at Symrise. “That is how our customers can
be sure of total reliability and product integrity when it
comes to flavors,” he says.
The orange pickers harvest up to three tons of the sweet fruit per day.
E F F I C I E N T LY P R O D U C E D N AT U R A L P R O D U C T
Symrise is able to closely interlink its commitment to
sustainability and its business strategy in this way.
That in turn suits its supplier partners just fine. “By
virtue of its size alone the citrus industry bears an
enormous responsibility for the environment,” says
Pereira. Symrise employees visit the farms, orange
handling and juice extraction facilities in order to better understand how its supplier partners ensure traceability and sustainability. “Our Sorocaba based team
are an integral part of the Brazilian citrus community;
our activities create shared value and our purchases help
support community projects in our neighborhood”, explains Pereira. Processes need to run as efficiently as
possible – by means of precision agriculture, for example. “In the plantations, our suppliers optimize irrigation, fuel consumption and the use of fertilizers by
using GPS data to evaluate the soil,” the manager explains. “They pinpoint irrigation where the soil is on
the dry side and use fertilizers only where the soil has
fewer nutrients.”
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Fresh from the Tree
Erlon Pereira (left) is Global Competence Director for naturally citrus!® at Symrise.
On a plantation he inspects the entire harvesting process of the oranges.
Factory production is thought through no less thoroughly. It begins when the oranges arrive in big trucks at
the loading ramp and roll with a staccato, never-ending
drum roll into the collection containers. Machines
wash the oranges and sort them by size. They then speed
along green conveyor belts into the extractors – enormous fruit squeezers with a capacity way beyond that
of conventional household devices. They extract the
juice from the fruit which is subsequently either marketed as not-from-concentrate (NFC) or concentrated in a
succession of evaporation steps. The oil from the peel,
which is so important for Symrise, is transported into a
separate container.
In recent years Symrise’s partners have optimized many
of these processes that produce 50 kilograms of juice
from 100 kilograms of oranges. “The industry is making
good progress,” Pereira notes. “Every single gram is
utilized: the juice, the aromatic compounds and even the
residues, which are converted into animal feed.” Trees
that no longer produce fruit are recycled as organic waste
and used either as fertilizer or to generate energy.
“Our customers can be sure of total reliability and product
integrity when it comes to flavors.” ERLON PEREIR A , Global Competence Director for Citrus
50 % of the water from juice concentration are returned
to production. Many farms get by almost without
using any water because the climate conditions are perfect. This, combined with the many hours of sunshine,
is an advantage for the location, which unlike its competitors in Florida, does not have to deal with hurricanes,
storms or frost.
Symrise admires the work that is done by its supplier
partners to ensure that sustainability is a way of life
and not simply some form of marketing label. In March
2012, members of Symrise’s Sustainability Ambassadors program visited key suppliers in Brazil and Florida
to assess what they were doing to ensure sustainability
and to suggest areas of further collaboration to improve
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30
In São Paolo state alone, there are 160 million orange trees. Here, they are harvested by hand,
then transported by truck to collection sites where they are temporarily stored.
“We share the views of our partners on
doing business sustainably. We want to
identify value where it does not exist yet.”
ERLON PEREIR A , Global Competence Director for Citrus
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Fresh from the Tree
yields, reduce the collective carbon footprint and deliver
new “freshly squeezed” juice-based products.
In line with all its business philosophy, Symrise works
together with its supplier and customer partners to
create new value by producing new products that ultimately delight the consumer by offering new taste experiences. Creating shared value improves the quality
of education for farm workers and their families;
equally Symriseʼs customers and consumers enjoy an
improved quality of juice based beverages and together
these actions help preserve the quality of our planet.
C R E AT I N G N E W VA LU E S
This approach impresses Erlon Pereira, who has been
with Symrise for eight years. “We share the views of
our partners on doing business sustainably,” says the
manager, who interacts with colleagues along the entire citrus flavoring supply chain and development processes. That is why he would like to cooperate further
with suppliers in order to handle the raw material even
more consistently. “We want to identify value where it
does not exist yet” he says.
production. “We integrate them into our strategy and
thereby demonstrate responsibility for the environment,
for our employees, and for society. That enables us to
hold our own in the market with ever better products,”
Pereira says. Spray drying using the EvoDry® principle
is a case in point. In towers four floors high on the perimeter of the main production building Symrise converts liquid flavorings into state of the art powder flavors. The advantage is that the flavor carriers are
encapsulated in tiny globules, the powder trickles perfectly without raising dust, it is readily soluble in
liquids and can be stored for long periods. “With this
technology we produce flavor solutions that are customized for our beverage industry customers,” Pereira
says. In the process, Symrise has significantly reduced its total energy consumption. EvoDry® offers
several other sustainable product and processing improvements to Symrise’s customers.
C O N C E N T R AT E D TA S T E
At Symrise’s Sorocaba site, every oil and every essence
is tested before the shipment arrives. A variety of tests
provide information about the quality, which has to be
high for Symrise products. Not just the supply chain,
but also the in-house production must be state-of-theart, Pereira says. Over the past four years, Symrise has
invested € 15 million in the Sorocaba center, opened in
1976 and now processing the majority of Symrise’s
global citrus needs. One improvement was the installation of a regenerative thermal oxidizer– a house-high
monstrosity painted gray that reduces odor emissions
to a barely perceptible level. “We did that primarily
for the positive impact on the environment. Since the
facility has been in operation there have been hardly
any complaints about odor emissions by local residents,”
Pereira says. The company’s environmental balance
sheet is also impressive. “We get 85 % of our water
from a well of our own. And over 80 %of our electricity
is sourced from renewable resources.”
Along with the quality of the raw materials and with
better production technology, a constant succession of
new products also improves the supply chain. Beverage
manufacturers, for example, need aromatic compounds
that are readily soluble in liquids and also remain tasty
and stable. Symrise supplies them with multi concentrated (MC) oils, which capture the zesty, fresh orange
character. “Customers’ requirements are growing increasingly exacting. Our range of MC 50 is highly suitable for clear beverages that are intended to have a
very fruity taste,” says Mariano Castellvi. The production
process is highly sophisticated and simultaneously
extremely gentle, says the citrus coordinator for Latin
America, who worked at Symrise as an intern seven
years ago and returned after he had qualified as a food
engineer. Only two percent of the oil consists of oxygenated aromatic compounds, which are water soluble
and strong in taste and smell. The co-product is terpenes that are highly valuable e.g. for fragrance products.
“We are constantly optimizing the extraction process
to maximize yield,” says the 27-year-old Argentinean,
putting on his white coat with the Symrise logo and
striding swiftly into the production hall.
It matters to the food engineer and father of two that
process improvements are not simply superimposed on
A pervasive yellow-orange glow fills the production hall.
Between steel and aluminum pipes, ladders and boilers
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32
two countercurrent extraction plants are each dominated by massive glass tubes. From the left, orange oil
flows into the extractors, from the right ethanol, a natural alcohol refined from regenerative local sugar cane
and used as a solvent in place of the previous mixture
of hexane and methanol. The clever separation process
efficiently releases the terpenes from the precious water
soluble flavor molecules. “We then distill the alcohol
out in several stages until what remains is the highly
concentrated oil, and we can also use the terpenes to
provide distinctive signature scents for personal and
home care products,” Mariano Castellvi says.
The environment benefits in several ways. The new
process reduces the number of energy-consuming distillation steps. It gets by without heating the oil,
which also reduces energy consumption significantly
and protects the delicate flavorings. Shipping costs
and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced too because
around 500 tons of orange oil is reduced to the relatively small amount of ten tons of highly concentrated
raw material for the beverage industry.
SQUEEZING THE L AST OUNCE OF EFFICIENCY
At countercurrent extraction plants, Symrise concentrates the orange oil many times.
The product: MC 50 for the beverage industry.
SymTrap®, another innovative technology, even improves on these advantages. One kilogram of the highly concentrated aromatic compound is produced from
several hundred kilograms of raw material. “We use a
high-tech product here to utilize the last residues as it
were,” Mariano Castellvi says. “With SymTrap® we can
reclaim the minute quantities of high-quality aromatic
compounds that are normally lost in the orange juice
press.”
When the juice is concentrated in the evaporator, condensed water remains. These water phases, which still
contain very special flavorings, are, however, perishable. Instead of superimposing nitrogen on them to make
them transportable, SymTrap® offers an alternative
that is much easier to handle. “It works without heat
input, which makes it very gentle and energy-efficient,” Castellvi says. What is more, SymTrap® tips the
scales for a natural and authentic taste in refreshing
beverages.
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Fresh from the Tree
At the Symrise laboratory in Sorocaba, flavorists develop flavorings for beverages, for example.
At Symrise the fruit’s progress to a beverage ends in
the applications laboratory where specialists use the
self-produced raw materials. The impressive collection
of aromatic compounds – a concentrate of Symrise’s
naturally citrus!® brand values “true to fruit. true to
nature. true to life.” – accelerates the creative work of
flavorists. They can choose from a wide range of citrus
specialties, look for fresh, green, sweet, or fruity notes,
add other natural raw materials – and develop beverages for enterprises that market their products all over
the world. Finally, only one drop of flavor in a beverage
captures the authentic naturalness of more than 100
fresh oranges - maybe picked by the lady at the farm in
the São Paulo state. Her and her colleagues work have
resulted in natural and sustainable citrus ingredients
that taste as if they are straight from the tree.
“With SymTrap we can reclaim the minute quantities
of high-quality aromatic compounds that are normally
lost in the orange juice press. We use a high-tech product here to utilize the last residues as it were.”
MARIANO CASTELLVI, Citrus Coordinator for Latin America
33
SECURING SUCCESS
Skin
Essentials
RESEARCHERS IN THE LIFE ESSENTIALS BUSINESS UNIT ARE LOOKING FOR ACTIVE BOTANICALS
WHICH PROTECT THE SKIN. SOMETIMES, OLD FAITHFULS SUCH AS THE PURPLE CONEFLOWER
(ECHINACEA PURPUREA) COME UP TRUMPS. HOWEVER, IT TAKES A LOT OF LAB WORK BEFORE
THESE EXTRACTS CAN BE USED IN SKIN CREAMS.
36
There is a small glass vial on top of the lab cupboard,
full to the brim with a pale brown powder. Gerhard
Schmaus picks it up, unscrews the white lid and peers
inside. “It may not look like much, but this is a natural
high-tech product,” the doctor of biology says. Schmaus,
who has been working at Symrise for over 20 years,
briefly shakes the vial then replaces the cap. “SymFinity®
1298 consists of the dried pressed juice of the medicinal Echinacea plant,” he says. “With the help of the active ingredients found in the purple coneflower, we
intend to enrich the market for anti-aging cosmetics in
a highly effective, natural way.”
The Life Essentials business unit produces bioactive
ingredients for skin and haircare products, sun creams,
wash lotions and deodorants. The Head of Research
clearly sums up the team’s goals: “Protecting and caring
for the skin is our priority,” says Gerhard Schmaus.
“As we work towards doing this, we want to increase the
proportion of renewable raw materials in our product
portfolio, develop more effective active agents and make
the manufacturing process more efficient as regards
energy, time and costs.”
“ We have known for many years that the enzyme
sirtuin 1, which is produced naturally in the body,
slows down the process of skin aging. Increasing
sirtuin 1 improves the skinʼs own mechanisms for
coping with stress.”
DR. MARTINA HERRMANN , Head of the Phytochemical Laboratory
Echinacea ticks all the right boxes. However, Symrise
had to conduct in-depth research before the plant –
which is well established as a natural remedy – could be
used in cosmetic products. Five laboratories with 17
employees are working on the research into new active
ingredients. They can draw on a cutting-edge range
of methods comprising cellular and molecular biology,
microbiology, phytochemistry and physico-chemistry.
The team develops between four and six new products
every year. To achieve this, the Life Essentials researchers work closely with other research groups
within the company to utilize potential synergies.
“Right from day one, we have to ensure that the cost
of raw materials, development, production and marketing is in line with the prospects for success,” Schmaus
emphasizes.
The ideas for innovations such as SymFinity® 1298,
which are ultimately incorporated into different skincare ranges, come from a range of sources: market
researchers identify needs, customers see product opportunities or the researchers at Symrise have a
brainwave. The process which culminated in SymFinity®
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1298 began with fundamental input from skin biology
and research into aging. “We have known for many
years that the enzyme sirtuin 1, which is produced naturally in the body, slows down the process of skin
aging. Increasing sirtuin 1 improves the skin’s own
mechanisms for coping with stress and makes for
better-prepared skin,” explains Martina Herrmann. “It
is activated when the skin is exposed to oxidative
stress due to environmental influences such as UV radiation, ozone or smoking, for example.” Symrise
wanted to replicate this effect. “This meant we had to
find an active ingredient which triggers and boosts
sirtuin 1 production when it is applied externally.”
This was an exciting challenge for the doctor of chemistry, who heads up the phytochemical lab. The lab is
a bright room where staff examine all kinds of plantbased raw materials. Large vats containing plant material are currently being stirred – extracts of these
botanicals may play a role in skin pigmentation and
healthy hair. “This research is still in its early days,
but it is very promising.” As well as conducting lab
research, Martina Herrmann is overseeing seven or
eight projects. She works closely with a project steering committee to ensure that costs stay within budget,
schedules are observed and all the legal requirements
are complied with. For the sirtuin project, the 45-yearold scientist’s team tested hundreds of different plant
samples and synthetically produced substances from
the company’s raw materials archive. “This enabled us
to identify the Echinacea extract as one of the most
effective candidates,” explains Martina Herrmann, who
researched natural substances produced by bacteria
at the Technische Universität Braunschweig before she
joined Symrise. The lab staff then produced larger
quantities of Echinacea extract. To work out which substances the extract contained, it had to be fractionated,
i.e. broken down into its individual component parts
with the help of high-pressure liquid chromatography.
A tiny drop of the dissolved Echinacea extract – just
five to ten thousandths of a milliliter – is all that is
needed to do this. The large spectra library set up by
Symrise also helped the scientists to identify the active ingredients. At the same time, highly pure forms
of the individual substances were isolated to test their
effect. To do this, a technician from the cellular biology
lab filled microtiter plates with different dilutions of
HARTMUT ALTMANN
Vice President Life
Essentials EAME
Hartmut Altmann believes in collaboration and external input.
In this interview, the Vice President of Life Essentials also makes
it clear that nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for
innovations.
Mr. Altmann, hasn’t every plant which could help protect the skin long
since been identified?
No, definitely not. The world is so diverse that there are still countless plants and natural active agents which we don’t know about yet.
We want to find them, research how they work and provide them
to the cosmetics industry as products. Mother Nature remains our
best teacher.
How do you know what customers want?
Our market research is forward-looking. We have a highly effective consumer insight group in Paris and we talk to both end-users
and our direct customers in the cosmetics industry. We present
product ideas to our five-strong Advisory Board, which is made up
of well-respected scientists. They assess our activities from a
dermatological perspective and also supply plenty of input for new
areas of research. This gives us a complete picture which indicates what people will need in the next few years.
How can Symrise cope with the huge amount of research required?
As well as completing internal research, we set up networks and
make targeted use of external expertise. We develop approximately 50 % of our raw materials and methods in conjunction with
research bodies, suppliers and other partners.
Can you give us an example of this kind of cooperation?
We work very closely with the Italian firm Cutech, for instance.
Together, we have set up a screening service called SCoutech which
can be used by Symrise and other clients. This service tests
potential active agents either in solution or in cosmetic formulas on
real skin models which come very close to in vivo testing. The
tests are therefore even more precise than assays on isolated skin
cells or reconstructed skin models, making the outcome of subsequent clinical testing much more predictable.
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Ev Süß (left) and her colleague examining the application properties of a cream on the skin.
the Echinacea extract drop by drop using a pipette. In
the wells, the extract was mixed with cultured skin
cells, which interacted with the ingredients. The samples’ sirtuin 1-enhancing activity was then observed
with the aid of a fluorescence microscope with magnification of up to 900x, says the researcher: “Then you
can see whether the substance works or not.”
In the laboratory, the active agents are combined with creams, lotions or gels for the first time.
Echinacea proved to be the plant of choice. “We found
that it contained the agent cichoric acid, which activates sirtuin 1. The extract contains a very high proportion – more than three percent – of this substance,”
says Martina Herrmann. “But that’s not all the Echinacea extract can do. As well as stimulating sirtuin 1,
we were able to prove that it had excellent anti-oxidative
and anti-inflammatory properties for skin cells.” The
extract still had to prove that it is effective in practice,
however. In order to minimize the possible risks when
using the extract in cosmetic products, new potential
agents undergo extensive temperature, light and
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acid / alkaline stress testing. Once a candidate has
successfully completed this procedure, application
technicians like Ev Süß start work on the substance.
As Regional Business Manager for Europe, Africa and
the Middle East, Süß is familiar with customers’
needs. She tests how active agents behave in various
creams, lotions, gels or other products. Then, she and
her team translate the findings into customized formulas for the company’s clients. “For example, most customers prefer white creams,” says the cosmetics technologist. This is not easy to achieve using extracts
from plants such as Echinacea, which are naturally pale
brown. The lab staff ran dozens of tests in different
areas of use. “Product stability and sensory factors are
also important: which external influences change
the color and consistency?” Depending on the product’s
intended use, the lab uses different levels of heat and
cold along with various changes in temperature. Tests
are conducted at temperatures ranging from – 10 to
+ 40 °C using refrigerators and warming cabinets or
simply by placing the sample on a windowsill. “This
is where we test the most important use case: storage
at room temperature and in direct sunlight, like in
most bathrooms.”
The employees checked the creams’ flow and application properties and spun them in centrifuges. “Products
which survive that can also cope with normal use,”
says Ev Süß. Once the Symrise scientists had done their
jobs, there was another important step to take. It was
now time to see whether the good lab results – which
indicated properties including an anti-wrinkle effect
– would withstand practical clinical testing. This involved external testers carrying out in vivo studies.
Gerhard Schmaus emphasizes that these were double
blinded, meaning that neither the test lab staff nor
the users of the creams knew which of the two products in the direct comparison contained the active ingredient and which was the placebo. The results were
outstanding, says Schmaus. “Compared to the placebo, we achieved a significant anti-wrinkle effect with
the Echinacea cream, confirming our lab findings
perfectly.” The study marked the last hurdle in the development process and the product is now available
for Symrise’s clients to use in anti-aging products, for
example.
“The windowsill is where we test the most important conditions: storage at room temperature and in direct sunlight,
like in many bathrooms.”
E V SÜSS , Regional Business Manager
In the case of Echinacea, Symrise sources the raw
materials it needs from a partner firm. The plants are
grown on the island of Majorca. “This gives us complete control over the raw material, which is also sustainable. The substance is extracted using a pressing
and drying process as soon as the fresh plants are harvested. It’s a very gentle process which is also solventfree,” adds Gerhard Schmaus. “As the extract contains
a defined minimum amount of the active agent, consistently high quality is guaranteed.”
39
SERVING SOCIET Y
Vanilla’s
Journey
MADAGASCAR IS THE L AND OF VANILL A . AROUND 80 % OF THE WORLD’S TOTAL DEMAND IS
GROWN ON THE ISL AND. THOUSANDS OF FARMERS DEPEND ON THIS E XOTIC BE AN FOR THEIR
LIVELIHOODS. MANY OF THEM WORK WITH SYMRISE. UNLIKE ANY OTHER FL AVOR MANU FACTURER , THE COMPANY IS FULLY INTEGR ATED INTO THE MADAGASCAN ECONOMY. THIS
ARTICLE RECOUNTS SYMRISE’S EFFORTS TO RECONCILE SUSTAINABILIT Y WITH COMMERCIAL
SUCCESS BY WORKING WITH E VERYONE INVOLVED.
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The quality of the “queen of spices” is examined bean by bean.
a ritual centering on care and knowledge – it takes
years of experience to judge the quality of vanilla.
Touching and smelling – working with vanilla requires many years of experience.
Symrise is the only
company in its industry
to process vanilla
on site.
A group of elderly men and women sit silently in a room
with simple plastered walls. The concrete floor under
their feet is covered in mats with roughly woven baskets on them. The air around them is thick with the
heavy scent of vanilla. Outside, a tropical downpour
starts lashing down without warning. The drumming
of heavy raindrops breaks the silence; within minutes,
puddles and rivulets appear in the streets. The men
and women in Symrise’s vanilla warehouse in Antalaha
pay no attention to the storm and keep taking vanilla
out of the baskets and examining the slim, glossy, dark
brown beans bundle by bundle. They bend and prod
the beans with their fingers, lift the beans up to their
noses and take in the scent with their eyes closed. It is
An old man with a faded shirt and a beaming smile
describes how vanilla has always been part of the local
people’s lives. He talks without disrupting the rhythm
of his work. His father before him grew vanilla near
Antalaha, the vanilla capital of Madagascar. Every
year, he pollinates thousands of blossoms by hand. After
the harvest, he ferments the green vanilla. It takes
weeks before this laborious process turns the beans
black, enabling the flavoring to be extracted which is
used for countless products in the food industry. Vanilla
is the most popular flavor all around the world.
