Holzminden, Germany—Symriseannouncedits support of the drafting of a national supply chain act by the German government, which it said will create binding duties of responsible behavior in relation to human rights and environmental friendliness for companies.

Symrise also reported that it has joined with 32 other companies and organizations to support the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA). The Initiative offers a platform for exchanging knowledge, according to a press release, and operates sustainability projects in Colombia, Ethiopia, and West Africa. Symrise explained that INA was founded in 2018 on the initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and is run by theGerman Society for International Cooperation(GIZ).

The alliance of 33 companies and organizations is committed to binding duties of responsible behavior for companies, Symrise explained. The alliance emphasizes that supply chains that have been created in a responsible way can make it possible to have more legal certainty and equal competitive conditions.

As part of the initiative, each company and organization will pursue its own sustainability objectives. At Symrise, according to the release, sustainability is "firmly anchored" in the corporate strategy as the company aims to take responsibility for future generations and demonstrate how to transparently and sustainably set up supply chains. A key goal for Symrise: To increase the sustainable procurement of strategic agro- and aquaculture raw materials to 100% by 2025.

“As a global company, climate protection and sustainable supply chains are especially important for us,” said Bernhard Kott, Chief Sustainability Officer at Symrise, in the release. “To achieve this, we rely on transparency and traceability to achieve full control along the value chain. Our suppliers must adhere to our Code of Conduct, which in addition to full details on the source of raw materials includes factors like human rights, health and environment."
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Looking ahead, Kott added, "We are convinced that the protection of biodiversity, sustainable supply chains and the goal of being climate-positive by 2030 will make a lasting contribution to our business success.”
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