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GENEVA, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Firmenich, the world’s largest privately owned perfume and taste company, today announces its new ESG strategy, driving the Group to a carbon positive and water neutral future within 10 years. Building on its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich has committed to ground-breaking goals across three key areas: acting on climate change, embracing nature, and caring for people. Industry-leading targets include: carbon neutral operations by 2025 and carbon positive operations by 2030; 100% of plastics recycled, 100% renewable fragrances, a commitment to regenerative agriculture, as well as creating 5,000 youth job opportunities by 2030.
“As a leading responsible family company, driving a sustainable and inclusive business model has always been our priority,” said Patrick Firmenich, Chairman of the Board. “Leveraging our scientific excellence and guided by our timeless values, we are committed to building a better planet for the next generations.”
“After achieving our 2020 COP21 environmental goals, it is now time to take our ESG leadership in renewable ingredients, conscious perfumery and diet transformation to the next level,” said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. “Companies that commit today to address vital climate and social challenges will be the trusted winners of tomorrow. By accelerating the pace of our climate transition, we also encourage businesses to join us to create large-scale change.”
Acting on Climate Change
Driven by science-based targets, Firmenich became the first company in its industry to power all operations globally with 100% renewable electricity in February 2020, and one of only two companies in the world to achieve CDP Triple A rating for climate, water and forests for the third consecutive year. Furthermore, Firmenich has clearly decoupled its manufacturing output from its CO2 emissions, with output up 22% and Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions down by 45% since 2015. Key new Firmenich goals include:
- Carbon neutral in its direct operations by 2025
- Carbon positive in its direct operations by 2030
- Water neutral in its operations in water-stressed areas by 2030
- Recycling or reusing 100% of its plastic waste by 2030
Embracing Nature
As a company that depends on nature for its most precious ingredients, Firmenich is a founding member of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity Coalition (OP2B) to protect biodiversity and encourage regenerative agriculture. Building on its science and purchasing reach, Firmenich aims to reverse nature loss and establish science-based targets, engaging with its customers, suppliers and partners globally. Key Firmenich goals include:
- All Firmenich produced fragrances will be renewable by 2030 (As per ISO 1628)
- 99% partially or ultimately biodegradable ingredients in Firmenich’s fragrance portfolio by 2030
- 100% of our nature program reporting against science-based targets by 2030
- Lead the global diet transformation with green proteins, contributing to soil regeneration
Caring About People
As a family company, we want to transfer our heritage to the next generations by helping them acquire important job skills and adapt to a fast-changing world. Building on its EDGE gender equality certification and platinum Ecovadis environmental and social performance rating, the group is reinforcing its actions to protect human rights by expanding awareness and training across the company and its suppliers. Firmenich goals include:
- Global living wage and ethnic pay equity certification
- Continuing to improve its industry-leading safety performance
- Creating 5,000 job opportunities for youth by 2030
- 10% of differently-abled people in our workforce by 2030
“The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are embedded throughout our business, providing us all with a clear vision of the transformation we will achieve within a decade,” said Berangère Magarinos Ruchat, Chief Sustainability Officer, Firmenich. “We remain firmly committed to science-based targets and measurable, independently-verified action to achieve these ambitious goals on our way to a positive-impact future.”
Along with action across its supply chain and operations, Firmenich remains committed to developing sustainable fragrances and flavors by expanding its palette of biodegradable and renewable ingredients. For more than 20 years, the Group has implemented green chemistry principles in its research and development. In addition, the Group is reinforcing its traceability capabilities in collaboration with its procurement and digital innovation teams.
More information is available in the new strategy manual, ESG Ambitions 2030: www.firmenich.com/Sustainability2030
For information on Firmenich’s ESG performance over the previous period, the Pathways to Positive – Performance & Sustainability Report 2020, prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Standards, is also available online here.
About Firmenich
Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 125 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2020. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com