GENEVA, July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned Perfume and Taste company, is the first in the industry to complete the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Action Manager assessment, developed by B Lab and the UN Global Compact. A key milestone for its B Corp Certification, the SDG Action Manager assessment confirmed the Group's overall strength in environmental, social and governance performance in areas such as Health, Human Rights and Climate Action. Reinforcing Firmenich's global sustainability leadership in sanitation, female empowerment and biodiversity have proven to be critical integrating the SDG assessment criteria across its operations.
"Taking our 125-year legacy of responsible business into the future, we are the first in our industry to have completed this key step towards B Corp Certification," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO of Firmenich. "This will allow us to take our globally-recognized environmental and social performance to the next level, and drive positive impact for people, planet and society."
"I am impressed to see how seriously Firmenich have taken their B Corp journey. Through the SDG Action Manager, they started with a diligent assessment of their current operations, as one of the first companies in the world to assess their contribution to the SDGs," said Jonathan Normand, Founder & Executive Director B Lab Switzerland. "I look forward to seeing Firmenich obtain the B Corp certification."
"Firmenich has been on a fantastic journey over the past 12 months, working in close collaboration with both B. Lab Switzerland and Europe," said Dr. Bérangère Magarinos-Ruchat, Chief Sustainability Officer, Firmenich. "SDG Action Manager is a critical building block on our journey to becoming a B Corp. With this assessment we fast-track the integration of the SDG's across our entire value chain."
Firmenich has an established track record in environmental and social performance. One of only 36 UN Global Compact LEAD companies, Firmenich has been an active member of the business coalition for over a decade, placing the SDGs at the core of its growth strategy. Advancing its ambitious sustainability goals, Firmenich received the highest Platinum rating from EcoVadis, placing the Group in the top 1% of the 60,000 suppliers assessed. This year Firmenich achieved 100% renewable electricity across all its operations worldwide. An industry first, this significant milestone builds on Firmenich's second consecutive CDP Triple A ranking for Climate Change, Water and Forests, one of only six companies worldwide. As an inclusive business, Firmenich was the seventh company worldwide, and the first in its industry, to be globally certified as a gender equal employer by EDGE, the world's leading certification standard in this area.
Bringing together B Lab's B Impact Assessment, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, and the Sustainable Development Goals, the SDG Action Manager enables meaningful business action through dynamic self-assessment, benchmarking, and improvement. It is informed by the work and feedback of a range of stakeholders, including experts in corporate sustainability, civil society, UN, and academia; and it is inspired by the Certified B Corp community and participating companies of the UN Global Compact.
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. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com
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