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Annual Review
2015
i
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Contents
10-13
Research and
Development
10 The industry’s most productive
innovation engine
ii-09
Strategic overview
ii At a glance
01 Bringing plant potential to life
02 Chairman’s statement
04 Chief Executive Officer’s
statement
06 Our business model
08 Our strategy
26-35
The Good Growth Plan
27 Make crops more efficient
31 Empower smallholders
28 Rescue more farmland
32 Help people stay safe
30 Help biodiversity flourish
34 Look after every worker
46-63
Performance data
46 Regional performance
47 Product line performance
48 Financial information
55 Non-financial information
63 Independent Assurance Report
on the Syngenta Non-financial
Reporting
14-25
Crops in focus
14 Cereals
16 Corn
17 Diverse fi
ld crops
18 Rice
20 Soybean
21 Specialty crops
23 Sugar cane
23 Vegetables
24 Lawn and Garden
36-45
Operational
performance
37 People
38 Sustainable operations
42 Business integrity
44 Public debates
64-67
Corporate
information
64 Board of Directors
65 Executive Committee
66 Shareholder information
About the Syngenta Annual Report
The full print edition of Syngenta’s Annual Report 2015 comprises:
the Annual Review 2015, summarizing both financial
and non-fi ancial performance
the Financial Report 2015
the Corporate Governance Report and Compensation
Report 2015.
The Annual Review includes quantitative and qualitative
information on strategies, policies and actions taken regarding
our business and corporate responsibility goals.
For further information, including the Form 20-F,
the Our Industry publication and a section with
answers to many “Questions about Syngenta”,
visit our corporate website: www.syngenta.com
Syngenta’s Annual Report also serves as our
annual Communication on Progress (COP) for
the United Nations Global Compact.
You can find our online Annual Report 2015 on:
www.ar2015.syngenta.com
ii
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
At a glance
Group performance
Our focus has been on improving profitability
while continuing to support our customers
in a volatile economic environment.
Financial performance
Group sales
Crop Protection sales2
Earnings per share3
Research and
Development investment
$13.4bn
+1% (CER1)
$10.0bn
-1% (CER1)
$17.78
-8%
$1.4bn
-3% (CER1)
2015
2014
2013
13.41
2015
15.13
14.69
2014
2013
10.00
2015
11.38
10.92
2014
2013
17.78
19.42
19.30
2015
2014
2013
Cash flow return
on investment4
11%
Seeds sales
Dividend per share5
EBITDA
$2.8bn
+5% (CER1)
CHF11.00
0%
$2.8bn
+16% (CER1)
2015
2014
2013
11%
11%
13%
2015
2014
2013
2.84
3.16
3.20
2015
2014
2013
11.00
2015
11.00
10.00
2014
2013
1.36
1.43
1.38
2.78
2.93
2.90
Non-financial performance
People trained
on safe use
5.7m
2015
2014
2013
Seed supply farms in
our fair labor program6
Recordable illness
and injury rate7
Smallholders reached8
84%
0.38
17.2m
2015
2014
5.7
4.7
2.8
84%
53%
2015
2014
2013
2015
2014
0.38
0.37
0.41
17.2
13.8
1 Growth at constant exchange rates (CER)
2 Including sales of Crop Protection products
to Seeds
3 Fully diluted excluding restructuring and impairment
4 For a definition of cash flow return on investment,
5 2015 dividend is subject to shareholder approval at
the Annual General Meeting on April 26, 2016
6 2014 value was estimated and not assured
7 Per 200,000 hours, according to US OSHA definition
8 Through sales
Read more about “Financial information”
on pages 48–54
Read more about “Non-financial information”
on pages 55–62
see page 54
Crop performance
We are using our deep understanding of crops
to develop integrated offers, which increasingly
bring together genetics and chemistry.
Read more about “Crops”
on pages 14–25
1 Crop sales are based on Syngenta estimates
Crop sales $m1
Cereals $1,686m
Corn $3,161m
Diverse
field crops
$1,105m
Rice $588m
Soybean $2,515m
Specialty crops
$1,882m
Sugar cane $271m
Vegetables $1,540m
Lawn and Garden $648m
iii
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
At a glance
Business highlights
Throughout 2015, we continued to strengthen our offer
through market-leading innovation and collaboration.
