Oct 19 2011 --- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, a leading global creator of flavors and fragrances for consumer products, announced the publication of its first external sustainability report.

The report, Sustainability: The Essence of IFF, describes the company’s sustainability strategy and outlines its accomplishments for IFF’s operations worldwide through the end of 2010. The Company undertook an extensive review of its sustainability practices around the world and incorporated them into the accelerated strategy presented in this report. Going forward, IFF intends to report on sustainability annually.

“IFF has a history rich in innovation, customer focus and sense of responsibility. Our collective goal should be that we achieve excellent sales, profitable growth, and game-changing innovation and do so in ways that benefit our customers, employees, shareholders, the environment, and society. I know this is within our reach,” said Doug Tough, CEO and chairman.

“Our longstanding commitment to sustainable business practices is the essence of who we are at IFF,” said Nicolas Mirzayantz, group president, fragrances, and the leader of the sustainability initiative at IFF. “And going forward we will accelerate our commitment for the benefit of all our current stakeholders and future generations.”

IFF’s strategy consists of four pillars:

* Creating innovative customer solutions – creating differentiating, innovative products and processes that support the health and wellness of consumers while enhancing our customers’ brands
* Engaging and inspiring our employees – attracting and retaining the best talent by creating a culture of sustainability that maximizes our employees’ engagement
* Sourcing responsibly – seeking to source our materials and product ingredients in a manner that is socially and environmentally sustainable
* Strengthening our eco-efficiency and community relationships – leveraging innovation to continually improve the environmental efficiency and social responsibility of our facilities

“We believe our sustainability strategy can advance the needs of the planet and all its inhabitants while being economically beneficial to the company,” said Kip Cleverley, director of global sustainability. “Our four pillars address IFF’s environmental, social and financial sustainability.”

The company has listed its operational targets for 2012 as being:
10% reduction in electricity use*
5% reduction in natural gas and oil use*
10% reduction in water use*
10% reduction in hazardous waste generation**
0 lost-time accidents
* per metric ton of production, using 2007 as a baseline
** per metric ton of production, using 2008 as a baseline

According to the company between 30 and 40 percent of customers flavor requests include a health and wellness component.