Symrise has qualified for the final round of the German Sustainability Award in 2023 in the food and beverage category. This marks the third time that the company has impressed the jury with its sustainability performance. The panel members selected Symrise in a two-stage process. For the first time, artificial intelligence (AI) supported process. It proposed nominees to the jury based on publicly available data.
The final round of the German Sustainability Award recognizes companies and institutions that successfully overcome specific challenges in their industry and effectively contribute to transformation. This relates to both their own operations as well as their products and services. Symrise particularly stood out in this competition with its effective initiatives in the areas of nature, climate action and society.
“We are delighted to have reached the final round of the German Sustainability Award in 2023,” says Bernhard Kott, Chief Sustainability Officer at Symrise. “This confirms of our approach to sustainability throughout the supply chain, from raw material to final product. It also motivates us to drive sustainable practices in our industry.”
Sustainability in focus
Symrise reached the final round based on a questionnaire on its sustainability performance by providing information on the core areas of its sustainable activities:
Symrise develops authentic taste solutions for products with plant proteins and thus contributes to the transformation to nutrition based primarily on plants. In doing so, the company assigns great importance to the selection of natural raw materials. Symrise also plays an important role in promoting healthier eating, because it develops products that make it possible to reduce the amount of salt, sugar, and fat in food.
Likewise, the manufacturer has taken measures to reduce its impact on the environment throughout the product life cycle. Symrise promotes sustainable agricultural products and thus also the share of organic raw materials. This has already reached 88%. In addition, the company uses principles of circular economy via recovery of raw materials from sidestreams. Symrise also incorporates unpackaged and reusable solutions into its business activities.
In addition, the company actively involves in the protection and regeneration of biodiversity. This includes programs that improve and implement climate-resilient or regenerative farming practices in places such as Madagascar, India, Indonesia, and Brazil. As a founding member of an initiative for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in agriculture, Symrise applies sustainability standards and certification to biological resources from agricultural and forestry sources.
Symrise also pursues ambitious goals in climate action and aims to consistently reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The company is committed to climate-neutral operations and uses renewable energy sources wherever possible worldwide. Overall, Symrise has significantly reduced its CO2 emissions in relation to its value added, thus contributing to the achievement of the 1.5-degree target.
“Through our sustainable actions, we take responsibility for the environment and society, creating opportunities for positive change,” Bernhard Kott continues. “We see our inclusion in the final round of the German Sustainability Award as recognition of our journey to shape the world with innovative and sustainable solutions. We want to show that economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand.”
The final
Sustainable practices like these are recognized by the German Sustainability Award. The nominated companies serve as an example to motivate others and get involved as well. Independent panels of experts select the winners. The winners are expected to be announced on October 31, 2023. The award ceremony and congress will take place in Düsseldorf on Thursday, November 23, 2023. High-ranking personalities from politics, business and civil society have announced their attendance and will present the awards.