Here are some highlights from the year.
Breakthrough corn herbicide
Syngenta received US EPA approval for
ACURON®, providing a step change in
technology to address herbicide resistance.
New high-performance fungicides
ORONDIS™ and SOLATENOL™ received
US EPA approval, expanding Syngenta’s
market-leading fungicide portfolio.
Read more on page 17
Read more on pages 11 and 15
R&D Days: unparalleled pipeline
We demonstrated that our R&D is the most
productive in the industry and set out a
pipeline of unparalleled innovation across
chemistry, seeds and traits.
Read more on pages 10–13
Corn traits licensing agreement
Our licensing collaboration with KWS and
Limagrain is further affirmation of the value
of Syngenta’s innovative GM traits portfolio.
Read more on page 16
Syngenta and DSM partnership
The companies will develop and jointly
commercialize microbial-based agricultural
solutions, including bio-controls, bio-
pesticides and bio-stimulants.
The Good Growth Plan
We made significant progress and, with
the Open Data Institute, published data to
enable the unlocking of environmental, social
and economic value.
Read more on page 12
Read more on pages 26–35
Our global reach
Our teams around the world combine their local knowledge
with our global assets and expertise, tailoring solutions
that create value for growers.
North
America
Europe, Africa
and Middle East
Europe, Africa and Middle East
Sales 1 $m
Employees 2,3
Research and Development sites
Production and Supply sites
North America
Sales 1 $m
Employees 2
Research and Development sites
Production and Supply sites
Latin America
Sales 1 $m
Employees 2
Research and Development sites
Production and Supply sites
Asia Pacific
Sales 1 $m
Employees 2
Research and Development sites
Production and Supply sites
3,884
13,047
47
42
3,410
4,335
34
35
3,632
4,962
13
12
1,837
6,360
25
23
Countries
90
Production and
Supply sites 4
112
Research and
Development
sites
119
Employees
28,704
Latin
America
Asia
Pacific
1 Excluding Lawn and Garden
2 Permanent full-time equivalent (FTE) as of September 30, 2015
3 Including headquarters (Switzerland)
4 Including six multi-functional production sites
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
01
Bringing plant potential to life
We apply world-class science
and the most productive research
and development in the industry
to achieve a step change
in agricultural productivity.
In more than 90 countries
around the world, we enable
millions of farmers to improve
global food security by making
better, more sustainable use
of available resources.
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 02
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Chairman’s statement
Extraordinary
circumstances,
impressive resilience
and a promising future
“Preliminary data suggest that the Company managed to gain
market share on a global basis, while posting an improvement
in margin. In these extraordinary circumstances, the Board is
proud of what our Company has achieved.”
Michel Demaré
Chairman
2015 was a challenging year on a
number of fronts, but one during which
Syngenta demonstrated its resilience,
outperformance and excellence. In
agricultural markets, crop prices remained
subdued and impacted the willingness
of growers to invest in technology.
Nevertheless, preliminary data suggest
that the Company managed to gain
market share on a global basis, while
posting an improvement in margin. In
these extraordinary circumstances, the
Board is proud of what our Company
has achieved.
Economic uncertainty in emerging
markets, which represent over 50 percent
of our sales, led to significant currency
weakness, notably in Brazil and the CIS.
These devaluations restricted our sales
growth, but our teams managed to cope
with the turbulence through a number of
actions in the field – leveraging the quality
of our offer – which enabled us to
progressively increase prices.
While profit growth was curtailed by
difficult agricultural markets and currency
headwinds, profitability improved driven
by the Accelerating Operational Leverage
program which, in its second year,
delivered more than the targeted savings.
The program is really gaining momentum
in the organization, and I am confident
that our 2018 savings target of $1 billion
will be achieved and result in clear
profitability and cash flow leadership.
Chairman’s statement
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
03
Our industry-leading Research and
Development productivity and innovation
pipeline was showcased at our R&D
days, attended by more than 570 investors,
customers, stakeholders and employees
over three days in September. With unrivaled
breadth and depth of technologies across
chemicals, seeds and biotech traits,
Syngenta is in a very strong position to
drive future growth. The ongoing success
of the new fungicide ELATUS™ in Brazil,
the launch of the novel herbicide
ACURON® in the USA and the expansion
of our corn traits licensing – evidenced
by the license agreement concluded with
KWS/Limagrain in October – demonstrate
not just our innovation power, but also our
ability to create significant value from
that innovation.
