Symrise Activities in Madagascar

Hamish Taylor

Symrise, Inc.

Holzminden, Germany

 Hamish.Taylor@Symrise.com

 

In this brief 20 minutes overview we will use “Vanilla Explorer” to talk you through some of the activities that Symrise is undertaking on the ground in Madagascar… and more importantly why?  The interactive discussion covers off the topics of biodiversity, mapping, farmer field schools, rice credits, child education program, crop diversification, sourcing and curing and our ongoing expansion.Participants are invited to consider what they think is most important, what they believe to be relevant to their business activities and to share learning in what else could be done on the ground to aid the farmers of Madagascar and so secure a long term sustainable supply of high quality vanilla.
 

The Sustainable Vanilla Initiative – The Journey To Date: Presentation and Q&A Session

Introducing the SVI Code of Conduct, the companies involved in the Steering Committee, the companies and organizations who are guiding the formation of the code and recent proposed amendments and the rationale behind these.  A current list of those organizations, which have confirmed their support and those that the SVI is yet to hear from.  The SVI is a multi-stakeholder industry-wide program involving governmental and non-governmental organizations, verification and certifying bodies, farmers, growers, exporters, extractors, flavor houses, end-users, supermarket retailers, etc. 

 

The SVI was NOT initiated by Symrise, nor is it funded by Symrise, and all activities done on its behalf by Steering Committee members are done on a voluntary, non-remunerated basis. 
There is no formal governance structure at this stage, with the draft code being guided by norms proven to be successful in other sectors and driven by principles of such bodies as the UN Global Compact, the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative and the ILO/IPEC.  It respects the guidance of the UN Child Labour Platform and drives for full compliance with UN Conventions 138 and 182.

 

Hamish Taylor graduated from Edinburgh University in 1987 with a degree in Chemistry; he joined Unilever as part of their graduate program and spent the next 20 years working for Quest International.  He spent over seven years in Japan in three separate assignments to be followed by a further five years living and working in Denville, NJ.  Having spent much of his career working for Unilever as employee and supplier, in 2002 Hamish swapped Unilever and Asia for a global role centered around Cincinnati and P&G as leader of Quest’s Procter team until its acquisition by Givaudan leaving the US at the end of 2006.  In 2007 Hamish founded his own consultancy company, Shinergise Partners Ltd., and conducted a number of assignments for various multinationals including Akzo Nobel, Microsoft, MACH, Intel, P&G, Clorox, Unilever and MARS.  During this period he partnered with collaborators at the Center for Creative Leadership and brings this passion for development to his Sustainability activities. In October 2010, Hamish took on an assignment at Symrise AG as their VP Strategic Business Development, Flavor & Nutrition, where he leads cross-functional teams with responsibility for their global Marketing, Sensory & Consumer Insights functions as well as their Taste Competence platforms and fully integrated Sustainability strategy.  He has a shared voluntary responsibility for leadership of the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative, a cross-industry multi-stakeholder organisation.  Hamish is married to a fellow Scot and he and his wife have two children, both currently studying at the University of Edinburgh.