Geneva, Switzerland, December 7th, 2021 -
Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has been awarded a fourth consecutive Triple “A” by CDP for the Group’s leadership in transparency and action on climate change, water security and forestry protection. CDP, which is considered the gold standard of corporate environmental reporting, today places Firmenich among only 14 companies worldwide that achieved a Triple “A” listing in 2021, out of more than 12,000 that were scored based on data they submitted to CDP.
“We are very proud to be recognized for our consistent and demonstrable world-leading environmental performance with a CDP Triple “A” for the fourth year in a row, one of only two companies across all business sectors to achieve this,” said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO of Firmenich. “All my colleagues at Firmenich are striving every day to deliver on our ambitious Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets for climate and nature, including carbon neutral direct operations by 2025. The rise in extreme weather events, deforestation and damage to vital ecosystems demonstrate that none of us can afford to be complacent: the time for businesses to be bold is now.”
Paul Simpson, CEO of global environmental non-profit CDP, said: “The scale of the risk to businesses from climate change, water insecurity and deforestation can no longer be ignored, and we know the opportunities of action far outweigh the risks of inaction. Leadership from the private sector is essential for securing global ambitions for a net-zero, nature positive and equitable world. Our A List celebrates those companies who are preparing themselves to excel in the economy of the future by taking action today.”
“To address the climate urgency, organizations need to set ambitious science-based targets and transition to low-carbon practices. Achieving a CDP triple A for the fourth year in a row shows that Firmenich is not only committed to a 1.5°C scenario, and to being net zero, but also ‘walks the talk’,” said Neil McFarlane, Senior VP Global Quality, Health, Safety & Environment, Firmenich. “I am inspired by the Firmenich teams who are leading by example, building the future for generations to come.”
Firmenich has stepped up progress towards ground-breaking ESG goals across three key areas: acting on climate change, embracing nature and caring about people. Firmenich achieved 100% renewable electricity in 2020, an industry first, and expanded implementation to companies newly acquired since then in order to maintain renewable electricity across all the Group’s operations in 2021. Its new ESG Ambitions for 2030 set out concrete actions for urgent progress towards its vision of a zero-impact future while growing the business. Firmenich is committed to leading its industry towards carbon neutrality in its direct operations by 2025 and carbon positivity beyond that date. Learn more about Firmenich’s environmental achievements and goals in its audited ESG Report 2021, Pathways to Positive: https://www.firmenich.com/ESGReport2021 .
Firmenich is firmly engaged since the beginning in the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C: Our Only Future”, a coalition of now more than 1000 companies committed to Science-Based Targets to combat climate change. The Group is also actively engaged in international efforts to build science-based targets for nature, and is a founding member of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) coalition committed to protecting and restoring cultivated and natural biodiversity.
CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. In 2021, over 590 investors with over US$110 trillion in assets and 200 major purchasers with US$5.5 trillion in procurement spend requested companies to disclose data on environmental impacts, risks and opportunities through CDP’s platform. A record-breaking number of companies responded.
The full list of companies that made this year’s CDP A List is available here, along with other publicly available company scores: https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores
Note to editors
The full methodology and criteria for the A List is available on CDP’s website at:
https://www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidance-for-companies
