Symrise AG has won the German Sustainability Award 2012 in the ‘Germany’s Most Sustainable Initiatives’ category. The company impressed the jury with its approach to the sustainable procurement of vanilla in Madagascar.
Symrise works directly with more than 1,000 vanilla farmers in Madagascar, taking an active role in supporting village communities, while processing vanilla locally. Now in its fifth year, the German Sustainability Award Foundation recognises companies which take on a special degree of responsibility and combine economic success with social responsibility and environmental protection in an exemplary manner. At a festive ceremony in Düsseldorf, Dr Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise AG, accepted the award for ‘Germany’s Most Sustainable Initiative’, from Andreas Jung, member of the German Parliament and chairman of the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development. “Receiving the German Sustainability Award fills us with enormous pride. It is a significant recognition of our sustainability efforts and particularly of our team in Madagascar, who support the local farmers there on a daily basis,” explained Dr Bertram. “With the socially and environmentally responsible procurement of vanilla, we have developed a sustainable model of success. Our goal is to create added value – for Symrise, our customers, and other stakeholders associated with our company, such as local partners and suppliers. With this initiative, we have achieved this goal.”