For almost two centuries, tens of thousands of smallscale farmers in Madagascar have relied on this precious commodity for their livelihoods. But what do people around the world do with this vanilla? Despite
knowing everything else there is to know about vanilla,
the old man has no idea. The people in Madagascar in
fact have very few uses for the spice. When he is asked
what vanilla farmers need most, the elderly man replies: “a fair price.”
Symrise is one of the largest buyers of vanilla from
Madagascar. Every year, the Group buys the vanilla
harvested by more than 6,000 farmers on the island.
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“We want to find out what price the farmers need for their vanilla in order to
supply a high-quality product and be able to afford social standards such as
healthcare and a school education for their children.” AL AIN BOURDON , Managing Director, Symrise Madagascar
examining what could constitute the “fair price” mentioned by the elderly man in Symrise’s vanilla warehouse in Antalaha. Verifiable, empirical facts are an
essential starting point for ethical business, as this
article will show.
THE PRICE
VA N I L L A
(Latin: Vanilla planifolia) – also known as the “queen
of spices” – is an evergreen orchid. It takes about
three years before the vine bears its first fruit and
another two years until it can first be harvested.
Alain Bourdon is a calm person. He has curly, shoulderlength hair and a quiet manner, but he is a very astute observer. And he seems to know everybody who
lives in Madagascar. He shakes everyone’s hand and
exchanges a few words with people wherever he goes
– the ideal way to glean the latest information from
the vanilla business.
More than 50 % of the vanilla produced worldwide is
grown in Northern Madagascar, where farmers pollinate approximately 3,000 flowers by hand each year
per kilo of black vanilla. Vanilla is one of the most
valuable spices in the world.
Symrise purchases, ferments and extracts vanilla in
Madagascar, making it the only fully integrated flavor
house to keep a significant part of the value chain in
the country. Symrise also knows what the local people
need and what challenges they face. Because of this,
the company has been working with development aid
organizations, various NGOs and local farmers’ associations for many years in a bid to make Madagascar’s
vanilla business sustainable for both people and the
environment.
Some of the revenue which Symrise generates with
vanilla products around the world is always re-invested in local social and ecological projects. For example,
the company conducted a socio-economic study in 2011
The 42-year-old Frenchman has lived on the island off
the coast of Mozambique for 15 years. He manages
Symrise’s vanilla operations in Madagascar. We meet
him in a sparsely furnished office next to the company’s warehouse where the old men and women are busy
examining the vanilla. The downpour has stopped
as abruptly as it started. Gurgling and dripping noises
can still be heard outside, but the sun’s rays have long
since pierced the thick gray clouds.
Bourdon is talking to his colleague Laurence Briand.
Also from France, she spent many years working for
various NGOs in Africa and is now responsible for coordinating Symrise’s local activities as an expert in
sustainable development projects. For instance, she is
working on the above-mentioned socio-economic study
which Symrise is conducting in conjunction with the
German development agency Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). So far, more than 250
farmers have been asked about their living conditions.
“We want to find out what price the farmers need for
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their vanilla in order to supply a high-quality product
and be able to afford social standards such as healthcare and a school education for their children,” says
Alain Bourdon.
But no one knows what a fair price would be. “Even the
farmers themselves can’t easily calculate what price
they need for their goods”, explains Soary Andrianarisoa.
The native Madagascan lived in France for several
years and now works for GIZ. She is overseeing the study
carried out together with Symrise on behalf of the
development agency. It is difficult to calculate a minimum
price: the farmers calculate prices by bundles and
sacks, while the world market works in kilos. Very few
small-scale farmers can even give a precise answer to
the question of how many hours they spend working on
vanilla, as they also tend their rice, cocoa and other
crops throughout the day.
The interviewers from Symrise and GIZ therefore observed the farmers during their day-to-day work, collating information about working hours, living expenses and revenue. This data is now being assessed.
“With this study, we are making the vanilla farmers’
living conditions and needs transparent – for us, our
industry and our clients. That is an important starting
point for improvements,” explains Bourdon when
asked about the need for this study.
Harvesting vanilla beans when they are perfectly ripe is vital for ensuring quality.
C E R T I F I C AT I O N
Green as far as the eye can see. Lush vines wind their
way across the ground and creep up the trees. Waves
of plants flood the jungle. Striking butterflies and
dragonflies dance on the crests of the leafy waves. In
the midst of this idyll, the young farmer Zandryavibula
looks after some 2,000 vanilla plants on a hectare of
land which he inherited from his father. The 29-yearold is taken aback when asked where he learned to farm
vanilla. It has always been a part of his life, he says.
Zandryavibula’s skin is covered with a thick crust of
soil. Just a few minutes ago, he was wading in his small
rice paddy. Now the young man is checking somewhat
shyly on his vanilla orchids. The vanilla vines weave
their way up the trees and are already covered in
green, bean-like pods, which Zandryavibula inspects
with visible nervousness. He has rare visitors today.
Almost two dozen farmers have met on Zandryavibula’s
land. They are dotted around his patch underneath
trees and behind leaves, having an animated discussion
with Jean-Jaques Tsialefitra, one of the most highly respected elders in the area. As always, he used the local
radio station to announce his visit to the farmers,
whose homes are scattered throughout the bush. The
powerfully built man has a slight limp and also works
for Symrise. The community trusts him. Together with
Laurence Briand and a whole team of trainers, he is
coordinating the registration of over 1,000 farmers who
supply vanilla to Symrise. The farmers are to undergo
certification by the Rainforest Alliance for sustainable
cultivation in the forest where they grow their crops.
Back in Laurence Briand’s office in Antalaha, approximately 30 red pinheads chart the progress of the registration on a map. Each pin stands for a village in which
Symrise staff have already talked to the growers about
the criteria for the sustainable farming standard. The
team visits each of the over 1,000 farmers, liaises with
them to map the areas they cultivate and explains to them
how they can improve the yield from their vanilla plants
while protecting the environment.
This is important because Madagascar’s ecological
balance is in danger. Every year, whole swathes of
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Farmer Zandryavibula on his land. Here, he cultivates 2,000 vanilla orchids.
trees are cleared and burned so that rice – an essential
basic foodstuff for the people here – can be grown during the rainy season. Just a few years later, however,
the soil lacks the necessary minerals and nutrients. The
land lies fallow and begins to erode. “The farmers
know about these problems, but they can scarcely see
any other way to feed their families. That’s why we
don’t blame them. Instead, we work with them to come
up with alternatives,” explains Laurence Briand. “The
farmers are very grateful for that. They feel that they
are being taken seriously and trust us.”
S A F E G UA R D I N G R AW M AT E R I A L S
Symrise has invested years in establishing these links
with native farmers, which give the company an important competitive edge. As Clément Cabrol puts it, vanilla
is a “sophisticated commodity.” It is one of the few
things in the world which only become valuable following a process of maturation. Just like a good wine, expertise and time determine its ultimate quality. Clément
Cabrol comes from France, but he has fallen in love
with Madagascar and its inhabitants. He has been dealing directly with the farmers for years and oversees
the purchase of tons of vanilla on behalf of Symrise.
Cabrol explains: “The farmers here know how to produce perfect vanilla. And we know what the farmers
need in order to be able to keep doing that tomorrow.”
Permanently safeguarding raw materials is therefore
one of the motivating factors behind the company’s
sustainability policy. To achieve this, Symrise needs a
partnership-based relationship with the farmers which
encompasses ecological, economic and social aspects.
If the farmers slash and burn parts of the forest for
want of alternatives, this reduces the amount of land
on which they can grow vanilla vines, which need to
climb up trees. And if the growers do not receive a commensurate price for their product in the long run, they
might one day switch to crops which seem more lucrative. If the farmers’ social standing does not allow
them to visit the doctor or send their children to school,
productivity and product quality will suffer.
T H E S T R AT E GY
This is where Symrise’s sustainability strategy comes
in, which, as Alain Bourdon explains, focuses on safe-
“The farmers here know how to produce perfect vanilla.
And we know what the farmers need in order to be able
to keep doing that tomorrow.”
CLÉMENT CABROL, Purchasing Manager, Symrise Madagascar
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guarding the farmers’ income. Calculating a fair price
is just one part of this strategy and is supplemented by
targeted activities supporting nutrition, diversification,
health and education.
Until now, farmers like Zandryavibula have been forced
to sell unripe vanilla on the plant from time to time
to buy rice with what little money this earns them. This
often happens in January and February when they
have used up their supplies of rice and the new harvest
is still some way off. Some middlemen make the most
of this opportunity. For Symrise, this reduces resources
of high-quality vanilla, whose quality rests on the ideal
level of maturity. For this reason, the company helps
farmers by supplying rice on credit which is paid back
at a fair rate when the vanilla is harvested. Symrise
provided advance funding for no less than 26 metric
tons of rice in this way in 2011.
At the same time, the company is launching projects to
step up the sustainable production of rice in the local
area and offer farmers additional sources of income via
diversification. By doing so, Symrise is helping to
improve the families’ food supply and simultaneously
reducing the risk of important forested land being
cleared. Workshops are held to teach the farmers about
growing additional crops, such as cocoa, cloves and
vetiver, and to supply them with the necessary seeds or
propagation material. The company distributed more
than 60,000 seedlings via this program in 2011.
“These activities are very well received by the farmers
here,” explains Jean-Jacques Tsialefitra. He makes the
most of his visit to the bush to discuss another Symrise
project with the farmers: health insurance for the vanilla growers. The company initiated this form of financial protection in conjunction with a local insurance
company and an NGO. More than 500 families now have
health insurance coverage. Symrise pays the insurance premium, and the plan refunds more than half of
the medical expenses incurred by the farmers and
their families. For many growers, this makes a trip to
the doctor affordable for the very first time.
In the afternoon, Laurence Briand, Alain Bourdon and
Jean-Jacques Tsialefitra reach the small village where
Zandryavibula lives with his family. There is a roughly
built wooden shack at the entrance to the village: the
school. The desks have been polished by countless children’s forearms. Children of all ages swarm out of the
building like bees, filling the dusty yard with shrieking.
Meanwhile, the Symrise team talks to a delegation of
teachers inside about another aspect of the company’s
sustainability commitment. Symrise now funds part
of the salaries paid to more than 30 teachers at a total
of ten schools and also helps parents to pay school fees
by footing a third of the bill. This meets with an enthusiastic response from teachers and parents alike
because the state salary for teachers in Madagascar is
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Alain Bourdon and his colleague Laurence Briand, visiting a school.
traceability, top quality and the best yield. “Together,
we are enhancing value for everyone involved: for the
farmers and their communities, for our clients and
their consumers, and for Symrise,” explains Alain
Bourdon. He also emphasizes, however, that: “Sustainability isn’t a project just for Symrise or some NGO.
It is everyone’s responsibility. And our mutual success
will ultimately rest on whether we show sufficient
appreciation for a premium product such as genuine
vanilla from Madagascar.”
The children from the village school show Laurence Briand their
school books.
scarcely enough to live on and many teaching posts
are thus unfilled. “In this way, we are already offering
about 2,600 children access to education,” comments a
delighted Laurence Briand.
The rice credit, the diversification program, the health
insurance and the schools – all of these initiatives are
not just a charitable act on the part of Symrise. They
can more accurately be described as investments in the
value of vanilla and the sustainable future of a community which the company lives and works in. Symrise’s
close partnership with its farmers offers the company
a secure, long-term supply of raw materials, maximum
47
REP ORT
48 – 107
REPORT
Management. Sustainable Added Value
Sourcing. Responsibility Along the Supply Chain
Innovations. Product Development
and Customer Orientation
Processes. Environmental Protection and Efficiency
Employees. Responsibility for Our Staff
Society. Our Commitment Locally
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70
82
92
102
108 – 110
APPENDIX
GRI Application Level Check Statement
Imprint
GRI Content Index
108
109
110
50
MANAG EMENT. Sustainable Added Value
FOR SYMRISE, SUSTAINABLE CORP OR ATE MANAGEMENT ME ANS ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH VALID L AWS
AND REGUL ATIONS AND ASSUMING RESP ONSIBILIT Y THAT GOES FAR BE YOND. FOR US, CORP OR ATE GOVERNANCE, VOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS AND INTEGR ATED SUSTAINABILIT Y MANAGEMENT ALONG THE ENTIRE
VALUE CHAIN GO HAND IN HAND. THROUGH AN ACTIVE DIALOG WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, WE MINIMIZE
RISKS RELE VANT TO SUSTAINABILIT Y AND AT THE SAME TIME OPEN UP NE W BUSINESS OPP ORTUNITIES.
O R G A N I Z AT I O N
Direct responsibility for the company’s sustainability
strategy lies with Symrise’s Chief Executive Officer
and responsibility for its management lies with the Corporate Compliance department. Progress on all sustainability activities is reported quarterly to the Executive Board. The company’s sustainability targets flow
into individual performance targets and thereby into
executive remuneration.
their locations and in their business divisions and thereby further sensitize our organization. In 2011, sustainability teams were also established at all of the Group’s
regional headquarters and at many other locations
around the world to contribute in many different ways by
means of targeted initiatives toward integrating sustainability even more deeply into our business model.
S U C C E S S F U L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
C O M M U N I C AT I O N
A global, cross-divisional team, the Symrise Sustainability Board, is responsible for the development, implementation and adaptation of sustainability strategy.
The Board was established in 2009 and since meets
several times a year. It consists of senior management
representatives. Its task is to ensure, for one, that the
four dimensions of our sustainability strategy are observed across the entire extended value chain from
supplier to customer and, for another, that the interests
of further stakeholder groups are taken sufficiently
into account.
SY M R I S E W I N S T H E E C O N AWA R D
Symrise received the bronze Econ Award for its
Perspectives 2010 sustainability report. The jury was
impressed primarily by the good structure, the pro-
Implementation of the sustainability targets set by the
Sustainability Board lies with the business divisions. In
2011, the Symrise Sustainability Board and the Board
members of our Flavor & Nutrition and Scent & Care divisions set up divisional Sustainability Teams. Their task
is to operationalize the Group’s sustainability strategy
in their business divisions. They are supported by a
global network of voluntary Sustainability Ambassadors,
who raise awareness of our sustainability strategy at
fessional standard of reporting and the exciting storytelling.
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A PPE N D I X
Management
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y B OA R D
1. DR. CLAUS-OLIVER SCHMIDT
SVP Global Quality Control &
Regulatory Affairs
6. CLEMENS TENGE
Director Sustainability
Communications
9. DR. HELMUT FRIEDEN
Corporate VP Corporate
Compliance
12. STEPHAN SIELAFF
SVP Global Operations F&N
2. DR. TORSTEN KULKE
VP Global Innovation
Fragrances & Oral Care
7. DR. GERHARD KRAMMER
SVP Global Research &
Technology Group F&N
10. DR. NORBERT RICHTER
SVP Global Business Unit
Aroma Molecules
13. CHRISTIAN HA AKE
Human Resources
Manager
3. CARSTEN TEIWES
4. PASQUAL JAHNS
SVP Supply Chain
Fragrances & Oral Care
5. MICHAEL SCHURICHT
Manager Corporate Compliance
Key Account Director
Life Essentials
8. ANNE CABOTIN
VP Global Account Director
2
1
3
5
4
11. JUDITH MÜLLER
Sustainability Management F&N
14. TOBIAS ERFURTH
Head of Investor Relations
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
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With this combination of a top-down as well as a bottom-up approach, we see ourselves as being well positioned for implementing our sustainability strategy
and for tackling future challenges posed by our stakeholders. The challenge in the years ahead will be to
combine these two approaches even more firmly and to
make even better use of the resulting potentials.
O P P O R T U N I T I E S A N D R I S KS
At its regular meetings, the Sustainability Board identifies the opportunities and risks that come with the
changing challenges to sustainability and checks and
prioritizes them according to their materiality for
Symrise. Specific targets are then formulated on this
basis. They result from a systematic evaluation of two
aspects: their relevance for our stakeholders and their
importance for our business.
Our stakeholders’ expectations of Symrise are compiled
and analyzed by the Sustainability Board. These assessments are reviewed and adjusted if required. To be
“We include our stakeholders systematically in our sustainability strategy.
Only a credible exchange on equal terms
enables us to identify future requirements early on.”
CLEMENS TENGE, Director Sustainability Communications
M AT E R I A L I T Y M AT R I X
RELEVANCE FOR SYMRISE
Innovative and sustainable product solutions
Dialog and collaboration
with stakeholders
Biodiversity
Sustainable added value and shared value
Using renewable raw materials
Ensuring greatest possible product safety
Employee promotion and development
Social commitment
Compliance
Responsible sourcing
Reducing environmental emissions
Diversity and quality of
opportunity
Observance
of human rights
Energy and water consumption
Efficient use of
raw materials
Transparency and credibility
Involving employees in sustainability issues
Supply chain excellence
Occupational health and saftey
Reducing noise and oder emissions
HIGH
Attractiveness as an employer
RELEVANCE FOR STAKEHOLDERS
E X TREMELY HIGH
E X TREMELY HIGH
VERY HIGH
VERY HIGH
HIGH
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A PPE N D I X
Management
better able to assess the importance of these issues
from the company’s viewpoint, we hold workshops with
management representatives in all business divisions.
In both evaluation processes, we refer to customer, employee, analyst and supplier surveys as well as to independent rating results. We also take into account an
analysis of the focal points of our customers and competitors, our finance-related risk management and our
own performance compared with the previous year.
To review the further development of our sustainability
strategy and evaluate our influence comprehensively,
we will be conducting systematic stakeholder surveys
in 2012 and 2013 and comparing our in-house assessments with the survey findings.
Our main focus is on the requirements of our customers,
who expect quality products and innovative solutions
that make a contribution toward their own sustainability
strategies. Consumers, who are our customers’ customers, also expect us to make a contribution toward
their health and well-being. By seeking to regularly
exceed these expectations, we can also deliver many of
the requirements of other stakeholders such as local
authorities and governments, investors or non-governmental organizations. The continuous improvement
in enterprise value and concerns for environmental conservation are in our view inseparably associated with
the fulfillment of these expectations and primarily constitute opportunities for us.
To identify early on potential risks for Symrise that are
associated with sustainability challenges, we have
established a Group-wide risk management system. By
means of appropriate guidelines, we ensure that risk
assessments are taken into account from the outset in
management decision-making processes. Risk identification is coordinated in the Corporate Compliance department, which is also responsible for the management of sustainability issues within the Group. Our risk
management system covers sustainability-relevant
issues as a subcategory of nearly all other risk categories
– from environmental and industry risks via procurement and product risks to operating risks. Progressive
climate change is just one example of the relevance
of our sustainability-related risk management in that
changes in climate conditions and resulting fluctua-
tions in the availability of natural resources can have a
direct influence on our supply chain and constitute a
procurement risk. Logically, we have taken this risk into
account and addressed it in our procurement strategy.
I N T E G R AT E D M A N AG E M E N T SYS T E M
For a systematic approach to all opportunities and
risks in the sustainability sector we use our Integrated
Management System (IMS). It is based on the international ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 26000, ISO
50001 and SA 8000 standards, the generally accepted
audit standards of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)
and other recognized local standards that promote a
continuous improvement in performance. We therefore
rely securely at all corporate levels on exacting global
quality, environmental, health, occupational safety and
product safety standards.
“Particularly in times of uncertainty,
investors are on the lookout for investments in which they can trust. With
our sustainable added value we demonstrate foresight and thereby safe-guard
the companyʼs value in the long term.”
TOBIAS ERFURTH, Head of Investor Relations
see Procurement
chapter on page 60
54
We have deliberately aligned this management approach
and the resulting corporate processes and business
targets to our stakeholders’ requirements. They – along
with consistent compliance with all voluntary and
mandatory requirements – are the starting point for all
of our sustainability endeavors.
The IMS defines business and sustainable thinking not
only as a task for management personnel. All Symrise
employees are called upon to check their workflows for
relevance to the company and its principal stakeholders, to assess repercussions and risks and to put available resources to optimal use.
That in turn is based on targets, and specifying, implementing and achieving targets is an important part of
the continuous improvement process in all business
divisions. Targets are an integral part of the personal
responsibilities of each and every employee. To achieve
targets, the management has laid down the company’s
core processes and supporting processes. These standardized processes are described transparently for all
employees in a management manual from which fur-
I N T E G R AT E D M A N AG E M E N T SYS T E M
AC
T
Asses stakeholder requirements
CH
Evaluate
results
Run core and
supporting
processes
Ensure
compliance
Define
targets
and create
roadmap
Assign responsibilities
and manage
resources
Check
relevance
and assess
risks
Align with
mission,
vision &
strategy
The annual audit scheduling by IMS Audit and Corporate Audit takes into account all processes involved
in the management system.
S TA K E H O L D E R D I A L O G
For the Integrated Management System it is essential for
us to be aware of the requirements that our stakeholders have of Symrise. Our business brings us into contact
with many different groups that expect us to take their
wishes and needs seriously and take them into account
in what we do. Understanding which stakeholders
have which influence on us and our business is therefore indispensable. We have analyzed Symrise’s global
stakeholder commitments accordingly, taking all business divisions into account. In workshops we have
identified the actual or potential influence that what
we do have on different stakeholder groups and what
influence these groups have on Symrise.