Excellent progress was made during
the year with The Good Growth Plan.
Each target within our six commitments
was achieved, and we remain on track to
meet our 2020 goals. We also increased
the number of reference farms in our
network to over 1,000 globally, giving
us extensive and rich data. We reinforced
our transparent approach by publishing
these data in partnership with the
Open Data Institute, so that interested
stakeholders can analyze and work
with our results.
In addition, 2015 was the first year in
which we achieved audit level of
assurance for The Good Growth Plan.
This is unique in the industry – and very
rare in any industrial sector – and
demonstrates the rigorous nature of
The Good Growth Plan and the real,
quantifiable and tangible benefits that
it brings to society and the environment.
Finally, we became the first agriculture
company to receive accreditation by
the Fair Labor Association (FLA) for
our program in India. Building on this
strong foundation, we are now working
with the FLA on accreditation for our
global program.
We also made significant progress
in developing a clear framework for
measuring and tracking the sustainability
of our own operations. These are
centered on five areas – energy, water,
waste, suppliers and logistics – and the
majority of associated actions will be
completed by the end of 2016.
The Good Growth Plan and the Syngenta
Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture,
which continued its excellent job in
supporting smallholders across the world,
really place Syngenta at the forefront of
sustainability in our industry and make,
in my opinion, a real difference.
In October, Chief Executive Officer
Mike Mack informed the Board of his
decision to step down from his role after
eight years. Mike led the Company with
passion and dynamism, developing an
innovative integrated strategy, driving
significant growth in sales and creating
a new relationship with society through
The Good Growth Plan. On behalf of
the Board of Directors, I should like to
thank Mike for his immense contribution
to Syngenta.
Mike was succeeded by John Ramsay,
who has a long and distinguished track
record of leadership in the Company.
John is currently acting in an ad interim
capacity, while a full internal and external
search is conducted. The Company is
in solid hands, which allows a disciplined
process to take place to select our
future leader.
2015 witnessed much speculation
about industry consolidation, and a
merger was announced towards the
end of the year between two of our
US-based competitors. This was partly
driven by challenging market conditions
and diminishing returns on R&D, while
investors expect greater and faster
returns from the industry as a whole.
As the structure of the industry started
to show irrevocable signs of profound
changes, it was important for the
Company to remain agile and assume
no status-quo.
In that context, I was very pleased
to announce on February 3, 2016,
a transaction with ChemChina that
I firmly believe is in the best interests of
shareholders and all other stakeholders
in Syngenta, including our employees,
our customers and our communities.
It is a transaction for growth and long-
term investment, and one which
recognizes the tremendous value of our
Company – our innovation, our broad and
deep market presence and the excellence
of our people. Moreover, the governance
structure agreed in the transaction reflects
the high standards that have guided the
Company since its inception in 2000 –
Syngenta remains Syngenta, and will
continue its ambitious standalone strategy
supported by an ambitious owner. Even
better, growers around the world will
continue to have a choice.
I should like to thank my Board colleagues
for their judgment and support during
this process, and for their guidance during
the year.
Finally, I should particularly like to thank
all the employees of Syngenta for their
dedication, hard work and commitment to
the Company. The volatility created by the
markets and by the industry consolidation
discussions have not caused them to lose
focus. On the contrary, they start 2016
with the same determination and pride
in what Syngenta has to offer to farmers
around the world. I am confident they will
deliver again, whatever the circumstances.
Michel Demaré
Chairman
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information
04
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Chief Executive Officer’s statement
Clear goals are key
to our objective
of outperformance
“I remain convinced that the emerging markets, which today
are experiencing such turmoil, continue to represent the
major growth driver for our industry in the future. I am
equally convinced that Syngenta has the necessary skills
and experience, as well as the right portfolio, to succeed
in these markets.”
John Ramsay
Chief Executive Officer
Ad interim
As shareholders in an agriculture
company, you are familiar with the
impact – positive or negative – that
commodity prices can have on our
business. The evolution of commodity
prices is determined by multiple factors,
including notably the weather. However,
over the last two years, geopolitical
and economic events have also had
a significant influence on our business.
Managing currency volatility
The 2014 events in Russia and Ukraine
had continuing implications in 2015
because of the massive currency
devaluations in those two countries.
I am pleased to say that we were
successful in offsetting these devaluations
through price increases. While higher
prices had some impact on sales of
seeds, where local alternatives were
available, our crop protection business
was virtually unscathed. This shows the
importance of high-value chemistry to
customers in these countries and the
strength of our market positions.
In January 2015, the Swiss National Bank
removed the Swiss franc peg against
the Euro, resulting in a rapid appreciation
of the franc. With some 13 percent of
our costs in Swiss francs compared
with less than 1 percent of our sales
we, like many other Swiss companies,
stood to be adversely affected by this
move. However, thanks to our well-
established hedging program we
were able to minimize the impact.
Chief Executive Officer’s statement
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
05
I took over as the CEO ad interim of
Syngenta at the end of October. One
of my first moves has been to align the
organization behind clear goals which
are key to our objective of outperformance.
The goals comprise: meeting or exceeding
our financial commitments; further
improving the customer experience in
order to maintain and grow market share;
and driving simplification in everything
we do to increase our speed and impact.
I am confident that we have the framework
in place to achieve these goals, all of which
are underpinned by the AOL program.
Our strength in innovation, which has
been amply demonstrated in the course
of 2015, will be a further driver in terms
of the customer experience.
I have been deeply impressed by the
loyalty and determination of our people
during the last year, which has brought
considerable challenges. This gives me
the utmost conviction that we can
achieve our goals and deliver on
Syngenta’s immense promise.
John Ramsay
Chief Executive Officer
Ad interim
The next currency challenge was the
rapid devaluation of the Brazilian real,
which accelerated during the summer –
just as the planting season was getting
underway. With growers confronted
with severe liquidity constraints, it has
not been possible immediately to raise
prices in response to the movement in
the currency. In the coming season,
however, we will begin to do so, building
on our experience in the CIS countries.
In the meantime, our focus has been
on helping our customers through this
period of economic difficulty, while
safeguarding our balance sheet
through rigorous risk management.
Overall I am proud of the way we have
navigated through this period of currency
instability. Currency movements reduced
our sales by $1.8 billion in 2015 and yet
the impact on EBITDA was contained
at around $100 million.
Ongoing promise
of emerging markets
During my career of over 30 years at
Syngenta and its legacy companies,
I have spent extended periods in both
Latin America and Asia Pacific. I remain
convinced that the emerging markets,
which today are experiencing such
turmoil, continue to represent the major
growth driver for our industry in the future.
I am equally convinced that Syngenta
has the necessary skills and experience,
as well as the right portfolio, to succeed
in these markets.
Managing for profitability
I am conscious that in recent years our
profitability has fallen short of our own
and our shareholders’ expectations. I am
therefore pleased that in 2015, despite low
commodity prices and currency volatility,
we were able to increase profitability.
In the current environment, the need for
efficiency improvements has emerged
as a prevalent industry theme. Syngenta
took early action in this respect, having
announced our Accelerating Operational
Leverage (AOL) program in February
2014. The program has three pillars –
global operations, commercial and R&D –
with targeted savings of $1 billion in 2018.
We delivered savings ahead of target
at $ 300 million in 2015 and are firmly
on track to deliver the 2016 target.
As part of our commitment to improved
profitability, we have undertaken a review
of all our seeds businesses, which will be
concluded at the end of the first quarter
of 2016. We will assess the profitability
potential of each asset as well as its
importance in the context of an
integrated offer.
R&D excellence
At our R&D Days in September, we
demonstrated that Syngenta has the
most productive R&D engine in the
industry, with every dollar spent generating
$ 10.70 in sales over the last ten years.
We also explained that investment in
R&D is not just about invention – it must
also enable products to be successfully
brought to market. With regulatory
hurdles becoming steeper, our expertise
and foresight in this area are increasingly
important – Syngenta has a 100 percent
success rate in bringing products from
development to launch. We have now
put in place the platforms that will enable
us further to increase R&D productivity,
while continuing to excel at the invention
and the development of new products.
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information
06
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Our business model
Creating value
through innovation
The
resources
we depend on
Our business enables growers to meet ever-growing demand
for food and other plant-based resources such as biofuels.
Demand is rising: both for greater quantity, driven primarily
by population growth, and for higher quality, driven by rising
affluence and changing diets.
These needs must be met without putting further pressure
on resources that are already overstretched. We help farmers
rise to the challenge through innovation rooted in our deep
understanding of crops and the needs of growers worldwide.
Uniquely equipped to succeed
No competitor comes close to our
range of experience: in biosciences and
breeding; in chemistry; across a huge
variety of crops; and across geographies
and climate zones worldwide.
This enhances the scope and pace of
our innovation, enabling us to transfer
technologies between crops and
address challenges with holistic
solutions that integrate both seed
and crop protection science.
It gives us particular strength in serving
smallholders and emerging markets,
where the greatest opportunities for
yield improvement – and our business
growth – exist.
Our expertise and our open, collaborative
culture have made us a trusted and
sought-after partner: we have built
a rich network of productive alliances
with academic institutions, other
agricultural businesses and growers.
These relationships leverage our own
resources – accelerating our innovation,
sharpening our production efficiency
and increasing our flexibility.
Financial capital
People and the
intellectual property
they create
Chemical, biological,
genetic and
computational sciences
Natural resources
Facilities and services
Local communities
Laws and regulations
Our business model
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
07
What
we do
What we
create
The value
we provide
Research and development
Products, services and solutions
What we do
Who we work with
Scientists and
universities
Research institutions
Farmers and suppliers
NGOs
Agricultural extension
services
Crop protection
discovery
and innovation
Advanced seed
breeding
Addressing insect,
fungus, weed and
environmental stress
on crops
Production
What we do
Who we work with
Active ingredients
Chemical suppliers
Intermediates
Formulation, fill
and packaging
Seed production
Toll manufacturers
Seed supply farms
Lawn and Garden
supply chain
Commercial
What we do
Who we work with
Product
management
Crop-based offers
Marketing, sales
and distribution
Growers
Distributors
Demonstration farms
Processors
and the food chain
Agronomists
Agricultural
extension services
Technology providers
Supporting activities
What we do
Who we work with
Stewardship
Industry associations
Product registration
NGOs and IGOs
Health, Safety,
Environment,
Quality and Security
Technology and
engineering
Multi-stakeholder
dialogue
Integrated
solutions
for growers
Adjacent
technologies
Nutrients
Financial
services
Information
systems
Products
Crops
Herbicides
Cereals
Insecticides
Corn
Fungicides
Seedcare
Seeds
Traits
Diverse
field crops
Rice
Soybean
Specialty
crops
Sugar cane
Vegetables
Lawn
and Garden
Return on investment
for growers
and shareholders
Food, feed, fuel and fiber
Sustainable intensification
of agriculture to provide
food security
Grower and
customer satisfaction
Sustainable production
Development of our
people and partners
along the value chain
Economic value shared
with employees, suppliers,
governments and communities
Collective wellbeing
of communities
Stimulating research
and sharing knowledge
Agronomic know-howCropsProductsAdjacent technologiesStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information
08
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Our strategy
Accelerating
value creation
Our focus is on delivering higher profitability and above-market
growth, building on the success of our innovation. We are
adapting our integrated strategy where necessary to ensure
that it is closely aligned with the varying needs of our customers
around the world. Strong new products are vital for success,
and our ongoing investment in Research and Development is
securing the flow of innovation for many years to come.
In a turbulent market environment,
Syngenta’s ambition remains unchanged:
to bring greater food security in
an environmentally sustainable way
to an increasingly populous world
by creating a worldwide step change
in farm productivity. The launch of
The Good Growth Plan and its increasing
influence across the business is taking
us nearer to realizing our ambition.
Our strategy needs to be at the service
of profitability as well as growth. We have
heightened our focus on cost efficiency,
enabling us to deliver higher margins
even in a context of lower crop prices.
In doing so, we are exploiting the global
platforms put in place since launching
our integrated strategy in 2011.
Integration:
five years on
Create integrated offers
in the field supported by
agronomic expertise and
a deep understanding of
grower needs now and
in the future
Syngenta was the first company to
develop an integrated strategy combining
crop protection, seeds, seed care and
traits. The value of the strategy is now
widely recognized across the industry.
In the first five years of strategy
implementation, we have gathered
numerous insights from customers and
from our sales people around the world.
This is enabling us to adapt and fine tune
the strategy in accordance with the
conditions of each territory.
Broad technology platforms
Broad technology platforms, underpinned
by Research and Development (R&D), are
a pre-requisite for providing comprehensive
solutions across crops. Syngenta is well
placed as the world number one in crop
protection, number three in seeds and
a leading player in both seed treatment and
genetically modified traits. We recognize,
however, that alone we cannot fulfil every
need. We have already demonstrated our
willingness to enter into partnerships and
collaborations to give our customers
access to additional tools.
Strong emerging market presence
The integrated strategy achieved early
success in the emerging markets, where
technology adoption and intensification
are resulting in ongoing demand for
complete solutions accompanied by
agronomic advice. As a consequence,
we have been able to show share gains
in both crop protection and seeds in
many of these countries.
Our strategy
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
09
Flow of innovation
An upturn in innovation is now leading
to share gain in a number of developed
markets too. While a fully integrated
approach cannot be applied uniformly in
every market, we continue to strengthen
our positions through the breadth and
depth of our portfolio. With differentiated
seeds technologies such as HYVIDO® and
ENOGEN®, we can generate additional
crop protection sales by demonstrating
the superior results achieved through
combining genetics and chemistry.
Innovation: delivering
now and in the future
Bring strong new products
to market and combine
chemistry and genetics
to create new solutions
and business models
Following the launch in 2014 of three
new active ingredients – including the
blockbuster ELATUS™ – in 2015, we
launched ACURON®, a new corn herbicide
and another blockbuster. The introduction
in the USA was positively received as a
major step forward in managing resistant
weeds. Meanwhile, ELATUS™ continued
to grow in its second season in Brazil.
The success of both products shows
that our customers have an appetite
for new technologies even in depressed
market conditions.
Innovation in seed breeding
and traits
2015–2020
Our HYVIDO® hybrid barley will expand
further, demonstrating how innovation
can spur integrated offers in developed
markets. In corn, our focus is increasingly
on the realization of trait revenues through
licensing agreements as well as through
our branded business. In recent years,
Syngenta has had the highest rate of trait
innovation in the industry, and this has
stimulated demand for both existing and
future traits. As a result, trait revenue is
expected to more than double between
2014 and 2020.
2020–2025
Syngenta has a leading position in the
development of hybrid wheat, building
on the success of HYVIDO®. We expect to
be first to market with this game-changing
technology, with progressive launches
across three regions.
2025–2030
Starting in the middle of the next decade,
the industry will see a new wave of trait
innovation in which Syngenta will again
play a leading role. Our pipeline includes
replacement traits for insect control and
solutions for problems not yet addressed
by traits, including sucking pests and
soybean rust.
Outperform: targeting
above-market growth
Our goal is to improve
profitability while creating
value for our customers
through higher yields and
better use of resources
Market outperformance
Our objective of above-market growth
is underpinned by our recent new product
launches, current strong pipeline and
experience in tailoring and adapting
integrated offers. We are well placed in
the emerging markets, having completed
a period of extensive investments, and
our long experience of managing risk is
enabling us to navigate the current volatility
in several of these countries.
Focus on seeds
Marketing seeds, which are often the
grower’s first decision point, can expand
the opportunity for crop protection sales.
While we have already seen evidence of
this in practice, we are also focusing on
maximizing profitability for each of our
seeds assets. We are developing clear
actions for each of the different crops
within the business, with a particular focus
on those where profitability is significantly
below the average.
Accelerating
Operational Leverage
The improvement in seeds gross margin
will contribute to the increase in EBITDA
margin targeted under the Accelerating
Operational Leverage program. The
program targets savings of $ 1 billion in
2018, with around 40 percent coming from
global supply, 40 percent from commercial
operations and 20 percent from R&D.
There are multiple work streams driving
progress for each of these pillars. Cost
savings account for about 60 percent of
the $ 1 billion target, with the remainder
dependent on market growth of around
4 percent. Achievement of the cost
savings is a paramount objective
throughout the organization.
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 10
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Research and Development
The industry’s
most productive
innovation engine
Syngenta invests around $ 1.4 billion a year in R&D, and is unique
in combining chemistry, genetics, breeding and computational
science to develop new products and solutions. Our R&D
function is already the most productive and innovative in the
industry, and we continue to increase returns while accelerating
the pace of innovation.
