IFF Achieves Pioneering First with Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Certification

International Flavors & Fragrances’ facility in the New Jersey township of South Brunswick was officially certified as a GreenCircle Certified LLC, Zero Waste to Landfill facility, making it the only facility of its kind in the flavor and fragrance industry to achieve GreenCircle's zero waste status.

The zero waste to landfill program aims to spark innovative solutions for waste diversion. This certification affirms that our IFF facility in South Brunswick does not send any waste- directly or indirectly - to its local Rahway, New Jersey landfill and diverts waste by using the 4R’s- reducing: reusing, recycling, and recovering (energy from waste). This process creates value from discarded materials and champions IFF’s circular economy ideal.

The IFF facility has so far diverted 540 metric tons of waste, including office supplies, unrecyclable packaging materials , and containers that would have otherwise been headed to the landfill. Paul Edworthy, Environmental Facilities Service Engineer at IFF, who leads the Zero-Waste-To-Landfill initiative, said “the key to diverting waste and achieving Zero Waste to Landfill is to treat waste as a commodity. This is essential because improperly recycled or contaminated materials will end up in a landfill, even if they are sent to a recycling facility.”

Through our established focus on circular economy, our leadership in organizations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and our commitment to the Paris Climate Accord and our alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we embrace how integral sustainability is to how we do business at IFF.

We are committed to actualizing transformational changes in areas we touch throughout the world. This is the only way that we can safeguard the health of our planet.

“Eliminating the concept of waste is one of the core principles of the circular economy and one of IFF’s positive principles.” said Andreas Fibig, Chairman and CEO of IFF. “Sustainability is a key enabler of our Vision2020 business strategy. This achievement is the embodiment of the UN’s 12th sustainability development goals to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse by 2030. It also recognizes how IFF is increasing efficiency and innovatively cutting costs while creating a positive impact on society and the environment through sustainability.”