Symrise makes use of a large number of different formats and channels to communicate with its stakeholder
groups – within and beyond the company. Intensive
use is made of the various opportunities for engaging
in dialog.
AN
EC
PL
K
Report to
shareholdes
DO
An overview of the
global audit schedule can
be found on page 81
ther target documents are derived. The effectiveness of
such processes are reviewed regularly and adjusted
in line with changing requirements as necessary. In an
annual management assessment, national and regional
management teams evaluate the suitability, appropriateness and effectiveness of the management system in
their division.
We use the active exchange with our stakeholders as
a strategic instrument that helps us to take up expectations and develop convincing solutions for them. That
is why we deliberately pursue the dialog with our stakeholders decentrally. Our different business divisions
and branches around the world are best aware of the
needs of their principal stakeholders and are in constant contact with them. They are responsible for the
regional and local implementation of our strategy and
define suitable measures themselves. That is how we
ensure that sustainability is anchored extensively at
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S TA K E H O L D E R E N G AG E M E N T
STAKEHOLDER
Customers
COMMITMENT
• Customer relationship management
• Customer surveys
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2011
Identification of the needs of low-income
consumers in Asian growth markets.
• Innovation events and workshops
• Proactive trend, consumer and concept studies
• Regulatory advice
• Electronic data interchange (EDI)
• Online product databases
Employees
• Performance reviews
• Employee surveys and workshops
Global employee survey on the further
development of internal communication.
• Intranet and employee newsletter
• Online forums and networks
• Total Productive Maintenance ( TPM)
• Ideas management
• Employee meetings
Investors
• Annual general meetings of stockholders
• Investor and analyst conferences
Holding a Capital Markets Day in
Hanover / Holzminden.
• Capital Markets Days
• Roadshows and investor discussions
• Quarterly financial reports
• Investor Relations website
• Financial and events calendar
Suppliers
• Sustainability-related supplier surveys
Extension of SEDEX membership to “AB”.
• Supplier audits and training
• SEDEX membership
Scientists
• Scientific Advisory Boards
• Research cooperation
Founding a Scientific Advisory Board for
Fragrances and Oral Care.
• Study and research scholarships
Government
• Work on public bodies
(national, regional, local)
• Membership in industrial associations
Financial assistance for Ibaraki prefecture
after the earthquake in Japan.
• Social commitment
Local residents
• Information events
• Neighborhood newspaper
Redesign of the neighborhood newspaper at
the company’s headquarters in Holzminden.
• Environmental standby arrangements
Media
• Financial and sustainability reporting
• Press discussions and conferences
Launch of a Twitter channel
to provide up-to-the-minute information.
• Online news portal with specific contacts
Non-governmental organizations
• Information exchange on key issues
• Sustainability ratings and certifications
• Public-private partnerships
Public-private partnership in Madagascar with
the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
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C O O P E R AT I O N W I T H T H E R A I N F O R E S T A L L I A N C E
R E S P O N S IB IL I T Y A LO N G T HE S U PPLY C H A IN
We see a strong fit between our own sustainability approach on Madagascar and the goals of the Rainforest Alliance,
underpinned by the principles of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard. We have therefore started a cooperation with
the Rainforest Alliance on Madagascar to certify more than 1,000 of the vanilla farmers who we are partnering with.
And we are working hard towards certification.
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standard for good corporate governance in Germany.
Symrise AG’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board
cooperate closely in managing and overseeing the
company’s corporate and sustainability strategy. The
Executive Board of Symrise AG currently has four
members. All members of the Executive Board are appointed by the Supervisory Board. The Board is responsible for managing the company’s business operations in the interest of the company with a view to
creating sustainable value. The Executive Board develops the company’s strategic direction, approves it with
the Supervisory Board and is responsible for its implementation.
“We believe in the steadily growing importance of socially responsible investments. Hence, we value Symrise’s
commitment to both financial as well as
social responsibility. We expect Symrise
to continue increasing shareholder value
while further integrating sustainability
into their corporate strategy and business
processes.”
The Supervisory Board advises and oversees the Executive Board in the management of the company. It
is involved in strategy and planning as well as all other
decisions of fundamental significance to the company.
In accordance with the articles of incorporation, Symrise
AG’s Supervisory Board has twelve members, with six
representatives elected by the shareholders and six by
the employees. To ensure that the Executive Board
is advised and supervised independently, no former
Executive Board members serve on the Super visory
Board.
FAT Y DEMBELE, SRI Analyst, Financière de l’Echiquier
Symrise. Finally, the findings are coordinated centrally
by the Symrise Sustainability Board.
C O R P O R AT E G OV E R N A N C E
We are convinced that good and responsible management is the precondition and indispensable basis for
Symrise’s success and for sustainable added value. Our
success is founded first and foremost on the trust that
our customers, employees and investors place in us. That
is why we aim to justify and strengthen this trust.
The actions of Symrise AG’s management and oversight bodies are determined by the principles of good
and responsible corporate governance. The Executive
Board and Supervisory Board identify themselves with
the objectives of the German Corporate Governance
Code, which has established itself as a guideline and
To ensure uniform exemplary activity and behavior, a
Code of Conduct was drawn up for the entire Group as
early as 2006 and its guidance is binding on all Symrise
employees. It is based on the company’s values and
principles. The purpose of the Code is to help all employees cope with the ethical and legal challenges of
their everyday work, in business relations and in handling information and to provide them with guidance
in conflict situations. The Code of Conduct provides the
framework for interactions with Symrise’s key stakeholders and ensures that company processes are transparent, honest and consistent. The Code provides a
proven framework within which employees make business decisions. In the interest of all employees and of
the Group, noncompliance is analyzed and the causes
remedied. This means that misconduct will be consistently prosecuted in accordance with national laws. In
2011, we revised our Code of Conduct fundamentally;
the new Code is more comprehensive, easier to understand and adjusted to changes in requirements.
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58
COMPLIANCE
The Code of Conduct is one of the most important components of the Group’s compliance program, which
in turn forms the core of the Integrated Management
System. Every Symrise employee is responsible for
complying with the legal regulations in force and for
implementing our principles of good and responsible
management in his or her area.
At Symrise, we understand “compliance” as a holistic
organizational model ensuring adherence to legal regulations as well as intra-company guidelines and the
corresponding processes and systems. Symrise’s integrated corporate compliance management system combines risk and value-oriented, legal, ethical and other
sustainability-related aspects and rules and makes
them the model of our business activities. The Integrated Compliance Management, Corporate Audit, Risk
Management and Sustainability functional units are
bundled in our Corporate Compliance organization.
The results of all audits and knowledge gained from
risk management are pooled together in this central
organizational unit. As a result, measures are coordinated more efficiently.
Corporate Compliance helps all business divisions to
identify and prioritize the need for regulation as a result of laws, certifications, generally recognized guidelines, ethical standards and the company’s process
specifications, for example. The department converts
process requirements into local, national and international guidelines. Behavior-related provisions are incorporated in the Symrise Code of Conduct and are
also binding on all employees. Local Corporate Compliance offices at individual Symrise locations implement
guidelines on a regional level. They advise employees
in charge of processes on how to implement requirements and adjust their processes. The Corporate Com-
“Integrity is the key to sustainable
relationships. Our Group-wide compliance program ensures that all of our
employees adhere to our high ethical
standards.”
DR. HELMUT FRIEDEN, Corporate VP Corporate Compliance
pliance office and the Corporate Audit department
report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. This ensures their independence. The Corporate Audit department investigates every fundamental business process
at least once every three years for corruption risks,
meaning that the annual sample rate is at least 33 %.
In 2011, the largest unit in the Symrise Group in each
of the four regions was investigated in this connection.
Corporate Compliance and Corporate Audit report to
every meeting of the Supervisory Board’s Auditing
Committee.
Four years ago, Symrise set up an integrity hotline to
ensure that high ethical and legal standards are maintained throughout the company. With this hotline, em-
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ployees are able to contact Corporate Compliance using
toll-free telephone numbers that have been specially
set up in individual countries. Since 2009, employees
have also been able to submit reports to the Symrise
integrity hotline’s web service. An intermediary service
operator ensures that employees can retain anonymity
where required and communicate in their own native
language. Of course, employees can also contact Corporate Compliance directly and personally at any time. In
2011, eight cases were reported via the integrity hotline worldwide. In each case, investigations were then
initiated. In one case we were unable to rule out unequivocally the accusation of accepting personal gains.
We agreed with the employees in question on a termination of their contracts of employment. No material
damage to third parties or to our company resulted. All
employees at the location in question underwent a refresher course on our anti-corruption policy. The Corporate Audit department then conducted an audit.
Symrise offers training courses to all employees across
the complete range of compliance topics. In addition to
OUR COMMITMENTS
We increase our company value in a sustainable way.
training courses where employees are present on site,
we are also increasingly offering internet-based training. We are thereby able to reach a larger number of employees in a shorter period of time. Furthermore, every
employee can decide more flexibly when and where he
or she would like to attend each training course. New
Symrise employees are given comprehensive training
when they join the company on the fundamental principles of our Code of Conduct. In addition to this basic
training, we run a variety of training courses on specific aspects. In 2011, for example, 200 employees underwent training on key aspects of corruption avoidance and anti-trust law; they amounted to around 4 % of
the Group’s global workforce. For 2012 we plan to hold
more courses on these issues, along with courses on
money laundering and agents and dealers. Our primary focus is on employee categories that are exposed to
the greatest risks and on executive employees, who
play a multiplier role in the company. A focal point for
all employees in 2012 will be a global eLearning program on sustainability.
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
• Engage in dialog with our stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations
• Pursue the integration of sustainability in our business strategy to create shared value
We fully integrate sustainability into our business.
• Define sustainability ambassadors in all regions and subsequently in our locations and
units
• Train and engage all of our employees in our sustainability program
• Include sustainability criteria in all of our capital expenditure projects
Measures to be quantified further during 2012.
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Sourcing . Responsibility Along the Supply Chain
We began many ye ars ago to align our sourcing str ategically, taking into account both busi ness and sustainabilit y aspects. With our back ward integr ation in ke y r aw materials, we take
into consider ation not only our procurement process but also the entire value chain of our
r aw materials. We take e very step with due at tention to marke t requirements and local needs.
For our ke y r aw materials we identif y the risks in the supply chain and l aunch progr ams
aimed specifically at ensuring the long -term, sustainable avail abilit y of these r aw materials.
Symrise sources around 10,000 different raw materials
from more than 100 countries. In all, we manufacture
about 30,000 different products from them all over the
world. The complexity of our supply chain is enormous.
Some of these strategic raw materials are used only in
our industry, so the number of suppliers is correspondingly low. In other cases we buy only small quantities of
certain preliminary products for further processing,
which limits our market clout and opportunities to exert influence on the supply chains in question. Our
natural raw materials are sourced through a range of
supply chains, often originating from fields, farms
and forests in Africa, Asia and South America.
That often involves major challenges in both raw material sourcing and supplier management. On the one hand,
for the sourcing of our raw materials, we are in competition for land which is used for the production of materials for food or biofuels, and we prefer to rule out, as
far as possible, any negative ecological impact of our
sourcing. On the other, we buy a large part of our preliminary products from countries where in some cases
problematic socio-political conditions prevail – conditions we would like to contribute to improving to the best
of our ability. As these general conditions influence
not only the sustainability of the raw materials we use
but also their quality, availability and price, it is in
our own interest to apply and multiply the highest standards along our entire supply chain.
“For responsible sourcing you need to
be close to your suppliers. By means of
integration into local value chains we
promote economic and social development at a local level, improve our security of supply and thereby gain competitive advantages.”
Stephan Siel aff, SVP Global Operations F&N
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We pursue this approach with our responsible sourcing
model, relying on long-term contracts and cooperation
with our suppliers, on social and ecological commitment
locally, and on strategic partnerships with our key customers. We therefore aspire in all four dimensions of our
sustainability approach to shared value, including shared
value in the supply chain:
Securing Success:
We secure our raw material supplies on a long-term
basis
We achieve optimal quality and yields
We create transparency by means of certification
We offer our customers responsible products
Caring for Nature:
We promote the retention of traditional farming
methods
We make a contribution to the conservation of
biodiversity
We invest in renewable sources of energy
We generate fewer transportation-related emissions
Respecting People:
We help growers to diversify
We boost productivity by means of training courses
We improve growers’ living standards
We create fair local jobs
Serving Society:
We increase local added value
We invest in local infrastructure
We create access to nutrition and healthcare
We enable children to go to school
E F F I C I E N T U S E O F R AW M AT E R I A L S
Efficient and responsible use of all resources is a basic
principle of our raw materials management. In 2011,
we purchased 185,000 tons of raw materials for processing into our products. Process losses are relatively low
at 12 %, being mainly due to extraction and distillation
processes. The bulk of our raw materials – 88 % – goes
into the product, thereby contributing toward added value. Wherever it is possible and it makes sense, we try
to reduce losses by recycling. Solvents that are required
in production processes are, for example, cleansed repeatedly and reused. In the production of raw materials
for flavorings alone, around 1,800 tons of solvent are
fed back into the process every year.
The overwhelming majority of our products are creative
compositions based on a large number of raw materials. In addition to carriers, they consist mainly of valueadding preliminary products, in other words a wide
range of aromatic compounds and active components.
We place a special focus on these ingredients in our
sourcing strategy.
The main auxiliary and operating materials that we
purchase are fuels. To these must be added packaging
materials. Wherever possible, we deliver our products
in large containers that we take back and reuse. In 2011,
we used around 19,500 tons of packing materials worldwide. The recycling quota was 25 %.
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DIVERSIT Y OF R AW MATERIALS
SYMRISE PROCURES A WIDE R ANGE OF DIFFERENT R AW MATERIALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THIS
VARIE T Y IS REQUIRED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF OUR NUMEROUS, HIGH - QUALIT Y PRODUCTS, BUT IT
ALSO PRESENTS US WITH COMPLE X CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABILIT Y.
C E DA R W O O D
Cedarwood is considered to be one of the oldest incenses. Various
different types of cedar are used in the manufacture of perfumes. One
of them, Juniperus virginiana, is predominantly native to North America.
Cedar oil has a very characteristic woody and balmy smell.
PEPPERMINT
The essential oil derived from peppermint (Mentha
piperita) is mainly used in flavorings for oral care
products. The most important country of origin is the
USA. Peppermint oil, however, is rarely used to
manufacture menthol. Due to fluctuations in price and
supply, Symrise primarily uses synthetic l-menthol
from its own, environmentally friendly production.
50 %
ORANGE
Around 50 % of the worldʼs
orange demand is grown in
Brazil. Symrise is there, too,
with its Citrus Center in Sorocaba.
6,000
VA N I L L A
6,000 farmers in Madagascar
feed their families by cultivating
vanilla for Symrise.
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A PPE N D I X
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BILBERRIES
Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus)
from the north and east of Europe are
often confused with American blueberries. Bilberries are rich in flavonoids
with an antioxidant effect.
L AV E N D E R
Lavender oil (Oleum lavandulae) is the essential oil taken
6,000
from lavender flowers. Southern France is the most wellknown region for the production of high-quality lavender oil.
ONION
Harvest-fresh: Every year, around
6,000 tons of onions are processed at Symriseʼs Holzminden site.
PAT C H O U L I
Patchouli is a genus of the Lamiaceae
family. It is one of the basic materials for
many perfumes and gives fragrances a
hint of something mysterious and exotic.
JASMINE
Jasmine is a climbing plant that is
characterized by its decorative and
C L OV E S
fragrant flowers. The name Jasmine
Cloves are the strong-smelling and spicy dried flow-
comes from the Persian meaning “the
er buds of the evergreen clove tree. The eugenol con-
fragrant flower.” Today, jasmine absolue
tained inside is used in many fragrances and flavor-
is an important raw material in the
ings, particularly in the area of oral care.
creation of perfumes.
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SY N T H E T I C A N D N AT U R A L R AW M AT E R I A L S
In the manufacture of our products we use both natural and synthetic raw materials. Natural raw materials,
however, are not necessarily more sustainable than
synthetic ones. The proportion of natural raw materials
in our portfolio is increasing continually and already
accounts for more than half of the raw materials used.
But the challenge we face is that currently many synthetic raw materials cannot or can barely be replaced by
renewable raw materials – both for economic and for
ecological reasons.
RESPONSIBILIT Y FOR RESOURCES
to manufacture than the energy required to harvest
and transport natural ones. What is more, the use of
fossil resources to manufacture chemical products
accounts for only a very small proportion of global consumption. We nevertheless want to achieve a further
reduction in our dependence on these finite raw materials and have therefore made the identification of
alternative means of producing synthetic substances
a focal point of our research.
Deciding whether a natural material or its synthetic
equivalent has the more favorable sustainability balance
varies from product to product. That is why – irrespective of the source of the raw material – we attach importance to using resources as sparingly as possible and
try to maximize our yields. We encourage our suppliers
to do so as well.
S TA N DA R D S A N D C E R T I F I C AT E S
Compliance with national and international statutory
regulations governing the protection of natural resources is an integral part of procurement policy at Symrise.
The use of animal and plant-based raw materials listed
by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is only
permitted throughout the Group if the supplier is able
to prove their sustainability.
N AT U R E - I D E N T I C A L A L P H A - B I S A B O L O L
Symrise has decided to cease production of the skinsoothing active ingredient from the candeia tree that
grows in the Brazilian rainforest because a sustainable supply can no longer be ensured. In the future
Symrise will concentrate on producing nature-identical bisabolol.
Greater use of renewable raw materials leads not only
to an increase in the acreage required but also, increasingly, to competition for the production of foodstuffs and the conservation of biodiversity. Furthermore, the proportion of value-giving substances in plants
depends to a large extent on climate and geological
conditions – a risk that does not occur with synthetic
products. Synthetic raw materials often take less energy
For a significant number of the plant-based raw materials that we use, we endeavor to procure raw materials
with a certificate of origin. Nearly 100 % of the palm oil
that we use, for example, is certified by the Round
Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). As a central organization, the RSPO seeks to promote sustainable cultivation methods for palm oil and thereby to limit environmental damage. Products certified as organic or fair
trade, in contrast, still account for only a limited proportion of our procurement volume. As our products
often account for only a small part of the end product,
customer demand for certified products has so far focused as a rule on especially iconic ingredients of quality end products such as vanilla. Currently, around
120 of Symrise’s raw materials around the world are
certified as organic or fair trade. They make up less
than 1 % of our raw materials portfolio. Rising consumer
demand for responsible, certified products does, how-
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S U S TA I N A B L E S O U R C I N G :
UNI O N F O R E THI CAL B I OTR ADE
ment department reminds them in regular discussions
of the five rights to which animals are entitled in livestock farming: the right to fodder and drink, the right
to wellbeing, the right to health and freedom from
pain and injury, the right to natural animal behavior and
the right to treatment that causes neither fear nor suffering. Symrise has already specified, for instance, that
it will only use egg products if the hens are kept in
at least barn conditions. In that respect, we go beyond
European statutory requirements.
Our product portfolio is also influenced by our strong
presence in emerging markets. Demand for products
that are certified as kosher or halal is especially strong
in the Middle East and North Africa. These certifications are also increasingly important in large areas of
Asia and in the United States. Globally, 48 % of our
raw materials are certified as halal and 41 % as kosher.
Symrise, Scent & Care Division Brazil is a Trading
Member of the Union for Ethical BioTrade, an association that promotes the ‘Sourcing with Respect’ of
ingredients derived from biodiversity. As a member of
the Union for Ethical BioTrade, Symrise, Scent & Care
Division Brazil has committed to gradually ensure that
its sourcing practices promote biodiversity conservation, respect traditional knowledge, and ensure an
equitable sharing of benefits. For more information,
including access to public reports on the implementation of Symrise, Scent & Care Division Brazilʼs commit-
We use very few genetically modified raw materials.
Globally, around 130 of our approximately 10,000 raw
materials are genetically modified. When we use GM
raw materials we comply with local regulatory requirements and with the most exacting food safety standards. A key criterion is consumer acceptance and the
resulting demand. GM raw materials are used mainly
in North America and Asia. In Europe, in accordance
with our corporate policy, we use no genetically modified products.
ments please go to www.ethicalbiotrade.org.
R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y I N T H E S U P P LY C H A I N
ever, point the way in product development and the
choice of raw materials. We assume that the proportion
of certified products will continue to increase. That is
why we are currently preparing more than 1,000 vanilla
farmers in Madagascar for certification by the Rainforest
Alliance.
We also attach great importance to responsible animal
husbandry, although Symrise itself neither keeps nor
processes animals. The proportion of raw materials of
animal origin that we use is very low at under 1 %.
Nevertheless, we expect all our suppliers who handle
live animals to observe statutory provisions and industry standards in respect of animal rights. Our procure-
A central principle at Symrise is that in order to assume
responsibility you must be present locally, something
which goes back to our roots. Proximity to the raw materials was a deciding factor in the choice of location
when one of our predecessor companies was founded
in the 19th century. In 1874, Dr. Wilhelm Haarmann
was the first chemist to synthesize vanillin from coniferin, which occurs in the bark juice of conifers. Holzminden, surrounded by extensive woodland, was an ideal location. We observe this principle to the present
day, and processing important raw materials close to
where they are grown or distributing them in local
markets is a key aspect of our sustainability activities.
