Firmenich raises the bar for conscious perfumery with EcoScent Compass Next Generation

31 Jan 2023 --- Firmenich is launching the next generation of its EcoScent Compass with comprehensive sustainability data and verifiable claims. The fragrance producer has upgraded the measurement tool to include 45 fragrance claims and 20 ingredient claims.

“At Firmenich, we continue to blaze the trail when it comes to sustainability in fragrances by pioneering transparency in the industry. Sustainability transformations hinge on data sharing, and with EcoScent Compass Next Generation, we enable our clients to assess their creations, make enlightened decisions, and help them reach their sustainability goals,” says Ilaria Resta, president of perfumery at Firmenich.

Initially launched in 2018, EcoScent Compass is an advanced, digitally integrated sustainability design tool for the perfume industry. It meets consumers’ needs and demands for conscious fragrances and with the upgrade, it enables a higher degree of precision in sustainable creation and understanding.

With the next generation of EcoScent Compass, Firmenich perfumers can formulate responsibly by optimizing fragrance designs, at the very beginning of creation, with more than 80 data points for each ingredient and three key pillars: circular creation, climate and nature and impact on people and community.

“The availability and management of accurate, verifiable sustainability measures are essential to achieving corporate ESG [Environmental, social, and governance] metrics and shared global goals,” adds Michal Benmayor, VP for global perfumery sustainability at Firmenich.

Conscious fragrances
The additional data points in EcoScent Compass Next Generation support a more accurate and complete sustainability view of the fragrance, the Swiss company shares.

With the next generation of EcoScent Compass, Firmenich perfumers can formulate responsibly by optimizing fragrance designs.All sustainability challenges, like climate change, biodiversity, traceability and social responsibility, require data to assess their impact and set a baseline for improvement.

Moreover, the fragrance manufacturer states that Firmenich perfumers find the integration of EcoScent Compass into their workstations – a feature unique to the company – is a significant enabler in designing “beautifully smelling, conscious fragrances.”

“Companies must not only use tools to record, report and act on sustainable business data within their operations but also share it across their networks of suppliers and partners to unlock the potential for positive impact at scale,” adds Benmayor.

“Challenges are evolving and what needs to be addressed today are the major concerns on carbon emissions and biodiversity.”

Fragrance transparency
Firmenich developed EcoScent Compass as the “industry’s first holistic fragrance sustainability measurement tool.”

“EcoScent Compass builds on our ingredients’ natural and sustainable properties, and is based on globally recognized metrics and guidelines, cutting across the European Commission work on Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), IFRA’s [International Fragrance Association] guidelines for Sustainable Fragrances, and WBCSD’s social impact measurement for chemical products,” the company details.

Based on the Firmenich Ingredients Index, each fragrance is assessed against three pillars. 

The first is its intrinsic green properties of renewability, biodegradability and green chemistry, linked to the nature of the ingredients chosen by perfumers within each fragrance.

Additionally, the environmental data, which delivers an environmental footprint score based on carbon and water impact, and a social impact score based on health, safety and labor standards at Firmenich manufacturing sites and across its supply chain for all types of ingredients, are looked at by the company.

In its efforts to be the leader in “Conscious Perfumery,” Firmenich aims to raise the bar in creating fragrances and empowering clients and consumers with clear, accessible and trustworthy information through EcoScent Compass Next Generation.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria