Symrise is bringing industry perspectives to COP30 and connected events in Belém, underscoring a strong commitment to climate action and biodiversity. A major highlight includes the TED Countdown session, where Symrise – together with partner CO₂ AI – launches the Houston platform, a digital tool for measuring carbon footprints at both product and corporate level. The company also co-chaired the Sustainable Business Bioeconomy Working Group. With these actions, Symrise demonstrates how digital innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and practical solutions drive measurable progress for climate, nature, and local communities across priority supply chains.

By hosting the TED Countdown event “The Essence of Carbon” with CO₂ AI, Symrise underlines its commitment to data-driven climate action. At the session, held during COP30, the partners will launch the Houston platform and present it to a select group of customers and guests – marking a major step in Symrise’s sustainability journey. Both parties will showcase how digital tools accelerate decarbonisation in operations and products, supporting credible, scalable transparency on emissions along the value chain.

The digital tool enables Symrise to measure and manage product- and corporate-level carbon footprints with precision and efficiency. By integrating this carbon data, Houston empowers teams to gain real-time insights, prioritise impactful interventions, and ensure compliance with evolving regulations. The platform’s robust governance structure supports traceability and transparency, reinforcing Symrise’s ambition to advance in scalable decarbonisation.

Prior to the COP30 conference, Symrise also co-chaired the Sustainable Business Bioeconomy Working Group. This role allowed the company to contribute private-sector perspectives that link climate action, biodiversity, and social progress. Promoting the bioeconomy within the COP solutions agenda enables Symrise to enter into collaborative partnerships with global organisations and share practical experience from inclusive sourcing programs and circular technologies.

“Launching the Houston platform marks a milestone in our decarbonisation journey. CO2 AI’s platform acts as enabler to accelerate our vision of one carbon accounting language serving both corporate and product purposes. By integrating this robust solution, we empower our organisation and partners to make data-driven decisions with full confidence and to accelerate progress on our sustainability goals,” says Dr Isabella Tonaco, Chief Sustainability Officer at Symrise. “As co-chair of the Bioeconomy Working Group, I joined industry peers to accelerate progress together advancing collaborative work that turns proven pilots into scalable practice.”

Symrise’s engagement at COP30 also extends to the BMZ/GIZ Combú Island dialogue. It is joining a select group of stakeholders – including the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development – to advance public-private bilateral dialogues between German and Brazil to foster economic development and strengthen both nations partnership “Bridging the Gap” initiative. “Our partnership with Symrise and Natura shows how inclusive business models work in practice – bringing indigenous and local products to market, raising and stabilising incomes, and empowering the guardians of the Amazon Rainforest”, says Reem Alabali Radovan, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. The program empowers local communities in the Amazon through deforestation-free, traceable value chains and regenerative agriculture. Each project aims to turn collaboration into practical outcomes for climate, nature, and people. Also, within the series of events at COP30, Symrise has signed a letter of intent and partners with Deutsche Bank and other industry players to mobilise financial support for rainforest protection for Honduras and Suriname.

“COP30 convenes leaders ready to scale what works. Our programs aim to unite climate action, biodiversity protection, and social progress – so customers and communities thrive together,” explains Dr Stephanie Cossmann, Member of the Executive Board for Human Resources (Labour Director), Legal and Sustainability. “At Symrise, we see biodiversity as fundamental to our business and our commitment to sustainability. We act with purpose to drive effective measures that reduce global emissions and protect our planet for future generations.”

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is set to accelerate the decarbonisation of its business by reducing absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain – including scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions – by 30 % by 2030 (vs 2019)^* and setting a path to become a Net Zero business by 2040, in alignment with a 1.5˚C pathway and the Paris Climate Agreement.

CCEP will reduce GHG emissions across all five areas of its value chain – ingredients, packaging, operations, transportation and refrigeration. Crucially, there is a significant focus on reducing scope 3 emissions via a commitment to support strategic suppliers to set their own science-based carbon reduction targets and use 100 % renewable electricity.

CCEP’s immediate action plan is supported by a three-year €250m investment which will provide targeted financial support to decarbonise its business. This includes sustainable packaging initiatives, such as the progression of its 100 % rPET roadmap and investing in the scaling of depolymerisation technology, which will help accelerate the delivery of its longer-term net-zero objectives.

The ambition is underpinned by the inclusion of a GHG emissions reduction target in CCEP’s long term management incentive plan (LTIP) – 15 % of the LTIP awarded in 2020 will be based on the extent to which CCEP reduces GHG emissions over the next three years.

It builds on work undertaken over the last decade to reduce GHG emissions across CCEP’s entire value chain by 30.5 % (vs 2010) as part of This is Forward, its joint sustainability plan with Coca-Cola in Western Europe. CCEP’s 2030 GHG reduction commitment has been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as being in line with a 1.5˚C reduction pathway as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

As part of its journey to Net Zero, CCEP will invest in projects which remove carbon from the atmosphere or verified carbon offset projects. However it will focus on reducing emissions as far as possible and will only offset where essential and where it can’t reduce emissions any further.

^{*This includes a commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 47 % and Scope 3 emissions 29 % by 2030 from a 2019 base year.}