It is one that we observe in respect of many raw materials that are important for Symrise. Vegetables from the
www.ethicalbiotrade.org
66
immediate vicinity of our German site in Holzminden
are processed there, while citrus oils and aromas are
produced in Brazil, the country where the fruit is grown.
And our vanilla is grown, fermented and extracted locally in Madagascar. In 2011, we spent 36 % of our procurement budget on suppliers based in the immediate
vicinity of our main corporate locations.
So especially with regard to important core competences
we have deliberately chosen locations that are close to
the required raw materials. Backward integration into
the citrus value chain in Brazil and the vanilla value
chain in Madagascar are cases in point. We not only purchase our raw materials there but are also integrated
into the local economy and live and work there. This
approach enables us to influence factors such as methods of cultivation, choice of fruit and time of harvesting
and thereby enjoy the benefits of high yields, secure
supplies, best quality and the greatest possible degree
of traceability. At the same time, we are supporting
local socio-economic structures and making a contribution toward local added value. Another far from insignificant factor is that we also achieve a reduction in both
transportation mileage and climate-relevant emissions.
We will be extending our responsible, local sourcing
approach further in both divisions in the years ahead.
However, total backward integration is neither possible
nor does it make sense for all natural raw material
supply chains. We will develop approaches adjusted to
the requirements and challenges of the respective
supply chains for the natural raw materials in question.
We will also address risks related to single sourcing.
Backward integration of our supply chain may also
involve mergers and acquisitions. For this purpose, we
have defined corporate guidelines and corresponding
due diligence processes in the course of which Corporate Compliance will check that human rights and
employees’ rights are observed in the run-up to integration. The same will apply to major investments that
we make as a company. In 2011, no situation arose to
which these guidelines applied. In the case of past acquisitions, such as the takeover of Aromatics / Origines
in Madagascar, human rights aspects were included
in our due diligence.
S U P P L I E R M A N AG E M E N T
Sustainability has become an indispensable criterion
for awarding contracts at Symrise. And we would like
to further increase the commitment of our raw material
suppliers to sustainability. Around the world, we encourage and demand compliance with our sustainability
criteria in our supply chain. In doing so, we collaborate
closely with our key suppliers.
Symrise’s predecessor companies already introduced
systematic supplier management to ensure that suppliers complied with corporate guidelines with regard to
quality management, product safety and environmental
management. In the last two years we revised and
significantly extended these processes with regard to
sustainability considerations.
Along with commitments in the areas of quality, product
safety and the environment, new suppliers must provide information in a detailed approval process about
their sustainability program, their assumption of social responsibility in their supply chain and their commitment to ethical standards. We require the safeguarding of general human rights, an undertaking not
to make use of child labor or forced labor of any form,
and compliance with statutory health and safety at work
requirements. Furthermore, we expect our suppliers
to allow their employees the right to freedom of assembly and collective bargaining, to observe at least the
statutory provisions on working times and pay, and
to make a clear commitment against discrimination
and abuse.
A truthful answer to this supplier assessment is the nonnegotiable basis for Symrise entering into a business
relationship. That is why we carry out systematic risk
and performance assessments of all suppliers on the
basis of economic, ecological and social aspects. The
criteria for this risk analysis are the purchasing volume with the supplier in question, the strategic importance of the raw material, the number of alternative
sources of supply and the result of the above-mentioned
supplier qualification. A further criterion is the supplier’s country of origin. The risk of non-compliance with
qualitative, ecological, ethical and social standards is
frequently greater in developing and emerging countries,
such as large areas of Africa.
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S U S TA I N A B L E S O U R C I N G
R E G I O N A L C U LT I VAT I O N
By virtue of many years of partnership with local farmers in the Holzminden area we not only ensure consistent quality and supplies of
numerous vegetable-based raw materials, but also contribute toward sustainable sourcing by means of short delivery distances and reusing
organic waste as natural fertilizer.
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The result of the analysis is a weighted global risk
matrix on the basis of which our supplier audit plan is
drawn up. In the case of suppliers who pose an especially notable risk, with crucial raw materials or with
problems that have come to light in the assessment,
we carry out audits on the basis of a globally specified
procedure. Focal points of these audits are product
safety, quality management, health and safety at work,
the environment and social responsibility. We also
audit freight forwarders and packaging suppliers in
accordance with these criteria. If one or more criteria
are found not to be up to our defined standards, the supplier is informed in detail and measures are jointly
drawn up and initiated. If the supplier fails to achieve
the standards required, the order volume from this
supplier is reduced by way of a sanction. As a last resort,
the business relationship with this supplier is terminated. In 2011 we carried out audits in accordance with
our supplier management system around the world
and drew up improvement proposals as required. Cases
in which a supplier relationship has been terminated
due to a breach of relevant criteria such as a violation
of human rights did not occur in 2011.
SEDEX MEMBERSHIP
Our commitment to sustainable sourcing extends far
beyond certification, auditing and the specification
of requirements. We continually develop our strategy
for responsible raw material sourcing further. In the
medium term, we aim to uphold material ethical and
ecological standards for all raw materials that we use
with the aid of international platforms such as the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX).
In 2011, we upgraded our membership of the nonprofit
organization SEDEX in order to further consolidate our
sustainable raw material supplies and to identify risks
systematically. On the SEDEX platform we publish information about working conditions and employment
rights, health and safety at work, the environment and
ethical business practices, as do many of our suppliers,
competitors and customers. As early as 2006, we have
“Transparency is indispensable for trust
in relations with suppliers. As a SEDEX
member we can identify risks at our
suppliers in a targeted manner – risks,
say, in relation to working conditions,
health and safety, the environment and
business integrity.”
CARSTEN TEIWES, SVP Supply Chain Fragrances & Oral Care
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disclosed our own ethical data to many customers with
the aid of SEDEX. All Symrise production locations
are now SEDEX-registered. In 2011 we became an “AB
member” and began to evaluate our suppliers as well.
On the basis of our risk analysis, we have selected the
first suppliers for evaluation. We aim to evaluate our
top 100 suppliers in 2012. As a first step, we are checking whether they are already SEDEX members and asking them to provide us with access to their SEDEX data.
If they are not yet SEDEX-listed, we will recommend
that they join the organization. By 2015, we will assess
our 250 most important suppliers using criteria laid
down by SEDEX. With this measure we will cover more
than 80 % of our procurement volume.
I N N OVAT I V E S C E N T E X P E D I T I O N
THE WORLDʼS PUREST AIR
Research into the concept of purity was the aim of
our latest scent expedition to Tasmania. The result:
a wealth of previously unknown scent impressions
and profiles that are now finding their way into new
creations.
OUR COMMITMENTS
We continuously extend our responsible sourcing strategy.
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
• Identify sustainability impact and supply chain risks for key raw materials
• Assess the 250 most relevant suppliers according to SEDEX criteria
• Engage with suppliers to review and improve sustainability impact throughout the
extended supply chain
• Develop and expand strategic sustainable sourcing initiatives with a focus on shared
value creation
• Drive industry standards in sustainable sourcing
Year on year, we will increase the use of raw materials from
sustainable sources.
• Improve the environmental impact of strategic synthetic raw materials
• Increase the share of raw materials in compliance with sustainable agriculture standards
• Select and engage with relevant certifying bodies and increase the number of certified
raw materials
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INNOVATIONS. Product Development and Customer Orientation
OUR CUSTOMERS’ SUCCESS IS THE BASIS OF OUR SUCCESS. THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO BE FULLY AWARE
OF AND UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY OUR CUSTOMERS BUT ALSO THE MARKE TS IN WHICH THE Y DO BUSINESS.
WE IDENTIF Y TRENDS, ADAP T TO MARKE T NEEDS E ARLY ON AND DE VELOP INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR
OUR CUSTOMERS’ SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS. WE OPEN UP NE W MARKE TS BY UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS’
NEEDS. WE THEREBY NOT ONLY SE T OURSELVES APART FROM OUR COMPE TITORS BUT ALSO HELP OUR
CUSTOMERS TO GAIN A COMPE TITIVE EDGE THEMSELVES.
RESE ARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Our research and development activities are geared to
the guidelines of environmental compatibility, sustainability, innovation and cost efficiency. Our R & D strategy aims to connect the individual components of product
development, such as market and consumer understanding, research and development and creation,
throughout the Group. Our research activities are
oriented toward the customer and the market. Through
the close linkup of research and development with
marketing and sales, purchasing and manufacturing,
product development and quality assurance, we check
early on to see whether new products and technologies
can be implemented and if they are profitable.
Due to the different specific requirements of the markets and our customers the two Symrise divisions
pursue separate R & D activities. At the same time, we
ensure that technologies, processes and findings are
made available to both divisions in order to achieve synergies. The R & D resources in both business divisions
are directly integrated into the organization. Symrise
has several R & D centers worldwide, in order to optimally support the regional activities of both business
divisions. The research activities in Holzminden concentrate in particular on fragrance and flavor research,
the development of production methods for natural and
synthetic fragrance and flavor ingredients, analytical
chemistry, cosmetic ingredients and the development
“New products must answer tomorrowʼs
questions today. That is why there is a
clear requirement for research at Scent
& Care – to combine high quality and
environmental compatibility.”
DR. TORSTEN KULKE,
VP Global Innovation Fragrances & Oral Care
of new, functional ingredients for the Consumer Health
application area. We also have development and application technologies in Teterboro (USA), Singapore, Tokyo
(Japan), Chennai (India), Paris (France), Cuautitlán
lzcalli (Mexico) and São Paulo (Brazil).
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Along with their own R & D, both divisions maintain
comprehensive partnerships with companies, universities and research institutes such as the Munich University of Technology, the University of Rostock, the University of Tours, France, and King’s College London. In
addition, both business divisions have for several years
had international scientific advisory boards consisting
of renowned representatives from different scientific
disciplines and fields of application. Their task is to
give advice on the latest research findings and their
implementation in product innovations. In order to
expand the network within the scientific community,
Symrise representatives have participated in numerous scientific conferences and presented current research
studies. Worthy of mention here are the European
Forum of Industrial Biotechnology in Amsterdam, the
Congresso Brasileiro de Cosmetogia (Brazil) and
IMRE / A*Star in Singapore.
MAIN FOCUS OF RESE ARCH
A main focus of our research and development strategy is our enhanced commitment in the areas of skin
protection and healthier nutrition. In these areas
we do pioneering work in our divisions, creating new
consumer benefits and collaborating closely with
our key customers to increase the sustainability of
their end products.
In the process we focus especially on the use of renewable raw materials because we want to make ourselves
increasingly less dependent on fossil resources such as
crude oil. In manufacturing synthetic products we
abide by the fundamental principles of green chemistry.
At Symrise, sustainable production processes and the
safety of humankind and the environment enjoy top
priority. We aim to avoid unnecessary intermediate
stages in chemical processes and to achieve the greatest
possible increase in atomic efficiency and to improve
our energy efficiency.
White or industrial biotechnology sets the trend for
Symrise. It optimizes or replaces chemical production
processes by harnessing microorganisms, enzymes
or other natural production systems. Our aim is to work
in a more eco-friendly manner and to reduce or avoid
the production of pollutants in chemical processes. We
are currently engaged with our modern molecular
biology processes in clarifying metabolic pathways in
natural processes and implementing them in biotech
processes.
Symrise participates in numerous scientific research
projects, which are supported by the German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) or by other
public and private funding institutions. The “Biocatalysis 2021 – Bioflavonoids P19” projects sponsored by the
BMBF and the “Development of Salt Taste Enhancers”
could be successfully completed in 2011. In 2011, two
projects begun in the previous year received additional funding from the BMBF: The first deals with the
development of methods for naturally extracting tastemodified aromatic compounds and is being carried out
with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry in
Halle within the framework of the “Biocatalysis 2021”
cluster. The other project is being conducted together
with the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE),
Potsdam, and the Technical University of Munich on
the topic of “Effect and Role of Flavorings in the Gastrointestinal Tract.”
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND CUSTOMER
O R I E N TAT I O N AT S C E N T & C A R E
Symrise’s Scent & Care division provides its customers
with competence in scents, beauty and care. Developing
safe, eco-friendly products and processes along with
high-impact products is the overriding objective of sustainable development work in the Scent & Care division.
Demand for natural fragrances and fragrance compositions and for cosmetic ingredients is addressed in targeted product development. Another important research
topic is finding alternatives to natural substances that
are difficult to obtain and substances which are subject
to regulatory restrictions. Renewable raw materials,
phytochemistry and the identification of active ingredients in natural raw materials play another key role at
Scent & Care.
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GOING FOR NEW SOLUTIONS
perfumers work where our customers and the consumers
are: in Germany, the U.S., France, Mexico, Brazil, India,
China and Singapore.
AROMA MOLECULES
In the Aroma Molecules business unit we offer a wide
range of different classes of aroma molecules, from
traditional materials to specialty products. Aroma molecules are key components of many successful products in the world of fragrances and flavors. They are
among the industry’s most sought-after raw materials. These aroma molecules are used for both Symrise’s
own perfume oil production and are sold to consumer
goods manufacturers, who make perfume oils from them.
LOW INCOME CONSUMER STUDIES
On the basis of a study of low-income households
in Asia that has been underway for several years,
Symrise is developing new products for this growth
market. The findings tell us more about product
requirements and uses, cultural expectations and
income limitations.
F R AG R A N C E S
see article “Helping
Save the Musk Deer”
on page 91
Perfumers combine aromatic raw materials like aroma
chemicals and essential oils to create complex fragrances (perfume oils). Symrise’s perfume oils are used in
perfumes (Fine Fragrances application area), in personal
care products (Personal Care application area) and in
household products (Household application area). As a
rule, compositions are customized in accordance with
our customers’ briefings.
To develop fragrances that attract consumers all over
the world and at all levels of society you need to be
aware of and to understand the lifestyles and needs of
your consumers. That is why our Marketing department develops product concepts that combine creativity
and industry expertise – so that our customers always
receive a customized solution. Thanks to comprehensive
consumer insights our teams can offer a wide range
of fragrance development and evaluation solutions that
are customized for special product requirements and
at the same time fulfill the wishes of customers and
consumers around the world. That is also why our
An important application area, among others, is that of
biodegradable, synthetic musk fragrances, which adhere
significantly better to hairs, skin or textile fibers and
are an essential component of perfume oils. Symrise is
one of the major providers of macrocyclic musk compounds (MCMs). Our extensive range of biodegradable
MCMs offers customers the greatest possible development process flexibility and the best results. We have
also been committed to the protection of the musk deer,
which our industry used to hunt for its valuable glandular secretions, since 2011.
Another core competence of our Aroma Molecules business unit is the odorization of natural gas. As natural
gas does not have any odor, odorants are added to it as
a warning signal. Symrise’s Gasodor ® S-Free sets totally new standards in this area by replacing conventional odorants, which usually contain sulfur, and providing lasting relief for the environment. The technology
combines environmental compatibility with the highest standards of safety, profitability and technology. Since
its market launch the sulfur-free odorant has been
used in numerous supply networks.
OR AL CARE
Oral hygiene in all of its aspects is one of the Scent &
Care division’s core competences. Symrise offers the
entire product range of mint flavors and their intermediate products for use in toothpaste, mouthwash and
chewing gum. Along with innovative aromatic solutions
we support leading oral care products around the
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world with our technologies. The especially innovative
products include Optaflow®, which naturally activates
the flow of saliva and thereby contributes toward oral
hygiene and an improved feeling in the mouth.
In 2011 we set out in entirely new consumer research
directions in the Oral Care business unit. For an oral
hygiene study we called the usual patterns of research
fundamentally into question and invited consumers
with different cultural backgrounds to attend a workshop. Equipped with 50 scent samples, the consumer
panel was asked to create its own toothpaste flavors. A
flavorist working with the panel directly on site compiled the new flavors so that the consumers could try
their creations immediately. The results held some
surprises. Some of the supposed favorites had disappointing results while relatively plain flavors, such
as lavender and lemon grass, showed unexpected charm.
At the ESOMAR Qualitative Conference, held in Vienna
in 2011, we were awarded the best consumer research
presentation prize for this approach. The study findings are now helping us to create products that consumers fully accept.
proteins. The effect is active skin protection at cell
level. Toxins that cause skin damage are neutralized
by this threefold combination and the body’s own
cell defense system against sunshine-related aging and
skin aging due to environmental pollution is activated.
This third generation of sun protection can prevent
premature aging or long-term skin damage much more
effectively than the two conventional approaches. It
provides protection not only from UV radiation but also
from other harmful environmental influences.
The requirements that come with the development of
new products are growing and changing constantly.
That is why it is of crucial importance to prove the efficacy of new care products and to describe how they
work. Symrise itself does not perform any animal testH I G H LY E F F E C T I V E A N T I - I R R I TA N T
LIFE ESSENTIALS
The Care business area is a strategically important
mainstay of our Scent & Care division. Research and
product development in the division address the consumers’ needs for care and well-being in a more targeted manner than before. We develop not only beauty
substances but also substances for well-being or wellness. The concept of care plays an increasingly important part. Our products are essential for consumers
across the globe. The desire for beauty, care, health
and well-being is a need felt by consumers around the
world.
I N N OVAT I O N SY M S I T I V E ®
SymSitive® 1609 is a highly effective Symrise
ingredient for sensitive skin. It soothes by reducing
overreaction of the skin to a minimum. After winning
the BSB Innovation Award in 2010, SymSitive® won
the 2011 PCHi Award at Personal Care and Homecare
In sun protection, for example, consumers can benefit
from new Symrise innovations. Older sun protection
products rely solely on UVA and UVB filters, whereas
the effect of second-generation sun protection is based
on antioxidants that are frequently enriched with vitamins and natural extracts. The new combination developed by Symrise and used, for instance, in SymHelios®
1031 goes further, combining tried and trusted UVA
and UVB protection with antioxidants and additional
Ingredients in China. The award was made for the
cosmetic ingredientʼs soothing properties and its
contribution for consumers in the Chinese market.
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ing and avoids animal tests wherever possible. We
are therefore developing alternative methods so as to
reduce the number of statutory animal tests to a minimum. That is why Symrise AG and Cutech Srl. in Italy
have established a research group. The result is one
of the most comprehensive ex vivo skin models yet that
bridges the gap between in vitro and in vivo testing
procedures. Using this model, meaningful tests of, for
instance, anti-aging products can be carried out. Conventional skin models for test purposes deal only with
the outer layers of the skin, the epidermis and the dermis. The new model, however, also includes subcutaneous tissue as well as hair follicles. This offers greater
efficiency and numerous additional testing possibilities.
As a result, reliable prognoses on how products will
affect human skin can be made. The model is patented
in Europe and enables qualitatively validated tests
of individual raw materials and end products for skin
care to be undertaken. The new model expands on
the testing methods for skin and hair follicles that the
two companies use in product development. Via
“SCoutech” – an analysis service offered by Symrise
and Cutech for in vitro and ex vivo testing methods
– other companies can utilize the model for their own
development purposes.
To provide our customers with swift and interactive access to our Life Essentials product portfolio we added a
platform for Life Essentials products to our SymSelect®
internet tool in 2011. It allows customers to research
Symrise’s cosmetic ingredients online. SymSelect® contains detailed product information and presentations.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND CUSTOMER
O R I E N TAT I O N AT F L AVO R & N U T R I T I O N
Flavor & Nutrition provides comprehensive expertise on
the subject of contemporary nutrition. The main focus
is on consumers’ needs and wishes. The division’s core
competence is to determine them and then create successful products for the Beverages, Savory, Sweet and
Consumer Health application areas. The central strategic instrument used in this process is the integrated
taste for life® platform. Using the motto “Making the
tastes people love,” Symrise develops creative product
concepts that are in line with market requirements,
geared to consumers’ needs and help customers to position their products successfully in the area of tension between health and enjoyment. With the Consumer Health application area Symrise serves, among
other, the growing market for food supplements and
pharmaceutical preparations. This includes natural,
functional ingredients to promote heart and digestive
function, flavoring solutions for pharmaceutical products as well as natural food colors and coloring foods.
TA S T E F O R L I F E ®
Consumers’ wishes are changing faster today than
ever before, and nutrition patterns change with modern
living habits. Today’s consumers want both taste and
functionality. And just as consumers’ wishes are constantly changing, so must our customers adjust faster
to new wishes and needs in order to keep their brands
and products attractive. With the taste for life® strategic platform developed by our Flavor & Nutrition division
we help our customers give their brands and products
the right balance between health and enjoyment. And
we create the optimal flavoring solutions that this requires. At the heart of taste for life® is Symrise’s core
competence: taste, the one aspect on which consumers
will brook no compromises. Regardless whether
the product promises health or perfect enjoyment, it
must taste good. That is why Symrise offers its customers flavoring solutions for five fundamental consumer needs:
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A PPE N D I X
Innovations
HOLISTIC
HEALTH
PURE
PLEASURE
taste for life®
Making the tastes people love.
