Firmenich, the world’s largest privately owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in Brazil and Mexico. Firmenich is the first company in the industry and the seventh in the world to receive this coveted certification. Following an external reassessment, Firmenich also resecured Global EDGE Move certification for its efforts to ensure gender equality across its operations around the world. In addition, Firmenich USA secured, in another industry-first, the EDGEplus level for its commitment and effective policies to eliminate ethnic pay inequality.
Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead. This global recognition demonstrates the intentional, prioritized, and measured actions by the Group to keep accelerating progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization globally.
“I am very proud that Firmenich secured these important certifications and continues to further its efforts in this space, raising the bar for gender equality under EDGE’s demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement,” says Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich, “Being the first in our industry and the seventh in the world to reach the highest level of EDGE certification, in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the next level of certification in the USA is a testament to the excellent work of our teams across the globe. Through our focused efforts, we keep raising the bar, being an employer of choice, and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers.”
“Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress we’ve achieved,” says Mieke Van de Capelle, chief Human Resources officer at Firmenich. “When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey and in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the world of work. In addition to strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization.”
A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.
