Symrise is a German maker of flavours, fragrances and food and pet-food ingredients, headquartered in Holzminden; its roots go back to 1874.
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Symrise's total emissions rose 38.5% in 2025 to 3.5 MtCO2e, with supply-chain emissions up 40.6% after rising 15% the year before. About 78% of its energy is still fossil, and its claim of 100% renewable electricity rests mainly on certificates. It missed its targets for water use in stressed areas and for sustainable sourcing, and paid a New Jersey air-permit fine in 2022.
Symrise scores 37/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified October 2026.
That places Symrise joint 453rd of 883 companies scored, and joint 5th of 14 in Chemicals.
Where Symrise sits among chemicals peers.
Among the 14 major chemicals brands we've scored, Symrise is tied =5th of 14, with 2 others.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
Scope 3 rose 40.6% in 2025 (after +15.3% in 2024); Scope 1 rose 4.7%; market-based Scope 2 rose from 0 to 54,477 t; total market-based rose 38.5% to 3.50 Mt. Company attributes Scope 3 rise to higher purchasing volumes and methodological refinements.
Claims 100% renewable electricity but mainly via unbundled energy attribute certificates.
Sourced 89.6% of strategic biological raw materials sustainably in 2025, missing 100% target.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Evidence that isn't public can count through an evidence review.
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Get in touch →Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (7/10, 7/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Energy Source (1/10, 4/10).
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Symrise.
Croda has achieved long-term emissions reductions and secured SBTi validation for aggressive near-term targets, but recent year-on-year data shows Scope 1 rising and downstream emissions climbing.
See the breakdown →Givaudan has halved its own emissions since 2015 and has SBTi-validated net-zero targets, but its supply-chain emissions are still 4% above their 2020 baseline.
See the breakdown →3M has cut operational emissions 59% ahead of SBTi targets but is defined by massive PFAS contamination across three continents.
See the breakdown →The formula and all 12 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
6 of 12 sources are independent of the company.
“(PwC) was commissioned to perform a voluntary limited assur-”
“Change in absolute greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3)”
“It intends to achieve net zero Group-wide by 2045.”
“On October 24, 2019, Symrise became a member of the global initiative RE100.”
“the company earned an A- rating for climate change, an A- for water security, and a B rating for forest stewardship”
“reducing absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Scopes 1 and 2 by 80 percent compared to 2020 by 2028”
“reducing absolute greenhouse gas emissions from Scopes 1 and 2 by 80% from 2020 to 2028”
“Symrise paid a $336,464 fine for multiple violations of its air emissions permit.”
“Marktoffensive Erneuerbare Energien (dena)”
“Symrise is politically neutral.”
“In the categories of forests and water, the Holzminden-based business achieved the top grade of A.”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Symrise is a German maker of flavours, fragrances and food and pet-food ingredients, headquartered in Holzminden; its roots go back to 1874. It had about 12,700 employees and €4.9 billion sales in 2025.
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