S TAY V I TA L
LIGHTEN UP ™
B E N AT U R A L ™
J U S T E NJ OY
G E T E XC I T E D
TASTE COMPETENCE
EXPERTISE IN TECHNOLOGY
EXPERTISE IN OPER ATIONAL
E XCELLENCE
E XPERTISE IN MARKETING
We create taste solutions for products with functional
value. Stay Vital offers solutions for a great taste
profile in products that deliver active benefits and, in
so doing, help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
We create taste solutions that make food into an
authentic experience. Just Enjoy offers full-bodied
flavors and taste traditions, delivering indulgent
pleasures with an authentic taste.
We create taste solutions for products with a nutritional balance – less salt, fat, sugar and without flavor
enhancers. Lighten Up™ is about maintaining a great
taste impression, meeting consumer demands for
sweet, savory, succulent, creamy or umami while significantly reducing levels of sugar, sodium, fat and
flavor enhancers.
We create taste solutions that offer exciting sensations.
Get Excited offers creative taste solutions that awaken
consumers’ senses to inspiring, stimulating sensations.
We create taste solutions for real natural quality
products. Be Natural™ offers unique taste solutions
using natural ingredients – ingredients that only
nature itself can deliver. The result is an outstanding
natural taste and a label that rightly bears the name
“natural”.
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taste for life® combines the results of consumer research,
the needs of the industry and the comprehensive and
wide-ranging expertise of Symrise in a single strategic
instrument. We collaborate with our customers to find
flavoring solutions that fulfill the consumers’ needs. In
2011, products from the taste for life® portfolio accounted for more than 25 % of our sales by volume. And
that includes our flavoring solutions to reduce fat,
sodium or sugar content.
“Health and nutrition are inseparably
connected to one another. The F & N
research team is focused on combining
biofunctional ingredients with greattasting product solutions that support
the consumerʼs need for a balanced
and nutritional diet. Healthy foods have
to taste great and great-tasting foods
should also be healthy.”
DR. GERHARD KR AMMER ,
SVP Global Research & Technology Group F&N
H E A LT H A N D N U T R I T I O N
Around one third of our customer briefings already
deal with aspects of health and well-being. And this
proportion continues to increase. We take this into
account in our strategic alignment: along with our
activities in the established Flavor business area
we have in recent years concentrated increasingly on
the Nutrition business area. We are thereby not only
establishing a unique market profile but also creating
totally new benefits for consumers together with our
customers.
We bundle our nutrition expertise in the Consumer
Health business unit. It makes sense to take the consumer into consideration in naming this global unit
because it is the consumers’ wishes that, along with
demographic trends, drive the market for health products. People do not just want to eat more healthily; they
also expect products that are aimed at strengthening
the immune system, at preventing stress and at maintaining physical fitness. We identify these needs early
on so that we can cater for them with customized products. Our aim is to focus research and product development at the highest possible level of relevance for the
consumer.
The Consumer Health business unit develops a wide
range of biofunctional ingredients from plants and
fruits for these consumer needs. High quality botanical
extracts with standardized ingredients have long been
a part of the Symrise portfolio, and new discoveries are
constantly joining them. Take bilberry extract, for example, which is standardized to contain antioxidant anthocyanins and is anti-inflammatory; it also has a positive influence on eye health. Or an extract of Rhodiola
rosea, a substance that is used in traditional medicine
to treat stress. Our standardized Rhodiola rosea extract
can effectively boost concentration and attention,
especially in stressful situations. It also has antioxidant properties; in other words, it protects the cells
from free radicals. Our hibiscus extract contains large
amounts of flavonoids and anthocyanins with an enormous potential in respect of cardiac and circulatory
diseases. In all, our portfolio now includes over 50
biofunctional ingredients. In 2011, we expanded our
Actiplants® range to include three new products.
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BALANCED DIET
development budget in the Flavor & Nutrition division.
So our ongoing aim is to increase continuously the
share of these products in our sales volume. In 2011
the share of our products that contribute to health
and well-being already accounted for 25 % of our sales
revenue in all application areas.
PRODUCT SAFET Y
F U N C T I O N A L B O TA N I C A L E X T R AC T S
Under the Actiplants® name, Symrise bundles its expertise in plant-based functional ingredients. Tasks
that bioactive ingredients perform include strengthening the cardiovascular and immune systems and
supporting mental fitness. Symrise thereby meets
growing consumer requirements for well-being and
health.
This consumer and health-oriented approach is clearly
reflected in our organizational structure. Following the
founding of the Consumer Health business unit, the
Competence Center for Health & Nutrition was established
in 2009. The Center works as a development and service partner for all application areas of the F & N division (Beverages, Savory, Sweet and Consumer Health).
The Center’s main task is to transfer research results
and latest findings in health and nutrition to the individual business units. The Health & Nutrition Competence Center bundles our expertise in market trends
and consumer needs, findings from food and nutritional science, information on product safety and regulatory issues and on analytics, product and technology
development. It thereby ensures focused product development of functional ingredients and a systematic
technology transfer, acting as an innovation driver for
integrated functional product concepts.
We therefore invest a significant proportion of our
resources in the area of healthier nutrition. Last year,
it accounted for around 30 % of our research and
The Global Product Compliance Competence Center is
an important organizational unit for ensuring product
safety. It is responsible for implementing regulatory
requirements, undertakes the toxicological evaluation
of raw materials and products and prepares the data
for customers and employees around the world. The
Competence Center documents customer restrictions
together with the regulatory bodies (the ruling out of
certain substances) and is in charge of monitoring,
testing and registering new substances, commissioning
product tests from approved laboratories and evaluating test reports. All administrative processes, legislative
issues, safety reports, classification into hazard classes
and the labeling of raw materials and products are handled centrally and coordinated globally here. Regulatory
Affairs and Competence Center employees represent
Symrise in the leading international associations of
the flavor and fragrance industry.
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S TA N DA R D S A N D C E R T I F I C AT E S
Good manufacturing practice, or abiding by clear
guidelines on quality assurance of production processes and the production environment, is the global basis
of responsible behavior with products and manufacturing processes. It is required by both pharmaceutical
and cosmetics legislation and by food legislation. Many
of the requirements are very similar, such as the quality requirements for end products, but also for raw and
auxiliary materials, clear product labeling, qualified
personnel, suitable production facilities and premises
and ensuring the traceability of products and raw materials. Moreover, legislators have passed corresponding
regulations that define (mostly) extra requirements
specifically for individual product groups. Symrise
makes a distinction between the following product
groups:
Flavors: Legislators have laid down various regulations that require good manufacturing practice, but
a clear definition of this is still lacking. The food industry has duly defined its own standards in order to
create a clear framework here. We abide by the generally accepted requirements and auditing standards
of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and other
locally recognized standards aimed at ensuring a continual improvement in performance. In 2011, more
than 80 % of our product volume was manufactured
at locations certified in accordance with internationally recognized food safety management systems. By
2015 we will have all of our production sites in the
Flavor & Nutrition division certified to the FSSC 22000
standard.
Pharmaceutical Agents: If Symrise products with
an active agent are used in a pharmaceutical end
product, then these are to be manufactured in accordance with the GMP rules of the applicable law on
pharmaceuticals. Many countries have adopted the
ICH Q7a guideline as a binding regulation and
adapted it to national definitions in certain cases.
Pharmaceutical Additives: Pharmaceutical additives are materials that are used in pharmaceutical
end products but do not have an active effect.
These include flavors and colors, for example. There
are currently no binding regulations for pharmaceutical additives.
Cosmetic Products: In the EU, cosmetic products
must be manufactured according to the GMP rules for
cosmetics. These are defined in the DIN EN ISO 22716
standard (cosmetic GMP – guidelines for good manufacturing practice). Generally speaking, Symrise products are not classified as being cosmetic products. As
a result, the GMP rules for this product group are not
formally required by legislators, however, many customers also expect them to be used in the supplying
industry. Symrise manufactures cosmetic ingredients
in line with the BRC standard for consumer products.
Symrise’s product safety policy is an essential part of
the Integrated Management System. The system is
based on DIN ISO 9001 and is subject to a continuous
improvement process. In addition, Symrise conducts
risk analyses and works with an HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system.
To ensure the safety of our products throughout their
entire lifecycle, our product safety policy integrates
all of the relevant steps, from the supplier to shipment
to our customers:
Regulatory Requirements: Symrise ensures compliance
with legislation, requirements laid down by associations and internal standards. All products are subject
to a corresponding evaluation – encompassing every
step in the chain from the purchase of raw materials to
the finished product – using the information currently
available.
Quality Control Program for Suppliers: Symrise
has a quality control program in place for suppliers in
order to ensure that all of the incoming materials and
packaging to be used, as well as transport guidelines
and services, conform to the defined requirements.
The program is based on the assessment and approval
of suppliers. The requirements for suppliers are coordinated during audits.
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79
A PPE N D I X
Innovations
Research and Development: Symrise ensures that
new developments for customers conform to the legal
and functional requirements. The transfer of these to the
production level is validated through intermediate stages.
Production: Symrise guarantees process quality by
complying with good manufacturing practice, the
allergen policy and by conducting proactive risk management. All employees are trained and strive to
make improvements on an ongoing basis. Cleaning
instructions are developed for each Symrise product
specifically and constitute an integral part of procedural regulations. In the production, hygiene standards
are defined and duly followed. Manufacturing processes are subject to constant optimization using total
productive maintenance (TPM) methods.
Storage and Transport: Symrise uses appropriate
packaging for its products and stores them under
suitable conditions in order to safeguard product quality. Forwarders adhere strictly to the transport requirements stipulated by Symrise.
Quality Control: Symrise subjects all of its products to
a strict quality control using validated analytical methods and suitable instruments. Specifications have been
defined for every product; these have been set in coordination with suppliers and customers. The results of
the quality inspection are presented in the form of
analysis certificates. Traceability is guaranteed at every
stage in the manufacturing process.
SY M R I S E F O O D S A F E T Y P O L I CY
• Raw materials
questionnaires
• Daily alert system
RISK MANAGEMENT
• Evaluation, approval, • Raw materials
requirement
audits
• Functionality,
• Raw materials,
upscaling, cpk
packaging,
hauliers,
equipment
• Risk assessment,
HACCP
• Contaminants,
allergens, hygiene
• Security,
contingency,
microbiology
• Sensory
GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE (GFSI)
• Hygiene rules,
hygiene standards
• Cleaning procedures,
schedules
HACCP, AIB
• Contaminants,
allergens, security
• Contingency,
microbiology,
sensory
• Pest control
• Effective measures
• TPM
• Traceability
• Packaging
management
• Appropriate storage
conditions
HACCP
• Logistical
requirements
• Traceability
GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE (GMP)
COMPL AINT
MANAGEMENT
QC
STOR AGE AND
TR ANSPORT
PRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
VENDOR ASSUR ANCE
PROGR AM
REGUL ATORY
SYMRISE FOOD SAFET Y POLICY
• Specifications,
CoC, CoA
• Appropriate
equipment
• Validated methods
• Traceability
HEALTH & SAFETY
• Internal and external
complaint
management
• Crisis exercises
• Security
• Contingency plan
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000
80
Complaints and Crisis Management: Symrise has set
up a complaints management system with a view to
raising the performance of this process and to improving customer satisfaction continuously. Potential crisis scenarios are regularly practiced using predefined
plans.
There were no breaches of safety or health regulations
in relation to our products at Symrise in 2011.
AU D I T S
Compliance with management guidelines and countryspecific legislation is reviewed by the internal IMS
audit and Corporate Audit. The annual audit plan takes
every process in the management system into account.
Internal IMS audits are carried out in accordance with
ISO standard 19011. External audits conducted by customers, authorities and independent certification organizations provide confirmation to Symrise of the
ongoing improvement being made to its management
systems.
If any inconsistencies are uncovered during audits or
quality inspections, the division concerned introduces
corrective measures and documents these accordingly.
Furthermore, the potential repercussions of these inconsistencies on other processes are assessed, with preventative measures being introduced if necessary. The
same applies in the case of complaints. There were no
material complaints in 2011 that would have led to
fines being imposed due to breaches of statutory regulations governing the provision and use of our products.
“Our customersʼ satisfaction is the litmus
test of our work. We systematically
check our productsʼ high levels of safety
and quality and thereby ensure that
customersʼ specifications and the statutory requirements of our products are
fulfilled.”
DR. CL AUS - OLIVER SCHMIDT,
SVP Global Quality Control & Regulatory Affairs
In addition to the many regulations that apply to the
flavor and fragrance industry we make further commitments to additional standards within the framework of
associations such as IFRA, the International Fragrance
Association, IOFI, the International Organization of the
Flavor Industry, and other regional and national industry associations and work actively on developing them.
Since 1997 Symrise has also followed the guidelines of
the Responsible Care initiative in order to achieve a
continuous improvement in the areas of safety, health
and environmental protection irrespective of statutory
requirements and beyond.
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81
A PPE N D I X
Innovations
UAE
Dubai
EAME
UK
Corby
NA
USA
Branchburg
NA
USA
Bushy Park
NA
USA
Teterboro
NA
USA
Elyria
LA
Argentina
Tortuguitas
LA
Brazil
Socorro
LA
Brazil
Sorocaba
LA
Chile
Santiago de Chile
LA
Colombia
Bogotá
LA
Mexico
Monterrey
LA
Venezuela
La Victoria
AP
Australia
Dee Why
AP
China
Pudong
AP
India
Chennai
AP
Japan
Ibaraki
AP
Singapore
Singapore
OUR COMMITMENTS
We pioneer in research and innovation to enhance consumer
benefits.
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
• Pioneer in understanding consumers’ changing needs
• Implement a cross-divisional sustainable innovation board
• Initiate research projects and partnerships – with our scientific advisory
boards and beyond
We increase our commitment to the areas of “skin protection”
and “healthier nutrition.”
• Increase the share of products in our portfolio that contribute to health and wellbeing
We cooperate with our key clients to enhance the sustainability
of consumer products.
• Engage with our key customers in sustainability projects
• Develop new active ingredients for healthier nutrition and skin protection
• Develop new technology solutions to help our customers achieve their sustainability
targets
FAIR TR ADE
Isando
EAME
GMP
South Africa
SOCIAL COMPLIANCE
Parets
EAME
EFSIS
Spain
ORGANIC
Rogova
EAME
KOSHER
Russia
HAL AL
Hamburg
EAME
FOOD SAFET Y HACCP
Germany
FOOD SAFET Y AIB
Nördlingen
EAME
FOOD SAFET Y SQ F
Germany
FOOD SAFET Y BRC
Braunschweig
EAME
FOOD SAFET Y IFS
Germany
FSSC 22000
Holzminden
EAME
FOOD SAFET Y ISO 22000
Cairo
Germany
OHSAS 18001
SITE
Egypt
EAME
ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001
COUNTRY
EAME
QUALIT Y ISO 9001
REGION
AU D I T P R O G R A M 2011
82
PROCESSES. Environmental Protection and Efficiency
OUR R AW MATERIALS ARE MOSTLY NATUR AL AND MAINLY AGRICULTUR AL IN ORIGIN. ENVIRONMENTAL
EMISSIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE, HOWE VER , CRE ATE SIGNIFICANT RISKS TO THE SUPPLY OF THESE R AW
MATERIALS, TO BIODIVERSIT Y AND TO ACCESS TO CLE AN WATER . THE INCRE ASING SCARCIT Y OF FOSSIL
RESOURCES P OSES SIMIL AR CHALLENGES IN THAT WE NEED THEM AS A R AW MATERIAL FOR THE MANUFAC TURE OF SYNTHE TIC PRODUCTS AND AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR OUR PRODUCTION PROCESSES, IN
LOGISTICS AND IN OTHER ARE AS. IN SHORT, IN ORDER TO ACHIE VE SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS WE MUST FIND
NE W WAYS OF DECOUPLING ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES FROM E ACH
OTHER ON A LONG -TERM BASIS.
If climate change involves an opportunity along with
the many risks that it poses, then it is in making us
aware that we must treat the resources at our disposal
responsibly. That is why we have made this imperative the guiding principle of our environmental activities. We aim to do business responsibly within and
beyond the Group. The goal of striving for maximum
efficiency is anchored in our basic values. Boosting
economic yield is in accord with improving ecological
efficiency and reducing emissions. In 2010 we set
ourselves long-term environmental sustainability targets up to the year 2020. We review these targets
annually, report on our progress and set ourselves further targets.
I N T E G R AT E D S U P P LY C H A I N M A N AG E M E N T
The introduction of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
kick-started a cultural change within the company.
What this means in practice is that we identify efficiency losses by drawing up loss trees and can then work
systematically on analyzing them and optimizing our
workflows (“kaizen”). This standardized process enables us to ensure that all changes in production processes have a positive effect on our sustainability
performance. The Symrise employees involved in this
process work in cross-hierarchical teams to draw up
possible solutions and put them into practice. The result is added value for everyone: optimal plant utiliza-
VO LU M E O F S O L D P R O D U C T S
in 1,000 tons
200
167
191
193
2010
2011
173
150
15 0
10 0
50
0
2007
2008
2009
tion, savings in resource consumption, gains in efficiency and additional qualifications for employees. TPM
enabled us to organize over 600 employees into more
than 50 teams in both divisions in 2011. With over 40
TPM coordinators, our coordinator density is among
the best in the process industry. In many production
areas, every employee is a member of at least one
TPM team. Since 2007, we have implemented well over
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A PPE N D I X
Processes
2,000 improvements and significantly exceeded our
goal of increasing efficiency by 2.5 % each year.
As part of our integrated quality management, we carry out regular performance checks in the supply chain,
including via the use of scorecards. We started with
the introduction of balanced scorecards in 2005 and
have successively rolled it out in both divisions at all
production sites worldwide since then. The scorecards
assist us in optimizing the core areas of quality, service, costs, safety and employees. They contain globally
unified key figures and targets, which are evaluated
on a monthly basis. When targets are not met, measures
are implemented to get us back on track. The results
and measures deriving from this process are posted at
every production site and therefore accessible to every
employee. Since their introduction, we have more precisely defined the key figures with each passing year
in an effort to help our TPM culture of constant improvement be as effective as possible.
We are also constantly on the lookout for ways in which
to improve our performance together with our business
partners. With the Symchronize™ initiative, we have
established with our customers an extraordinary integrated supply chain management system. The aim of
Symchronize™ is to optimize the value chain beyond
the usual interfaces. The value chain extends from
raw materials procurement to the end product with the
customer and integrates the customer and its processes. The main focus is on aspects such as demand-oriented supply, increased productivity combined with
optimized utilization of resources, optimization of storage times, shorter throughput times and synchronization of processes. All resources and materials are put
to the best possible use, complexity is reduced, processes are accelerated and routine work is eliminated
in favor of higher-value activities. Furthermore, optimized ordering leads to a reduction in shipping distances and thereby in CO2 emissions.
C O R P O R AT E E N V I R O N M E N TA L P R O T E C T I O N
PROGR AM
Our integrated approach to environmental management consists of compliance with statutory provisions,
observation of relevant standards and a systematic
process of continuous improvement. As a matter of
principle, our approach aims to treat resources responsibly. To do so we take a systematic look at all of the
stages in our value chain and product life cycle – from
raw materials procurement and processing via product
development and production to logistics.
Our environmental management is based around the
world on the ISO 14001 standard. About 70 % of our
sales volume is already produced at sites with ISO 14001
certification. Here, too, our organization is based on
the tried and tested combination of a top-down and a
EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION
E N E R GY- S AV I N G T E C H N O L O GY
In SymTrap®, Symrise has developed an innovative
technology to produce natural ingredients. Using a
patented process, we produce natural and, above all,
authentic taste building blocks from high-quality
source products with a secure raw materials base. In
contrast to conventional distillation this process gets
by almost without additional energy.
bottom-up approach. The Executive Board defines our
global policies. Global environmental management is
coordinated centrally by the Corporate Compliance
unit. Jointly with the business divisions involved, Corporate Compliance transfers provisions into guidelines and procedural instructions. The Symrise Sustainability Board sets environmental sustainability targets as a framework within which our sites around the
world define their environmental measures indepen-
83
84
dently. In many instances, we go well beyond the respective national or regional requirements. The heads
of our sites and production facilities are responsible
for the local implementation of guidelines and measures.
Aspects of ecological and economic efficiency are an
integral part of individual performance targets and are
therefore of relevance for remuneration.
The Corporate Compliance unit carries out audits to
monitor compliance with legal regulations and voluntary
commitments. Regular internal and external audits
help bring about further improvements in environmental performance. We are thereby able to gain experience and pass on best practices. No material penalties
were incurred for environmental offenses during the
reporting period.
Furthermore, interdisciplinary teams systematically
identify in environmental aspect analyses the most
important environmental impacts of our production
facilities and processes. On the basis of ecological and
economic criteria, the teams then specify measures
to minimize this environmental impact, review their
implementation and reassess the situation in the following year. Environmental aspect analyses are undertaken regularly at all ISO 14001 certified locations. In
2010, we began training employees in our production
facilities as environmental consultants. Last year, we
trained further employees, meaning we now have a total
of 18 environmental consultants who monitor the environmental efficiency of our production sites.
Our subsidiary TESIUM plays a special part in this process. TESIUM bundles our competence in the areas of
technology, safety and the environment – both in Germany and around the world. 240 employees ensure
that we fulfill the highest environmental standards in
all business divisions. TESIUM is also involved in the
planning and construction of new facilities, taking energy, safety and environmental aspects into consideration from the outset. TESIUM makes this bundled expertise available to other companies as well.
