Firmenich Signs UN Global Compact Action Platform for Decent Work in Global Supply Chains

Geneva, Switzerland, December 10, 2019 – On Human Rights Day, Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned Perfume and Taste company, is proud to announce it is the first in its industry to sign the United Nations (UN) Global Compact Action Platform for Decent Work in Global Supply Chains. As one of the world’s 36 UN LEAD companies, Firmenich actively advances the UN Ten Principles, starting with respecting and promoting human rights across its operations worldwide, in accordance with its Human Rights Policy.

“Signing the UNGC commitment on Decent Work in Supply Chains is a natural step for us, as a key pillar of our inclusive capitalism business model”, said Boet Brinkgreve, Chief Supply Chain Officer. “Taking care of our people, planet and communities is in our DNA. That’s why responsible sourcing and securing decent work for all our partners is core to our business success”.

With this signature, Firmenich is formalizing its public commitment to Decent Work across its Global Supply Chains, based on its six pillars, cutting across Communication and Transparency to Collaboration and Accountability. It builds on Firmenich’s Human Rights Policy, Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and Social Accountability Standards, to ensure that all its colleagues and partners firmly adhere to its standards worldwide. These standards require full compliance with national laws, International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, as well as the UN’s guiding principles on Business and Human Rights.

For instance, Firmenich responsibly sources over 170 natural ingredient varieties across 40 countries, from vanilla in Madagascar to jasmin in India to create the most transparent and ethical taste and smell experiences. Today the Group positively impacts the lives of 250,000 smallholder farmers and their local communities around the world, as it invests in their sustainable livelihoods.

As a UN LEAD Company, Firmenich is recognized as an active champion and advocate of the UN Principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Putting people first, Firmenich became the seventh company worldwide this year, and the first in its industry, to be globally certified as a gender equal employer by EDGE, and received the Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Award 2019 for its exemplary leadership in Diversity and Inclusion. Advancing its ambitious sustainability goals, Firmenich was recognized as a global environmental leader this year, one of only two companies worldwide, out of more than 7000, to have achieved “triple As” with CDP, in Climate, Water and Forestry. One of 87 companies, committed to a zero carbon future by 2050, Firmenich currently operates with 100% renewable electricity in North America, Europe and Brazil, on its way to 100% worldwide by the end of 2020. Putting its innovation to work, Firmenich advances its inclusive capitalism business model, by addressing key societal challenges, from nutrition and sanitation. This year alone the group removed 1 trillion calories from a range of food and beverages products.

 

About Firmenich

Firmenich is the world’s largest privately-owned perfume and taste company, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895. Driven by its purpose to create positive emotions to enhance wellbeing, naturally, Firmenich has designed many of the world’s best-known perfumes and tastes, bringing delight to over four billion consumers every day. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, each year, Firmenich invests 10% of its turnover in R&D to understand and share the best that nature has to offer responsibly. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2019.