We deliver transformational solutions and measurable added value thanks to the passion and skill of our people, our creation and science capabilities, and our data-driven and digital business models.
People and values
Our team of almost 30,000 is committed to quality and innovation. We live and work in accordance with our values: to ‘Be a force for good’ in the world, to ‘Own the outcome’ of our endeavors, and to ‘Shape the future’ by acting together with our customers.
Innovation capabilities
Our growing portfolio of more than 16,000 patents, together with our annual R&D and innovation spend of more than €700 million, enables the Science & Research team across 15 research hubs to deliver transformational solutions.
Our team partners with our Business Unit innovation teams, 40 creation centers, and 78 application laboratories to deliver differentiating innovations for our customers. We champion a collaborative approach that thrives on over 100 productive relationships with academics, startups, and companies. For more information, see Science & Research.
Market proximity
We combine a global philosophy with local insights and close market proximity.
With 330 offices, labs, and manufacturing locations worldwide, we offer customers a range of value-adding solutions. We co-create with them, drawing on our expertise and scientific and technological capabilities to maintain exacting global safety and quality standards to secure consistency and continuity of supply.
Our foundation
Our global presence brings many opportunities and responsibilities. Quality, safety, and compliance are the foundation for all our business activities, anchored in the principles of our Code of Business Ethics and policies.
Quality
At dsm-firmenich, quality is the right of every customer and the responsibility of all employees. We take pride in the care with which we craft every product and solution. A key part of our success is to positively impact people, customers, and community through our quality and food and product safety strategy. Building on our quality policy’s four principles – ‘Quality culture’, ‘Crafted with care’, ‘High standards’, and ‘Continuous improvement’ – we built a strong foundation to achieve our quality ambitions.
We are committed to being a trusted and safe choice for customers and have established fundamental quality systems that set the high standards required to bring progress to life.
We launched our management principles and operational requirements, our Group quality standards, quality key performance indicators, and monthly and quarterly quality reports to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, including the CEO newsletter, and quality culture activities, celebrations, and awards. As part of our passion to bring our people and customers on our journey to lead in quality excellence, we celebrated World Quality Day 2024 with senior leadership, operations, and quality communities, highlighting our move “from compliance to performance.” In the celebration, we launched our 10 quality essentials, which are central to our quality management system. These embody our quality policy, vision, mission, and Group operational requirements, focusing on risk prevention. In 2024, we saw a significant reduction in customer complaints and an improved Right-First-Time rate. Our people, customers, and community are at the center of everything we do, and quality remains a key differentiator for growth.
Safety, Health & Environment (SHE)
Safeguarding our people, communities, and planet is not only good business: it is the right thing to do. We value and protect people by constantly enhancing health and safety. Our SHE policy is a promise to employees, partners, customers, and stakeholders to hold ourselves to exemplary standards, so we not only ensure our own sustained growth but contribute to a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world.
Ethics and compliance
Ethics and compliance are the responsibility of every employee. Our Legal, Regulatory, Risk and Compliance team connects our company with opportunities while protecting our interests and values. Collaborating closely with stakeholders, we operate to the highest legal and regulatory standards while managing our risk exposure and upholding our commitment to ethical business practices as outlined in our Code of Business Ethics.