E N E R GY A N D E M I S S I O N S
Nearly all of our production processes require the use
of energy. While energy consumption is relatively low
in some production areas, such as mixing processes,
other processes such as extraction/distillation, spray
drying or chemical synthesis are energy-intensive. A
secure long-term energy supply and the most efficient
energy utilization possible are therefore of strategic
importance for us – both on economic grounds and, no
less importantly, on grounds of climate protection and
responsible use of resources. Our aim is to improve
continuously the energy efficiency of our production
facilities and processes. By 2020, we aim to reduce our
energy consumption per product sold by a third compared to 2010.
In 2011, absolute energy consumption decreased by
4.6 % despite somewhat higher sales volumes. Energy
consumption per product sold was reduced by 5.6 %
“We already manufacture menthol in a
highly efficient way. Our new production
facility in Holzminden will be another milestone. It will not only double
our capacities but also substantially
reduce energy input yet again.”
DR. NORBERT RICHTER , SVP Global Business Unit
Aroma Molecules
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A PPE N D I X
Processes
E N E R GY C O N S U M P T I O N
T O TA L E N E R GY C O N S U M P T I O N
BY E N E R GY S O U R C E I N 2011
in gigajoules per ton of product sold
in %
12
10
10
2.62
2.31
8
6
2.29
2.24
2.15
3.36
3.02
2.68
2.74
5
2.62
4
2
0
34
17
4.34
3.59
3.58
3.29
2.96
0.80
0.81
0.79
0.78
0.82
2007
Direct energy:
Gas
Fuel
2008
2009
2010
2011
Indirect energy:
Electricity
Steam
as compared to 2010. We had previously reduced consumption by a total of 23.2 % per product sold between
2007 and 2011.
In order to achieve our long-term objective, we concentrate on areas in which we consume the most energy.
This applies especially to the drying, extraction and
distillation areas. In 2011 we also continued to press
ahead in the Aroma Molecules business unit with the
expansion of our production capacities for synthetic
menthol. Symrise is a global leader in this product area.
The new plant is due to become operational in 2012
and its innovative technologies will set new standards
for energy-efficient menthol production. In our Flavor
& Nutrition division, in recent years we have designed
the entire supply chain for citrus products around energy efficient concerns. In 2011 we expanded to other
product areas our SymTrap® extraction technology,
which is unique in the industry. SymTrap® can be carried out almost entirely without the use of energy.
Another lever that we use in our energy management
is the continual reduction of our reliance on fossil fuels. At the same time, we aim to increase step by step
4
30
Gas
Electricity renewable
Electricity non renewable
Fuel
Electricity Nuclear
Steam
100 % = 8.55 gigajoules per ton of product sold in 2011
the proportion of energy from renewable sources that
we use. Our electricity mix at production facilities in
Germany already includes 22.1 % from renewable
sources, which is much higher than the country’s national average. We process a significant proportion
of our production waste so that it is suitable for thermal
utilization. In 2011 alone, we saved around 3,300 tons
of heating oil in this way. At our principal production
sites in the United States, large-scale photovoltaic
plants are being planned to increase the proportion
of renewable energies.
Our energy needs determine to a large extent our direct
and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. We made a
voluntary commitment six years ago to systematically
record and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We
report according to Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope
2 (indirect emissions) of the GHG Protocol and have
disclosed our data to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
annually since 2006. In spite of stricter criteria, we
improved our disclosure significantly in 2011. Of all
German companies that had disclosed their data the
previous year, we achieved the second-highest improvement in the investor CDP (+ 13 points).
86
C A R B O N D I OX I D E E M I S S I O N S 1 :
C A R B O N D I OX I D E E M I S S I O N S I N 2011:
SCOPE 1 AND SCOPE 2
S C O P E 1, 2 A N D 3
in kg per ton of product sold
in %
21
1, 0 0 0
14
11
2
800
14
600
441.18
400.25
400
394.69
384.18
374.85
56
200
539.13
463.79
437.29
422.83
392.78
0
2007
Scope 1
2008
2009
2010
2011
Scope 2
Overall, we successfully reduced our CO2 emissions in
relation to sales volume by 21.7 % between 2007 and
2011. In 2010, as a part of our sustainability strategy,
we then set ourselves and published clear new targets
for the next decade. By 2020 we aim to reduce our CO2
emissions per product unit sold by a third compared
to 2010. In 2011 we took a first step towards reaching
this target. Our CO2 emissions per product sold were
down by 4.9 % on the previous year. Combined with the
slight increase in our sales volume by around 1 %,
however, our CO2 emissions decreased by 3.9 % in absolute terms compared to the previous year. By investing in new technology and improvements in process
engineering, we have, however, succeeded in partially decoupling emissions and production quantities.
Carbon dioxide accounts for the majority of our emissions. Other greenhouse gases, such as nitrogen oxide,
1
Travel
Raw Materials
Waste
Transport & Distribution
Scope 1
Commuting
Scope 2
100 % = 533,844 tons of CO 2 in 2011
sulfur oxide, ammonium, methane, and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) are of only limited relevance for our
business activities.
We do not yet record our emissions of ozone depleting
substances (ODS). In view of the nature of our business
activity, we assume that these emissions are low, but
we will nevertheless start to record these emissions and
– by 2015 at the latest – publish our results.
In 2011, we also began to record our other indirect
emissions as defined in Scope 3 of the GHG Protocol.
The resulting CO2 emissions amount to about 385,530
tons. Many of these emissions are already included
in our data collection system as primary data. A limited
amount of other data still relies on valid secondary
sources. In 2012 we will take our Scope 3 emissions
recording further forward.
Due to a change in the calculation basis, the figures for previous years have been adjusted. The basic underlying trend is unaffected by this change.
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WAT E R , WA S T E WAT E R A N D WA S T E
fell by 3.75 %. That was the result of numerous initiatives at our sites around the world. Wherever possible,
we make multiple use of water in our production by
recycling it.
Clean, fresh water is a vital resource – for nature, for
agriculture and for people. Symrise also relies on water
as a resource. We need water for our products and production processes as well as for cooling and cleaning.
As water is an increasingly scarce commodity in some
of the countries in which we are active, such as India or
China, we take care to ensure that production processes there – mixing or extraction processes, for example
– use as little water as possible. We are globally committed to an efficient and careful use of water: by 2020
we aim to reduce our water consumption per product
sold by a third.
We have also succeeded in reducing our relative wastewater emissions by 20 % between 2007 and 2011. Our
target for 2020 is to reduce wastewater emissions per
product sold by a third. In 2011 we generated 2.17 million cubic meters of wastewater, or 11.22 cubic meters
per ton of product sold. Compared to the previous year,
our wastewater discharge per product sold thus fell by
1.8 %.
Between 2007 and 2011 we have already reduced our
relative water consumption by 30.7 %. In 2011 we consumed 2.24 million cubic meters of water, or 11.6 cubic
meters per ton of product sold. Compared to the previous year, our water consumption per product sold thus
In general, our wastewater is not very polluted and
special treatment is not required. Preliminary cleansing takes place at the production facility, and the
wastewater is then fed into the municipal sewage
system.
L O W E R I N G C O S T S BY P R O T E C T I N G T H E
ENVIRONMENT
R E D U C I N G P H O S P H AT E I N WA S T E WAT E R
A W I N - W I N S I T UAT I O N I N WA S T E WAT E R
S U S TA I N A B L E O P T I M I Z AT I O N
T R E AT M E N T
Following intensive testing, we have succeeded in
With the installation of a vacuum evaporator at our
optimizing the cleaning processes used for our Nat-
site in Spain, we are helping to protect the environ-
ural Flavor Production drying plants. These essen-
ment while at the same time optimizing our process
tial procedures involve the use of phosphoric acid.
chain and lowering costs thanks to this more efficient
With this measure, we slashed the level of phos-
method of wastewater treatment. The facility allows
phate in the wastewater by some 90 %, reduced energy
us to heavily concentrate our wastewater, reducing
consumption and cut CO₂ emissions.
wastewater volumes by at least 90 %.
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88
T O TA L WAT E R W I T H D R AWA L1
WAT E R W I T H D R AWA L I N 2011 BY S O U R C E
in m³ per ton of product sold
in %
20
18
16.75
32
16
13.84
14
13.07
12.06
39
11.61
12
10
8
29
6
4
2
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Surface Municipal Groundwater
100 % = 2,240,730 m³ in 2011
T O TA L WA S T E WAT E R VO L U M E F O R 2011
T O TA L WA S T E WAT E R VO L U M E 1
BY D E S T I N AT I O N
in m³ per ton of product sold
in %
0
15
14.01
12.82
3
12.30
11.43
12
11.22
9
97
6
3
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Truck Defined point Non-point source discharge
100 % = 2,165,460 m³ in 2011
1
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A PPE N D I X
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Processes
We nonetheless want to keep our emissions into the
sewage system as low as possible and check the condition of the water at regular intervals. A key figure in
this connection is the chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Over the past five years, we have succeeded in reducing this figure by 45.3 % per product sold. In 2011, the
average COD at Symrise was 17.9 grams per kg.
Wastewater contaminated with heavy metals is produced in a very limited amount at Symrise.
WA S T E WAT E R : C H E M I C A L OX YG E N D E M A N D
32.71
30
25.26
25
23.98
18.34
20
17.88
We also aim to reduce the volume of our solid waste
further. Our waste management consists of waste
avoidance, thermal recycling of waste to generate energy, reuse of waste and, wherever possible, recycling.
Between 2007 and 2011, we were able to reduce our
waste in relation to the sales volume by 28.6 %. In
2010, we set ourselves the target of reducing our production of hazardous and non-hazardous waste per
15
10
5
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
T O TA L WA S T E VO L U M E 1 : H A Z A R D O U S
T O TA L WA S T E VO L U M E I N 2011
A N D N O N - H A Z A R D O U S WA S T E
BY D I S P O S A L M E T H O D
in %
200
3
7
19
15 0
6
3
10 0
55.57
55.52
53.46
61.38
67.61
47
15
50.47
50
151.21
77.75
57.46
0
2007
2008
2009
Hazardous waste
Non-hazardous waste
No individualized data is available for 2007.
1
2010
2011
Biogas plant
Chemical-physical treatment
Incineration
Landfill
Wastewater treatment
Recycling
Composting
100 % = 20,830 tons in 2011
90
ton of product sold by a further 33 % by 2020. We managed to reduce our relative waste volume by 10.9 % in
2011 and thereby made good progress toward achieving
our target. In absolute terms, the reduction totaled
around 2,300 tons. Chemicals, oils or solid waste were
not released into the environment in material quantities in the reporting period.
Overall, there was a shift in the ratio of hazardous to
non-hazardous waste in 2011. Due to the rising demand for natural products, especially in our Flavor &
Nutrition division, the quantity of compostable waste
rose significantly. In particular, the greater amount of
onion processing in Germany led to an 800-ton increase in the amount of compostable waste produced.
In Germany, the proportion of compostable waste and
waste used in biogas plants rose significantly as a result.
This figure is likely to show a further increase in
2012. Process optimization, mainly in chemical production and water processing, led in 2011 to an absolute decline of 15 % in the output of hazardous waste.
Our initiatives in Green Chemistry and research into
atom-economical reactions contribute toward this increase in efficiency.
We also aim for efficiency with regard to packaging:
the bulk containers used at Symrise are tank containers, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and barrels.
They are reused or, if that is not possible, recycled. The
proportion of multi-use containers is 25 %. For small
containers we use non-returnable packaging for logistics
reasons. Our logistics services subsidiary optimizes
this packaging continuously in respect of both the economic and ecological implications and of product
safety and occupational health and safety aspects.
BIODIVERSIT Y
We make an active contribution toward environmental
and climate protection by means of comprehensive
measures to reduce our energy and water consumption
as well as our waste, wastewater and carbon dioxide
emissions. As a company that works to a large extent
with natural raw materials, we are aware of the relevance of functioning ecosystems, and that is why we
are keen to maintain biodiversity.
I N H A R M O N Y W I T H N AT U R E
In Brazil, we are currently establishing a development
center near São Paulo, bordering on the Atlantic forest
(Mata Atlântica). Due to its extraordinarily high biodiversity level, the Mata Atlântica is one of the world’s
top five biodiversity hot spots and a designated UNESCO
biosphere reserve. Many of the species of flora and
fauna that live there are endemic. Symrise now owns
an area of around 25,000 m² in this region, and we
have undertaken to ensure the protection and maintenance of this forest land. Our business activity has no
negative impact on this land.
B I O D I V E R S I T Y I N M ATA AT L A N T I C A
Our new company site in Cotia, Brazil, is immediately
adjacent to areas of Brazilian rainforest. We have
assumed responsibility for these areas and are making an active contribution toward maintaining this
endangered natural phenomenon.
Madagascar, too, is one of the world’s biodiversity hot
spots most worth protecting. Our site in the SAVA region is not directly located in a protected area and has
only a limited impact on the local environment as only
fermentation and extraction processes are carried out
there. We are working to convert the site’s energy
supply to local, renewable sources and thereby to further
reduce our impact in the medium term. Integrated
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A PPE N D I X
Processes
S P E C I E S P R E S E R VAT I O N I N C H I N A
H E L P IN G S AV E T H E M U S K D E E R
Musk is one of the most precious raw materials in the
measures such as those undertaken in Madagascar,
where projects aimed at maintaining local biodiversity are supported systematically, are trailblazers in this
area. All of the company’s other sites are not located in
or in the immediate vicinity of conservation areas.
see article “Vanilla’s
Journey” on page 40
We are currently drawing up a comprehensive strategy
to manage our impact on biodiversity. The starting
point is a large-scale biodiversity check by the Global
Nature Fund and the management consulting company
dokeo as a part of the European Business & Biodiversity
Campaign. As part of this check, we will be identifying
the main implications of our business activity for biodiversity – from commodity procurement via production
and logistics to our products. We will be reporting on
these topics next year.
world as well as one of the rarest. The musk deer, supplier of this exotic ingredient once used in perfumes,
is now among the worldʼs most endangered species.
The project led by the China Exploration and Research
Society (CERS) and supported by Symrise is focused
on the Yunnan province in China and has a direct relationship to our line of work. We are now protecting
a species that our industry previously hunted and we
hope to contribute to its continued survival. Thankfully, perfumery long ago switched to synthetic alternatives and Symrise is one of the main suppliers of
synthetic musk compounds.
OUR COMMITMENTS
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
We continuously optimize our processes – globally and across
business divisions.
• Identify and minimize environmental impact of processes, practices and equipment*
We produce less CO₂.
• Reduce emissions by 33 % per product sold until 2020**
We consume less energy.
• Reduce consumption by 33 % per product sold until 2020**
We produce less waste.
• Reduce waste by 33 % per product sold until 2020**
We consume less water and produce less waste water.
• Reduce water consumption and waste water emissions by 33 % per product sold until
2020**
* Measures to be quantified further during 2012.
** Against a 2010 baseline.
• Innovate to design processes with optimum efficiency and minimum impact*
92
EMPLOY EES. Responsibility for Our Staff
SYMRISE CONSISTS OF MORE THAN 5,400 EMPLOYEES FROM OVER 30 COUNTRIES WHO WORK HARD ON A
DAILY BASIS TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF OUR COMPANY. WE E XPECT OUR EMPLOYEES TO GIVE THEIR VERY
BEST AND CALL ON THEM TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILIT Y. ABOVE - AVER AGE COMMITMENT AND STRIVING FOR
E XCELLENCE ARE A PART OF OUR CORP OR ATE CULTURE AND ARE ANCHORED IN OUR VALUES. WE WANT TO
HIRE AND RE TAIN THE BEST EMPLOYEES, TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE THEM, AND TO TR ANSFORM THEIR
SKILLS, TALENT AND PASSION INTO CRE ATIVE AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SYMRISE’S CUSTOMERS
ON A DAILY BASIS.
We are also aware that we can only accomplish that
if our employees enjoy working at Symrise and see
Symrise as a part of their lives. That is why we aim to
be an attractive and a fair employer for our employees
at all locations around the world. We want to be the
employer of choice in our industry.
H R M A N AG E M E N T
A key element of our HR strategy is the health and
safety of our employees in the workplace. We also place
a targeted focus on training and developing our employees, establishing and maintaining a healthy worklife balance, supporting our employees’ working life
and preparing them for retirement as well as providing
them with performance-related pay.
see Management
chapter on page 53
“Economic success requires motivated
employees with outstanding training.
That is why we concentrate our personnel work on their safety and their
targeted further development.”
DR. INIGO NATZEL, Corporate Vice President Group
Human Resources
One of our principles of good corporate management is
to respect the rights of our employees. That is why
humane working conditions and decent employment
are, along with due consideration for social aspects
of employment, a matter of course as a precondition for
how we act at every location. Our Integrated Management System is based on the provisions of the SA 8000
social accountability standard. SA 8000 is founded on
the conventions of the International Labor Organization
(ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the UN Convention on Children’s Rights and is reconcilable with the structure of the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and
OHSAS 18001 management approaches that we also
pursue. It is a binding standard at Symrise.
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A PPE N D I X
Employees
between line manager and employee, planned further
training measures and possible development steps are
discussed.
Any kind of abuse of employees’ rights or safety at
work provisions is illegal and is not tolerated at Symrise.
We guarantee a compensation that, at the very least,
corresponds to the legal or standard wage levels for the
respective industry. With regard to working hours
and paid vacation, Symrise complies with local statutory
provisions, wage agreements and national practices in
the countries where we operate. We also attach a great
importance to participation by employee representatives in the spirit of partnership. Collective bargaining
arrangements such as wage agreements or works
agreements regulate the working conditions of more
than half of our employees. A clear commitment to
freedom of association and the right to membership in
a labor union are a matter of course for us.
In 2010 we carried out our first international employee
survey in cooperation with external specialists. Under
the heading “Have Your Say!” we asked employees at
regional headquarters in Germany, the U.S., Brazil and
Singapore to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
of their company. Around 70 % of employees took part
in the anonymous poll. The survey findings then
formed the starting point for a dialog with employees
on the need for change and improvement. In many
divisions, employee feedback was very positive. A large
proportion of employees polled felt Symrise was a
fascinating and versatile company and expressed an
above-average positive view of, especially, the independence and personal responsibility they enjoy in
working at Symrise. Furthermore, employees are
satisfied with their job security, the working time provisions and their ability to reconcile a career and private life. Potential for improvement was also identified,
however, such as in further education and with regard
to transparency of remuneration structures. This is an
area that we tackled last year. Employee meetings,
workshops and working groups were held or set up and
a large number of measures were agreed to take our
corporate culture forward and make Symrise even more
attractive as an employer. Our employees will rate the
success of these measures in an employee survey to be
held in 2012.
Direct dialog with our employees provides us with important points of orientation for continuous development
of our personnel strategy and measures. That is why
we conduct this dialog both at the individual level between employee and line manager and by means of
structured employee surveys.
The annual performance review process between line
manager and employee is a central element of this
dialog. It ensures transparency in performance assessment and enables individual development perspectives
to be drawn up for every employee. In detail, tasks and
areas of responsibility, achievement of the previous
year’s targets, targets for the year under way, the assessment of the employee’s performance, cooperation
E M P L OY E E S AC C O R D I N G T O R E G I O N
REGION
Germany
EAME not including Germany
2009
2010
2011
SHARE IN 2011
CHANGE IN 2011
2,170
2,271
2,310
42.5 %
1.7 %
595
737
732
13.5 %
– 0.7 %
North America
638
628
613
11.3 %
– 2.4 %
Asia / Pacific
840
904
1,027
18.9 %
13.6 %
Latin America
711
748
752
13.8 %
0.5 %
4,954
5,288
5,434
100.0 %
2.8 %
Total (not including
apprentices and trainees)
Trainees and apprentices
Total
121
116
123
6.0 %
5,075
5,404
5,557
2.8 %
Basis: Full-time equivalents (FTE), not including apprentices and temporary workers
As of December 31 of the respective year
94
E M P L OY E E S AC C O R D I N G T O C O N T R AC T T Y P E : G L O B A L
CONTRACT TYPE
2009
2010
2011
SHARE IN 2011
Permanent contracts
4,843
5,054
5,200
95.7 %
2.9 %
Fixed-term contracts
111
234
234
4.3 %
0.0 %
4,954
5,288
5,434
100.0 %
2.8 %
Total
CHANGE IN 2011
Basis: Full-time equivalents (FTE), not including apprentices and temporary workers
E M P L OY E E S AC C O R D I N G T O C O N T R AC T T Y P E A N D W O R K I N G H O U R S : G E R M A N Y
2009
2010
2011
SHARE IN 2011
CHANGE IN 2011
1,945
1,959
2,036
83.9 %
3.9 %
Permanent contracts
Full time
Part time
269
282
284
11.7 %
0.7 %
2,214
2,241
2,320
95.6 %
3.5 %
Full time
58
130
91
3.7 %
– 30.0 %
Part time
6
17
16
0.7 %
– 5.9 %
64
147
107
4.4 %
– 27.2 %
Full time
2,003
2,089
2,127
87.6 %
1.8 %
Part time
275
299
300
12.4 %
0.3 %
2,278
2,388
2,427
100.0 %
1.6 %
Total
Fixed-term contracts
Total
Total
Total
Basis: Employee figures, not including apprentices and temporary workers
SY M R I S E A S A FA IR A N D AT T R AC T I V E E M P L OY E R
Performance-related remuneration makes the company
more attractive as an employer and contributes toward
recruiting and retaining employees. Remuneration
policy at Symrise is based on new and transparent
structures in the form of remuneration bandwidths
that take the performance of the individual employee
into account and enable line manager and employee
to develop remuneration attractively along with career
development. This type of remuneration model has
already been implemented at our sites in Germany, the
US, Brazil and Singapore. The advantages of this socalled job grade concept lie in a high level of transparency and comprehensibility of remuneration and in its
international comparability.
The company wage agreement between Symrise and IG
BCE (Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union)
makes an important contribution toward keeping the
company competitive. A key feature of the agreement
is an employment guarantee for the company’s German
locations until 2014. At the same time, the agreement
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Employees
forms the basis for qualification measures and considerable cost savings: retaining a working week of not
less than 40 hours and gradually taking over the IG
BCE union wage rates with clearly defined reductions.
To safeguard competitive capability and with a view to
a forward-looking employment policy, we agreed with
the labor union to maintain the existing employment
guarantee until 2020. Around the world, the overwhelming majority of our employees are covered by
collective bargaining agreements. In Germany, the
figure is 100 %. In 2011, our employees in South Africa
made use of their right to strike. The reason was disagreement between the National Speciality Chemicals
Employers’ Association and the local unions on certain topics, such as the extent of wage adjustments. The
strike was ended after three weeks once an agreement
was reached on essential points. The company did not
sustain any significant damages from this situation.
Another important building block that makes us attractive as an employer and testifies to our sense of responsibility toward our employees is our health care and
pension plans. In 2010 we took our new retirement pension forward at all locations in Germany. We are cooperating with a pension fund that is financed by employees’ and company contributions. Participation in this
pension plan is compulsory for all new employees. All
non-tariff employees and managers also have the possibility to build up additional retirement benefit components on a voluntary basis in the form of a direct benefit promise involving deferral of remuneration. We have
also set up pension plans in other countries that are
geared to the provisions and practices in those countries. Across the Group, most Symrise employees
have access to some kind of company pension provision.
Furthermore, the majority of our employees are covered either by statutory health insurance or by company
health insurance plans.
ployees to deliver performance and show commitment
and team spirit; at the same time we promote them
within the scope of a comprehensive vocational and
in-service training concept, allowing them scope for
assuming personal responsibility and making every
endeavor to assist them in their career development.
We do so on the basis of uniform global criteria by means
of which we bring the employees’ competencies and
potentials into line with the requirements of the position.
We would like to offer as many young people as possible at Symrise an opportunity to embark on a career
and gain a perspective for the future. By creating attractive training and study opportunities, we countervail
a shortage of competent young professionals and
thereby ensure our own corporate sustainability. Symrise
adopts a wide range of approaches in its endeavor
to recruit qualified young professionals. We maintain
intensive contact with colleges and universities and
regularly take part in university recruitment fairs. We
offer students an opportunity to get to know Symrise
INVESTING IN KNOWLEDGE
SY M R I S E F L AVO R AC A D E M Y
YO U N G TA L E N T A N D P E R S O N N E L D E V E L O P M E N T
In these constantly changing markets, we need both
capable young employees and qualified personnel who
value continuous personal development. Demographic
change and longer working lives also confront us with
additional challenges. We identify talented employees
and offer them challenging tasks. We expect our em-
Symrise is one of the few companies in the flavor and
fragrance industry to provide training as a flavorist.
International trainees with significant sensory skills
are prepared for this creative career in a two-year
program. In 2011, six trainees from five countries in
Asia, North America, Europe and Africa began training to become flavorists.
95
96
by means of internships as well as bachelor’s and master’s thesis projects. In 2011, more than 80 students
made use of this opportunity in Germany. In order to
bind well-qualified apprentices to Symrise, we maintain close contacts with schools and vocational colleges
by sponsoring student enterprises and holding project
days or e-learning projects.
Symrise, together with its subsidiaries TESIUM and
Symotion, offers a wide range of apprenticeships.
Every year we offer 44 young people an opportunity
to learn one of our 10 different trades, ranging from
industrial clerk or distiller to dual courses of study.
At the end of 2011, the number of trainees and apprentices at our German sites totaled 123 young people. That corresponds to a trainee quota of around
6 %. The number of apprenticeships offered was increased by 10 % in 2011.
Personal development in the sense of lifelong learning
is gaining in importance for everyone individually and
for us as a company too. That is why we strive to assist
our employees in this endeavor and to promote their
competencies in a targeted manner. By means of a wide
range of further and in-service training programs,
we offer our employees an opportunity to develop their
skills continuously. All Symrise employees are offered
safety training, languages courses and courses in project management and data processing.
In 2009, we launched a further training initiative that
was aimed specifically at laboratory and production
employees. Unskilled and semi-skilled employees were
able to train for a qualification as a Mixing Specialist
or a Flavocant. We thereby established an entirely new
further training standard. In addition, chemical workers can train to qualify as a Process Chemical Worker,
which involves learning the basics of chemistry, quality control and good manufacturing practice along with
the risk potential associated with various chemical
products and processes. Qualification as an Advanced
Laboratory Technician is open to chemical lab technicians and concentrates on subjects such as the basics
of process engineering, biotechnology, customer communication and negotiating technique, and the patent
system.
In 2011, 4,426 employees took part in vocational training courses. Global expenditure on further and inservice training measures totaled around € 2.3 million,
representing a 15 % increase compared to the previous
year. This corresponds to an average of about 480 euros
per employee.
Our global Career@Symrise initiative forms an important milestone on our way to an integrated development of our employees’ careers. Based on our 2010
employee survey, we devised this initiative in the
course of the reporting year and developed an appropriate software solution that makes our tried and
tested, globally established Talent Management Process more transparent and more efficient. All employees whose salary includes performance-based components will go through the target agreement process
online in 2012. Globally this amounts to around 3,000
employees who can work with the system in six different languages.
TA R G E T E D P E R S O N N E L D E V E L O P M E N T
C A R E E R @ SY M R I S E
With Career@Symrise, our company is launching
an initiative to support employeesʼ career development
around the world. In a multistage plan that takes
place over two years, we are making our personnel processes more transparent and more efficient. Linking
the target agreement process, skills management and
succession planning is an important milestone on our
way to becoming an employer of choice.
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A PPE N D I X
Employees
If we want to get the most out of our employees’ experience, we need to get serious about promoting our
talents internally. And we want to recognize potential at an earlier stage as well as ensuring that it is
developed as part of succession planning. In the second quarter of 2012, we will be launching succession
planning as an additional module. And in 2013, we
will focus on competency management in the form of
online qualification and training activities. These are
further important milestones on our way to becoming
an employer of choice. At the same time, we are creating and collecting the fundamental data necessary
for additional indicators, such as the average duration of training per employee, which will be reported
by 2015.
The fair and attractive working conditions at Symrise,
our systematic talent management and our comprehensive training program ensure that our employee fluc-
tuation rate is very low. In 2011, the fluctuation rate at
our German locations was 1.5 % and global fluctuation
was 5.5 %. These figures also reflect the feedback
from our employee survey: the majority of Symrise
employees are proud of “their company” and identify
themselves with Symrise to a large extent.
The slighter higher fluctuation rate in Latin America
is largely due to the ongoing relocation of our Brazilian
production facility from São Paulo to Sorocaba. In 2011
we prepared intensively for this relocation. Workshops
for employees, individual orientation aids, a tour of
Sorocaba and targeted communication measures were
intended to make the change process as positive as
possible for our employees. Generally speaking, we
provide our employees with comprehensive and timely
information about operational changes. We comply
with any local or national statutory notification requirements and deadlines.
E M P L OY E E T U R N OV E R
REGION
2009
2010
2011 ABSOLUTE
2011
1.5 %
Germany
1.6 %
1.3 %
36
EAME (not including Germany)
4.6 %
5.4 %
43
6.1 %
North America
5.5 %
2.4 %
30
4.9 %
Asia / Pacific
8.1 %
12.0 %
107
10.4 %
Latin America
7.3 %
10.5 %
87
11.2 %
Total
4.4 %
5.1 %
303
5.5 %
Definition: Share of employees that leave the company at their own request each year compared to the average workforce.
Basis: Fixed-term and permanent employees; not including apprentices
98
E XC E L L E N C E I N H E A LT H
B E S T H E A LT H S E R V I C E S
Symrise is actively committed to keeping its
The core of the program are its guidelines for personnel
recruitment and development. As a general rule, we
fill vacancies in the Symrise Group solely on the basis
of the applicant’s professional qualification and individual performance. If the qualifications are equal, we
give preference to local applicants in view of our responsibility as a local employer. The overwhelming
majority of employees and management personnel at
our global locations already come from the country
in question. Another focal point in our striving for greater diversity is to increase the number of women in
management in the medium term. In all, the proportion
of women in the Group in 2011 was a remarkable
39.7 %. In senior management, however, the proportion
was significantly lower at 10 %. We aim to continue to
increase this.
employees fit and healthy. Our performance in this
area was confirmed in 2010, for one, by a TÜV SÜD
Life Service corporate health audit. The Corporate
Health Award initiative is run under the patronage
of the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs, and assesses firmsʼ health management
systems every year. Symrise put itself forward for
this direct comparison for the second time in 2011.
With 92 % of the max imum total score, we even
succeeded in further improving on the previous
yearʼs result. This makes us one of the 50 best
consumer goods companies audited. Symrise will
Rather than adopt an inflexible quota arrangement,
within the scope of our Talent Management Process we
rely on targeted incentives and create structured opportunities for them at the same time. One such precondition is the opportunity to reconcile a family and a
career. Symrise offers its employees flexible working
time models, part-time employment and job sharing.
In Germany alone, around 92 % of our employees can
arrange their working time flexibly. Furthermore,
we cooperate in many countries with day care centers
to make child care easier.
continue to offer numerous schemes to promote
good health at work and at home in 2012.
VA R I E T Y A N D E Q UA L I T Y O F O P P O R T U N I T Y
The wide variety and diversity of our employees in
respect of ethnicity, culture, gender, age, religion and
other aspects are, we feel, inspirational and valuable
– partly because they help us to develop the best solutions for our global customers. With their different
talents, cultures and ways of living, our employees contribute enriching perspectives to the company. Promoting this variety deliberately is a major success factor
for our company, which is why we launched a structured diversity program three years ago.
Another important aspect of equal opportunity for men
and women is their pay levels. At Symrise, the pay
that our employees receive is not related to their gender.
In many countries, wage agreements govern our employees’ pay. By means of pay categories, we ensure that
remuneration is based on qualification, responsibility
and performance and that gender-specific differences
for equal work are ruled out. In the non-tariff sector,
our job grade model ensures transparency and fairness
of remuneration.
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E M P L OY E E C AT E G O R I E S AC C O R D I N G T O G E N D E R I N G E R M A N Y
GENDER
Male
Female
Total
MANAGER
SHARE IN %
NON-MANAGER
SHARE IN %
T O TA L
282
79.0 %
75
21.0 %
357
100.0 %
SHARE IN %
1,361
65.7 %
1,643
67.7 %
709
34.3 %
784
32.3 %
2,070
100.0 %
2,427
100.0 %
SHARE IN %
T O TA L
SHARE IN %
Definition: Managers, including junior managers, defined as non-tariff employees or managerial employees.
Basis: Employee figures, not including apprentices and temporary worker. As of December 31, 2011
E M P L OY E E C AT E G O R I E S AC C O R D I N G T O AG E I N G E R M A N Y
AGE
MANAGER
SHARE IN %
NON-MANAGER
20 – 29
3
0.9 %
281
13.6 %
284
11.7 %
30 – 39
62
17.4 %
477
23.0 %
539
22.2 %
40 – 49
169
47.3 %
777
37.6 %
946
39.0 %
50 – 59
109
30.5 %
483
23.3 %
592
24.4 %
60 and older
Total
14
3.9 %
52
2.5 %
66
2.7 %
357
100.0 %
2,070
100.0 %
2,427
100.0 %
Definition: Managers, including junior managers, defined as non-tariff employees or managerial employees.
Basis: Employee figures, not including apprentices and temporary workers. As of December 31, 2011
C O M P O S I T I O N O F T H E E X E C U T I V E A N D S U P E R V I S O R Y B OA R D S AC C O R D I N G T O G E N D E R
GENDER
EXECUTIVE BOARD
SHARE IN %
SUPERVISORY BOARD
SHARE IN %
Male
4
100 %
9
75 %
Female
0
0%
3
25 %
Total
4
100 %
12
100 %
As of December 31, 2011
100
N U M B E R O F AC C I D E N T S ( M AQ )
AC C I D E N T S E V E R I T Y ( U S Q )
12 0
7.0
7. 0
110
6.5
5.9
6.0
10 0
5.7
85
5.0
5.0
80
63
4.2
4.0
3.2
55
60
3.0
42
45
2006
2007
43
40
2.0
20
1. 0
0
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2005
Number of reportable accidents1 ° 1,000,000
MAQ =
Number of working hours
USQ =
2008
2009
2010
2011
Number of lost working days ° 1,000,000
Number of working hours
1 Number of reportable accidents: > 1 working day
O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H A N D S A F E T Y
One of our key objectives is to offer all Symrise employees a safe workplace that poses no threat to their
health. Regular training courses in safety at work
are compulsory at Symrise across the Group. A large
number of programs and measures are held globally
every year to help ensure safety at work. Due to different local circumstances and requirements, the
specific measures are controlled by local systems and
working groups at their own discretion. Measures
and projects initiated in 2011 made a major contribution toward further improvements in occupational
safety at Symrise.
As a matter of principle, we investigate every accident
and its causes in detail. In production divisions, we
use the “kaizen” method in the case of serious accidents.
Jointly with employees in the division affected, we
draw up an action plan to prevent similar accidents from
occurring in the future.
As in previous years, we again reduced the number of
accidents and achieved a 36 % improvement on the previous year. The MAQ value in 2011 amounted to 3.2. In
addition to the accident frequency, we also use an
indicator for the seriousness of the accident. We have
been able to reduce this figure in recent years as
well. In 2011, it was 22 % lower than in the previous year.
There were no fatal accidents at work during the reporting period at Symrise.
Just as we champion the cause of safety at work, health
precautions are an important aspect of our personnel
policy. At nearly all sites around the world, we offer our
employees a wide range of health promotion activities.
We thereby promote and maintain the professional capability of our employees at the same time. The nature
and scope of these offerings are always geared to the
specific requirements of the workforce in question.
They range from free vaccinations and regular health
checks to in-house and external sport and wellness
facilities and advice to company physicians and medically coordinated reintegration after a lengthy illness.
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JOURNAL
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A PPE N D I X
Employees
E M P L OY E E I N I T I AT I V E
If all in-house health management activities in Germany
are combined, we reached approximately 2,400 employees in 2011.
Many of the health promotion and maintenance services
that we provide in Germany are also available at other
locations. In Asia, for example, we inform our employees
in health and safety weeks at different locations about
the many offerings our company provides. In 2011,
events of this kind were held in Singapore and China.
More than 400 employees participated. In countries
where public health care is less efficient, we provide
additional health insurance coverage to ensure that
health care is available for our employees.
“ F I T O N T W O W H E E L S ” C A M PA I G N
As a part of our summer 2011 campaign, 319 employees
in Holzminden decided to cycle to work every morning.
During the campaign period, they covered a distance
of 44,400 km, or more than once around the world,
on their bikes, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions by
several tons.
OUR COMMITMENTS
We strive to be the most attractive and socially responsible
employer in the flavor and fragrance industry – for our present
and future employees.
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
• Minimize the number of regretted losses
• Maintain an environment in which employees are encouraged to grow and assume
responsibility
• Promote the diversity of expertise as well as cultural, religious and ethnic diversity
We communicate transparently with our employees and
regularly listen to their opinions.
• Actively involve employees in our corporate development through employee
surveys and other tools
• Promote and extend internal communication and feedback channels
We invest in the long-term personal and professional
development of our employees.
• Support our employees at every level with appropriate and relevant developmental
measures
• Introduce the career development initiative Career@Symrise
We offer health and safety in the workplace to all our
employees.
• Assess risks and enhance safety in the work-place environment
• Work towards zero incidents by reinforcing safety-related
awareness and behaviour
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SOCIE T Y. Our Commitment Locally
SYMRISE IS AN INTEGR AL PART OF SOCIE T Y. IT IS OUR GOAL TO SHAPE THE SOCIE TAL EFFECTS OF
OUR BUSINESS ACTIVIT Y POSITIVELY AND TO CRE ATE MORE VALUE NOT ONLY FOR US BUT ALSO FOR OUR
STAKEHOLDERS IN SOCIE T Y.
Our natural raw materials come from all over the world,
often originating directly from fields, farms and forests
in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Our more
than 5,400 employees from over 30 countries work hard
every single day to ensure the success of our company.
They develop products that contribute to the fulfillment
of basic human needs – health and nutrition, care and
wellbeing.
For this reason, we don’t consider our business activities
to be isolated from the world; rather, we practice and
encourage social responsibility in the society in which
we are active. And we want to contribute to shaping
this society so that not only our company and customers,
but also our employees and the wider society can develop positively and sustainably.
LOCAL PROCUREMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
This begins with taking ethical and social aspects
into consideration when we are procuring our numerous natural raw materials from around the world.
An important element of our sustainability activities
is producing and processing important raw materials
near to the regions where they are cultivated. This proximity to raw materials is in our roots; back in 1874,
it was a critical factor as we chose Holzminden as our
headquarters. Today, we source large amounts of
vegetables from the immediate region around the town.
And we’ve planted our roots in other places too, including Brazil, in the heart of the citrus belt, and on
Madagascar, the most important region for bourbon
vanilla cultivation.
In both of these regions we have entered into long-term
partnerships with local producers, invested in local
infrastructure and involved ourselves in relevant social
matters. By keeping the major processing steps in the
country of origin, we also increase local value creation.
For Symrise, this approach secures the long-term supply of raw materials, optimizes quality and yields, and
provides maximum transparency for our customers.
With our responsible sourcing model we strive to achieve
shared value in the supply chain in all four dimensions
of our sustainability approach.
A good example is our work in Madagascar. We obtain
our vanilla from many thousand independent farmers
and local cooperatives in the north of the island. And
we are the only ones in the industry that produce vanilla extract there. Thanks to our active relationships
with the farmers and cooperatives, we know the best
areas in which to take action with regard to nutrition,
health and education in order to improve the socioeconomic situation of the Madagascan vanilla farmers.
Our approach also contributes to protecting the environment and sustaining biodiversity. And Symrise
benefits from long-term access to high-quality raw
materials.
The local procurement and processing of our natural
raw materials is also consistent with the nature of our
business activities. Using different technologies, we
produce a comparatively small amount of end product
from a large amount of raw materials. In the citrus
area, our SymTrap® technology, for example, locally
OVERVIEW
JOURNAL
REPORT
A PPE N D I X
Society
converts several hundred kilograms of raw material into
a kilogram of highly concentrated aroma. This means
that we only need to transport the comparatively lower
quantity of valuable materials to our development
centers, and ultimately to our customers throughout the
world. Wherever possible, we avoid transport-related
efficiency losses and aim to achieve a sensible balance
between local procurement and local distribution.
E M P L OY E E C O M M I T M E N T
LOCAL DIALOG
This is certainly another reason why many Symrise
employees are involved in local community projects,
committing themselves to a responsible and more sustainable society. We appreciate and encourage independence and commitment in our employees as another element of our social responsibility. And we support
the volunteer work of our employees, who invest their
time and expertise, by providing material and financial support. We do this because our employees are not
We regularly assess the local effects of our business
activities. We engage in dialog with the communities
and residents of over 30 towns in which we are present
and strive to be a good neighbor. In Holzminden for
example, our corporate headquarters, we inform the
residents about our business activities, local topics
and our social commitment via a regularly produced
community newspaper.
In order to keep the not always fully avoidable odor
pollution in the vicinity of our production sites to a minimum, we continuously invest in technologically advanced filter systems and in improving our existing
systems. Regenerative thermal exhaust air cleaning
systems are already in use at many sites, enabling us
to achieve considerable improvements in this area
over the past few years. If there is still odor pollution
after that, then affected parties can always address
the company directly. Our on-call support service accepts complaints, identifies the causes and keeps in
contact with the residents.
Whenever there are major changes to be made, such as
construction work, we strive to include the needs of the
residents in our planning from the very start. An example of this is the expansion of our production site in
Sorocaba, Brazil. With the construction of a technologically advanced exhaust air cleaning system, we have
reduced odor pollution there to a minimum.
Our strong commitment to the towns in which we are
present is also apparent in the fact that a large part of
our personnel consists of local employees. Over 90 % of
the management staff are from the local area. For the
most part, we recruit our employees from the country
in which we are operating, often even from the immediate vicinity where we are operating.
