Second consecutive year in Ethisphere's assessment of best-in-class ethics, compliance & governance

GENEVA, March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately owned perfume and taste company, has been recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the second time by Ethisphere®, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. Ethisphere's 2023 listing comprised 135 honorees in the world in 19 countries based on their commitment to business integrity and leadership through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices.

Firmenich recognized as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies®

"We are honored to be named as one of the 2023 World's Most Ethical Companies, gaining recognition for the second year running. Ethics is a critical foundation for the credibility of our business and our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance, and we strive to lead by example," said Firmenich CEO Gilbert Ghostine. "This listing demonstrates the strength of our values and commitment as a responsible business, as well as the consistently high standards of integrity that we aim to achieve in practice every day within the company and in our business relationships."

"As a family company, we believe that good business ethics and governance is fundamental to trust and reputation," said Firmenich General Counsel and Head of Legal and Compliance, Jane Sinclair. "Our Code of Ethics and policies guide everyday decision-making at all levels of the company and ensure we have clear expectations for our business partners, backed by continuous support and training to elevate our standards. Above all, Ethisphere is recognizing our colleagues' sustained efforts to operate with integrity, fairness and honesty."

Firmenich designs its processes to advance high standards in daily operations, communicate its values, counter bribery and corruption, and ultimately promote peaceful and inclusive societies. The Group regularly engages all its colleagues and suppliers on its Code of Ethics, and on related policies including on anti-corruption, human rights and safety.

"Ethics matters. Organizations that commit to business integrity through robust programs and practices not only elevate standards and expectations for all, but also have better long-term performance," said Ethisphere CEO, Erica Salmon Byrne. "We continue to be inspired by the World's Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership. Congratulations to Firmenich for earning a place in the World's Most Ethical Companies community."

Grounded in Ethisphere's proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World's Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity, and initiatives that support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.

More details on Firmenich's approach to ethics and governance are available in its ESG Report 2022.

The full list of the 2023 World's Most Ethical Companies is available at: https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

About Firmenich
Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 128 years. Firmenich is a business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its excellent research, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers innovation in formulation, a broad palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies such as biotechnology. Firmenich delivered CHF 4.9 billion in sales for the calendar year ended 31 December 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About Ethisphere
Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, guidance, and benchmarking against its unparalleled data: the Culture Quotient dataset focused on ethical culture and featuring the responses of 2+ million employees around the world; and the Ethics Quotient dataset, featuring 200+ data points highlighting the ethics, compliance, social, and governance practices of the World's Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit https://ethisphere.com.