HELP FOR FLOOD VICTIMS IN THAIL AND
A B AG F U L L O F H O P E
After the flood catastrophe in fall 2011, our customer
Unilever initiated a major relief operation with the
motto “Unilever Takes 1 Million Thais Home”. As a
partner for Unilever in Thailand, Symrise supported
this campaign: Voluntary helpers from Symrise Thailand helped prepare 350,000 “Take U Home” bags.
Our employees were also involved in helping to clean
the famous Kasetsart University in Bangkok. Additionally, Symrise donated 722,000 baht (approx. € 18,000)
for the construction of a new school building.
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104
just ensuring the success of the company – they are
key to the success of our sustainability strategy. At our
sites in Germany, France, USA, Brazil, Chile, Columbia,
Singapore, Thailand and China, we have created volunteer initiatives that encourage involvement in social
projects.
A global network of volunteer sustainability ambassadors motivates employees to take responsibility for social matters. The ambassadors organize workshops at
our sites in order to create a common understanding of
sustainability and increase awareness of our sustainability strategy. They provide motivation, initiate projects and use targeted initiatives to contribute towards
further embedding the concept of sustainability into our
business model. It is our aim to have every employee
contribute to the sustainability of our company and
business activities.
SOCIAL COMMITMENT
At all of our sites around the world, we are involved in
numerous charity and community projects. Our strategic approach includes supporting initiatives that provide direct benefits to the communities around our sites.
We place great value in having our activities focus as
much as possible on actual local needs. Before we initiate or sponsor larger projects, we perform needs analyses. We intend to expand on this approach in the years
to come.
since. The aim is to bring children closer to nature and
to healthy eating. In these days of poor diets, lack of
exercise and the increasingly limited scope of experience
and creativity, the Naschgarten provides children with
room to develop and move around, making healthy
eating an experience for all the senses. Children are
shown in a fun and entertaining way how plants are
raised and cared for, teaching them to responsibly engage with nature. A reward awaits them in the form
of delicious and self-harvested vegetables and fruit to
snack on. In 2011 the Naschgarten was awarded the
title “Good Practice” by the health promotion association for the socially disadvantaged (Gesundheitsförderung bei sozial Benachteiligten). Since the project
began, we have supported the Naschgarten with more
than € 350,000. In 2011 we also continued our partnership with the non-profit organization Beleza e Cidadania
in São Paulo, Brazil. The organization offers people in
São Paulo with low incomes training courses in
beauty and care, thereby contributing towards social
integration.
Our focus is on sponsoring projects in health, nutrition,
education, sport and culture. We help satisfy peoples’
basic needs with our products for the perfume, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. Nutrition, hygiene, skin protection, care and wellness are just as
important for the success of our business as they are
for society. That’s why we offer support beyond our business activities for organizations, institutions, and projects that make a non-profit contribution to these areas.
“Promoting health through nutrition and care” receives
special resources.
Truly sustainable development must bring the living
requirements of today into alignment with the needs
of future generations. By supporting scientific advancements and providing youths with access to a quality
education, we hope to contribute to this contract between
the generations. That’s why we support preschools,
schools, universities, and other non-profit institutions
both in education and training as well as research. A
requirement here is that the project to be supported is
local to one of our company sites or is relevant to our
business activities. For example, on Madagascar, the
heart of our vanilla activities, we support five primary
schools and two secondary schools in the farming villages of the SAVA region (Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar
and Andapa). We contribute towards securing the livelihoods of over 30 teachers, which allows 2,600 students to receive an education. We began this work in
2011 following an extensive needs analysis and will
continue to develop it further in the coming years.
A focal project in this area is Holzminden’s Naschgarten
(Sweet Garden), which Symrise initiated in 2007 in
conjunction with government partners and of which
it has been a primary sponsor and supporter ever
We are also involved in many other social activities
around our other sites. Volunteer work represents a
crucial pillar of our society. We honor and encourage
social commitment. We see this as a part of our local
OVERVIEW
JOURNAL
REPORT
A PPE N D I X
Society
LOCAL COMMITMENT
AWA R D F O R T H E N A S C H G A R T E N
The Naschgarten (Sweet Garden) is a successful
approach for promoting healthy eating habits among
children. Since January, the Naschgarten in Holzminden can also add another honor to its name: the “Good
Practice” award. A cooperative network initiated by
the German Federal Center for Health Education (BzgA)
acknowledged the projectʼs accomplishments and
recommended others to follow its example. Symrise
cooperates in this scientifically supported project
with Lower Saxonyʼs State Association for Health and
Academy for Social Medicine, the University of
Applied Sciences and Arts in Holzminden as well as
with the city and county of Holzminden.
UNIVERSIT Y PROGR AM IN WEST AFRICA
Symrise started a cooperation with Accra University
in Ghana in the area of food and flavor technology
in 2011. As part of the “Flavor Research Program”
with Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa,
S U P P O R T I N G VA N I L L A FA R M E R S
Dr. Eberhard Süssle, Technical Director Global
For the long-term and sustainable supply of raw materials it is not sufficient to
Business Unit Savory, provides students with
offer selective or partial support in the source countries. If we want to continue
insights into the world of flavors. The students work
our value creation over the long term, we need to make accordingly permanent
with African raw materials, perform technical
investments in the local infrastructure. In Madagascar, the most important
research and develop new flavors. In this way,
country for growing vanilla, Symrise has started a comprehensive program that
Symrise supports its growth ambitions in West
invests in providing children with an education, preserving the areaʼs
Africa while bringing its know-how to the region and
ecological balance and diversifying local agriculture over the long term in
providing added value to the people living there.
addition to various other offers and measures of support. The objective is
This cooperation will continue in 2012 and will be
to offer farmers and their families a stable livelihood while securing our long-
further expanded.
term supply at the same time.
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C O M B AT I N G S O C I A L I N E Q UA L I T I E S I N B R A Z I L
S P O R T S A N D C U LT U R E I N H O L Z M I N D E N
COSMETIC COURSES FOR LOW INCOME
BY E M P L OY E E S F O R E M P L OY E E S
CITIZENS
Our Sport & Culture employee initiative promotes
Symrise supports the Brazilian NGO Beleza & Cidada-
sporting and cultural commitment at Symrise in
nia, which offers inexpensive courses and training in
Holzminden. True to the motto, By Employees for
hair care and cosmetics for low income citizens. The
Employees, the team provides courses and activities,
objective is to help minimize social inequality there.
organizes events and supports ideas suggested by
Symrise has supported this project over multiple
our employees. From live concerts and theatrical per-
years, investing over € 26,000 in 2011 alone. At the
formances to exhibitions or a marathon, something
same time, Symrise uses the opportunity to more
special was on offer for employees nearly every week
closely study the fragrance preferences and applica-
in 2011. By means of close collaboration with local
tion habits of low income workers while also
clubs and organizers, Sport & Culture also makes a
testing new fragrances. The results flow into new
contribution to the region.
products that are better suited to consumer needs.
social responsibility. For this reason, we support local
associations and other local non-profit organizations
that are committed to social, humanitarian and charitable causes. We also provide emergency aid for disasters.
In sport and culture we support not only clubs and
community organizations but also sponsor our employees’ sporting and cultural commitments with initia-
tives within the company. In doing so, we contribute
towards enriching local sport and culture.
Aside from our own social projects and the commitment of our employees, we also make donations and set
up sponsorships. Various organizations, institutions
and associations around the world ask Symrise for donations and sponsorship. In order to establish suitable
OVERVIEW
JOURNAL
REPORT
APPENDIX
Society
focal points and ensure that our commitment focuses
on local needs, we place great value in engaging in
dialog with the areas and communities in which we
operate. So while our global donation and sponsorship activities may be coordinated centrally, it is our
local companies themselves that decide upon and implement them. This is how we accommodate core topics
in the local and regional area when we allocate funds.
And by maintaining a corresponding guideline, we create transparency both internally and externally, ensure that the funds are allocated throughout the globe
in accordance with uniform principles and that all
of our donations are in keeping with our sustainability
strategy. The company units involved are responsible
for ensuring that funds are allocated correctly in accordance with this guideline and the Symrise Code of
Conduct. Adherence to regulations is examined as part
of regular audits conducted by Corporate Audit. We
generally do not support organizations whose aim is
contrary to our Code of Conduct or whose purpose is
to make a profit. The same applies to funding politicians
or political parties. The strategic focus on promoting
the development of the areas and communities in which
we operate also encompasses health and education.
In 2011, we invested a total of more than € 800,000 in
community interests across the Group. This amount
includes social projects, donations and sponsorships.
OUR COMMITMENTS
All around the world, we support initiatives dedicated to health
and education.
A I D F O R E A R T H Q UA K E V I C T I M S I N J A PA N
D O N AT I O N S F O R T H E R E B U I L D I N G E F F O R T
Last March, the east coast of Japan was devastated
when it was hit by a severe earthquake followed by
a tsunami. In 2011, we supported rebuilding efforts
in the Ibaraki province, where one of our sites is
located, with a donation amounting to 5 million yen
(approx. € 45,000). The great uncertainty resulting
from the catastrophe and the fact that many professionals have moved away continue to burden the
region. Recently, executives from Symrise met with
the Governor of Ibaraki to survey the current status
of reconstruction efforts.
TARGETS AND ACTIONS
• Assess local needs and continue to establish material focus projects
• Build partnerships with NGOs and other stakeholders to create shared value
• Establish a global social commitment – Symrise. Because we care.
We encourage and support our employees’ social commitment.
• Promote our employees’ commitment in social projects
• Develop a global corporate volunteering program
We foster the development of the communities in which we
operate.
• Work with all our home communities on social causes that matter to them
• Encourage our business partners to join us in our commitment
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OVERVIEW
JOURNAL
REPORT
A PPE N D I X
Imprint
IMPRINT
PUBLISHER:
Symrise AG
Corporate Communications
37603 Holzminden
Germany
COPY AND EDITING:
Symrise AG, Holzminden
The FSC ® logo identifies products which contain wood
from well-managed forests certified in accordance with
rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.
C O N C E P T, D E S I G N A N D I M P L E M E N TAT I O N :
3st kommunikation, Mainz
A DV I C E O N C O N T E N T:
akzente kommunikation und beratung, Munich
R E P O R TAG E :
F O R WA R D - LO O K I N G S TAT E M E N T S
Marc-Stefan Andres, Münster
Dirk Böttcher, Rostock
This sustainability report contains forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions and
fore-casts by Symrise AG. The future course of business and the results actually achieved by Symrise AG
and its affiliates are subject to a large number of risks
and uncertainties and may therefore differ substantially
from the forward-looking statements. Many of these
factors are outside of Symrise AG ’s sphere of influence
and cannot be assessed in detail ahead of events. They
include, for example, unfavorable development of the
global economy, a change in consumer behavior, and
changes to laws, regulations and official guidelines.
Should one of these uncertainty factors, named or
otherwise, occur or should the assumptions on which
the forward-looking statements are based prove to
be incorrect, the actual results may differ significantly
from the results anticipated. Symrise undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements continuously and to adjust them to future events or developments.
P H O T O G R A P H Y:
Markus Pietrek, Düsseldorf
Thorsten Arendt, Münster
Kurt Lauer, Paderborn
T R A N S L AT I O N :
EnglishBusiness AG, Hamburg
P R I N T E D BY:
CW Niemeyer Druck, Hameln
P U B L I C AT I O N DAT E O F T H E R E P O R T:
May 15, 2012
SY M R I S E O N T H E I N T E R N E T:
www.symrise.com
www.symrise.com/en/sustainability
investor.symrise.com
www.always-inspiring-more.com
© 2012 Symrise AG
109
110
GRI CONTENT INDE X
GRI CONTENT INDEX: PROFILE
NO.
INDICATOR AND DESCRIPTION
STAT.
REFERENCE / NOTE
Standard Disclosures
1.
Strategy and Analysis
1.1
Statement from the most senior decision maker of the organization
P. 10–13
1.2
Description of the most important effects, risks and opportunities
P. 52–53;
2.
Organizational Profile
2.1
Name of the organization
P. 109
2.2
Primary brands, products and/or services
P. 8–9;
2.3
Operational structure of the organization
P. 8–9;
2.4
Location of organization’s headquarters
U4;
2.5
Number of countries where the organization operates
U4, 60–69;
2.6
Nature of ownership and legal form
P. 150–151
2.7
Markets served
P. 43–49
2.8
Scale of the reporting organization
U3, P. 44–49, 88–93
2.9
Significant changes regarding size, structure or ownership
P. 61–62, 150–151
2.10
Awards received in the reporting period
P. 50, 73
3.
Report Parameters
3.1
Reporting period for information provided
U4
3.2
Date of most recent previous report
U4
3.3
Reporting cycle
U4
3.4
Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents
P. 109
3.5
Process for defining report content
U4, P. 52–57
3.6
Boundary of the report
U4
3.7
Any specific limitations on the scope or boundary of the report
U4
3.8
Basis for reporting on joint ventures, subsidiaries, etc.
U4
3.9
Data measurement techniques and the bases of calculations
3.10
Re-statements of information provided in earlier reports
3.11
Significant changes from previous reporting periods
3.12
GRI Content Index
3.13
External audit and certification
4.
Governance, Commitments and Engagement
4.1
Corporate Governance and governance structure of the organization
P. 8–9;
4.2
Independence of the highest governance body
P. 44, 155–156
4.3
Structure of governance bodies in organizations without Supervisory Board
4.4
Employee and shareholder participation possibilities
P. 55;
4.5
The link between compensation for members of the highest governance body,
senior managers and executives and the organization’s performance
P. 50, 84;
4.6
Processes in place for the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interest
are avoided
P. 155
4.7
Expertise of the members of the highest governance body and its committees
relevant to economic, environmental and social performance
P. 50, 84;
4.8
Mission statements, codes of conduct and principles relevant to sustainability
P. 57–59
4.9
Method for monitoring sustainability performance
P. 50–54
4.10
Assessment of the highest managing body’s performance regarding sustainability
P. 50, 86;
P. 155–156
4.11
Accounting for the precautionary approach
P. 52–53;
P. 72–77
4.12
External agreements, principles or initiatives
P. 68–69, 78–81
4.13
Membership in associations and advocacy groups
P. 80
4.14
List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization
P. 55
4.15
Basis for the identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage
P. 50, 54–57
4.16
Approaches for the engagement of stakeholders
4.17
Central themes for stakeholders
fully disclosed
partially disclosed
P. 72–77
P. 43–47
P. 43–47, 149–150
P. 43–44
P. 43–44
U4
No major changes were made from the previous report
P. 86, 88–89
P. 110, U5–U6
No external verification took place
not disclosed
P. 155–156, 168–169
Not applicable. A Supervisory Board exists.
P. 156
P. 156–157
P. 156
P. 55; No systematic data is currently available regarding frequency.
We will present it in the next report.
P. 55
Sustainability Report 2011
Annual Report 2011
NO.
INDICATOR
STAT.
REFERENCE / NOTE
Disclosures on Management Approach
DMA SC
Disclosures on Management Approach to procurement
P. 60–61
DMA EC
Disclosures on Management Approach to the economy
P. 48–53
DMA EN
Disclosures on Management Approach to the environment
P. 82–84
DMA LA
Disclosures on Management Approach to labor practices and decent employment
P. 92–93, 98
DMA HR
Disclosures on Management Approach to human rights
P. 60–61, 66–69
DMA SO
Disclosures on Management Approach to society
P. 57–59, 74, 76–77, 104–107
DMA PR
Disclosures on Management Approach to product stewardship
DMA AW
Disclosures on Management Approach to animal treatment
P. 76–80
Symrise does not keep any animals.
Performance Indicators
GRI CONTENT INDEX
Performance Indicators: Economic
EC1
Direct economic value generated and distributed
U3, P. 88–93;
EC2
Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change
P. 52–53;
EC3
Coverage of defined benefit plan obligations
P. 95;
EC4
Significant financial assistance received from government
P. 101, 150–151
EC6
Business policies and practices regarding local suppliers
P. 66
EC7
Procedure for hiring local employees
P. 103
EC8
Services provided primarily for public benefit
P. 103–107
P. 107
P. 74
P. 62–63, 71, 131–136
Performance Indicators: Environment
EN1
Materials used by weight or volume
P. 61–64; Exact weight and volume figures are viewed as confidential
information.
EN2
Ratio of recyclable material to total input materials
P. 61
EN3
Direct energy consumption by primary energy sources
P. 85
EN4
Indirect energy consumption by primary sources
P. 85
EN5
Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements
P. 84–85
EN7
Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption
P. 84–85
EN8
Total water withdrawal by source
P. 87–88
EN11
Land use in protected areas
P. 90–91
EN12
Significant impacts of operations on the biodiversity of protected areas
P. 90–91
EN16
Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight
P. 85–86
EN17
Other relevant greenhouse gas emissions by weight
P. 86
EN18
Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
P. 85–86
EN19
Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weight
P. 86
EN20
NOx, SOx and other significant air emissions by type and weight
P. 86
EN21
Total wastewater discharges by type and location of discharge
P. 87–89
EN22
Total weight of waste by type and disposal method
P. 89
EN23
Total number and volume of significant pollutant spills
P. 90
EN26
Minimization of environmental impacts stemming from products and services
P. 83–90
EN27
Returned packaging material
EN28
Sanctions and monetary fines arising from non-compliance with environmental
regulations
P. 90
At present, only a few Group companies are affected by ongoing legal
proceedings. There were no significant fines from legal violations in 2011.
Performance Indicators: Labor Practices and Decent Employment
LA1
Total workforce by employment type and region
LA2
Employee turnover
P. 93–94
LA3
Benefits provided to full-time employees
P. 72, 131–132
LA4
Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements
P. 95
LA5
Minimum notice period(s) for significant operational changes
P. 97
LA7
Work-related rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, absenteeism and
work-related fatalities
P. 97; Based on internal investigations, we believe that a further breakdown does not provide any additional benefits relevant to sustainability.
P. 100; Occupational diseases and lost days are not reported as this
information is viewed as confidential.
NO.
INDICATOR
STAT.
REFERENCE / NOTE
Performance Indicators: Labor Practices and Decent Employment
LA8
Precautionary measures regarding serious illnesses
LA10
Education and training per employee and employee category
LA12
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and development reviews
LA13
Diversity of employees and governance bodies
LA14
Wage differences according to gender
P. 100–101
P. 96; A systematic data collection system is currently being
developed
P. 93, 96–97
P. 98–99; Disclosures on minorities are not reported as this
information is considered confidential.
P. 98
Performance Indicators: Human Rights
HR1
Investment agreements with human rights clauses
HR2
Supplier checks regarding compliance with human rights
P. 66
HR4
Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken
HR5
Right to freedom of association and collective bargaining
P. 66–69
HR6
Operational activities with the risk of child labor
P. 66–69
HR7
Operational activities with the risk of forced labor
P. 66–69
P. 66–69
Discrimination on the basis of personal characteristics is not
tolerated at Symrise. No incidences of discrimination came to light
in the reporting period.
Performance Indicators: Society
SO1
Impact on community and society from operational activities
P. 50, 54–57, 103
SO2
Investigations regarding corruption risks
P. 58–59
SO3
Employee trained in organization’s anti-corruption policies and procedures
P. 59
SO4
Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption
P. 59
SO5
Political positions, participation in political processes and lobbying
SO8
Sanctions and monetary fines from legal violations
P. 54–57
At present, only a few Group companies are affected by ongoing
legal proceedings. There were no significant fines from legal
violations in 2011.
Performance Indicators: Product Responsibility
PR1
Health impacts stemming from products along the product life cycle
P. 78–80
PR2
Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations or voluntary codes
concerning the impacts of products
P. 80
PR3
Legally required product labeling
P R6
Legal conformity in advertising
We do not market our products to end consumers. Our products are
custom-tailored to the needs of our customers. We therefore do not
advertise directly to consumers.
PR9
Monetary fines related to product condition violations
There were no significant fines from legal violations during the
reporting period.
P. 78
Sector Indicators: Food Processing
FP1
Suppliers that conform with procurement policy
P. 66–69
FP2
Percentage of products purchased according to sustainability standards
P. 64–65
FP3
Strike-related down-times
P. 95
FP4
Programs for promoting a healthy lifestyle
P. 104–105
FP5
Products from safety certified production plants
P. 77–78
FP6
Products with reduced fat, sodium and sugar levels
P. 76–77
FP7
Products with an increased level of fiber, vitamins, minerals, herbal or healthpromoting additives
P. 76–77
FP8
Nutritional information beyond the legal requirements
FP9
Number of animals according to species
FP10
Number of animals according to species
F P 11
Livestock breeding
F P 12
Use of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, hormones and/or growth enhancers
F P 13
Regulatory violations and non-compliance with voluntary standards regarding the
treatment of animals, their transport or slaughter
We do not market our products to end consumers.
P. 65; Symrise does not keep any animals.
CONTACT
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments to make
about our sustainability report, we are at your service.
Dr. Helmut Frieden
Corporate Compliance
Tel.: + 49 (0)5531 90 15 28
Email: [email protected]
Clemens Tenge
Corporate Communications
Tel.: + 49 (0)5531 90 15 90
Email: [email protected]
Symrise AG
Mühlenfeldstraße 1
37603 Holzminden
Germany
www.symrise.com

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