Further solutions will come from our work
on bio-controls, which offer the advantage
of precisely targeted action and can
be used alongside synthetic chemistry.
Examples of current projects in this area
include RNA-based bio-controls to
combat Colorado potato beetle, and
we are now aiming to extend the scope
of this technology to corn rootworm and
other pests.
Challenges such as heat, drought and
cold are known as abiotic stress – and
represent future opportunity. Our recent
solutions have included AGRISURE
ARTESIAN® – optimized for water use
efficiency – and ISABION®, which
increases rice yields by protecting young
plants from cold during transplantation.
Our markets present major opportunities
for creating long-term, sustainable value
through the successful development
and application of technology. To
realize these opportunities in 2015,
we invested $1.36 billion into research
and development (R&D).
Investment in Research
and Development $bn
2015
2014
2013
1.36
1.43
1.38
Our R&D strategy aims to anticipate and
meet growers’ needs, faster and better
than our competitors.
Major opportunities
to create sustainable value
Today’s solutions are mostly in the area
of biotic stress: controlling weeds, insects
and disease. These challenges never
stand still. We must constantly find new
ways to address emerging new pests
and resistance to established solutions.
We aim to anticipate problems, leveraging
our broad portfolio of technologies to
create new solutions. For example, we
predicted the emergence of glyphosate-
resistant weeds and began work on
meeting the challenge a decade ago.
This has yielded a series of new
products – most recently ACURON®,
which combines multiple modes of action
to combat resistant weeds and inhibit the
development of further resistance. We
launched ACURON® in 2015 in the USA,
where resistant weed infestations in corn
have risen by 50 percent in just four years.
Research and Development
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
11
Accelerating the pace
of innovation
Between 2008 and 2014, we launched an
average of one new active ingredient (AI)
a year and over 600 new crop protection
products. Between 2016 and 2024,
we are stepping up the pace, with 10 new
AI launches planned from a pipeline with
over $ 4 billion of sales potential.
The major product launch in weed control
was ACURON® – a breakthrough solution
providing four active ingredients and three
different modes of action to help growers
manage weed resistance. We also
received US approval for ORONDIS™,
which offers a step change in controlling
diseases such as downy mildew and late
blight, at significantly lower application
rates than other fungicides.
ORONDIS™ is based on the AI
oxathiapiprolin, licensed from DuPont:
one example of the way we are using
partnerships to bring innovation to the
market faster. Across our crop protection
portfolio in 2015, we released more than
70 new formulations.
Recent active ingredient launches
Products introduced since 2008
Product
SEGURIS®
Indication
Fungicide
VIBRANCE®
Fungicide
CLARIVA®
ELATUS™
SOLATENOL™
FORTENZA®
MINECTO™
ACURON®
Seedcare
Fungicide
Seedcare
Herbicide
Crops
Cereals, diverse field crops, rice,
specialty crops, vegetables
Cereals, corn, diverse field crops, rice,
soybean, specialty crops, vegetables
Cereals, diverse field crops, soybean
Cereals, corn, diverse field crops,
soybean, specialty crops, vegetables
Cereals, corn, diverse field crops, rice,
soybean, specialty crops, vegetables
Cereals, corn, diverse field crops
Year of peak sales
2018
2020
2018
2020
2018
2020
2020
New Crop Protection pipeline
New blockbusters in large markets
Product
ADEPIDYN™
Lead 1
Lead 2
Lead 3
Lead 8
Indication
Fungicide
Insecticide
Herbicide
Fungicide
Herbicide
Crops
Cereals, corn, soybean,
specialty crops, vegetables
Multiple crops
Multiple crops
Cereals, soybean
Multiple crops
Large products in smaller segments
Product
ORONDIS™
Lead 4
Lead 5
Lead 6
Lead 7
Indication
Fungicide
Insecticide
Seedcare
Seedcare
Seedcare
Crops
Vegetables, specialty crops
Vegetables, specialty crops
Cereals, corn, soybean
Multiple crops
Multiple crops
Stage 1: Invention, optimization Stage 2: Evaluation Stage 3: Development and launch
Status
Stage 3
Stage 3
Stage 2
Stage 1 (late)
Stage 1 (late)
Status
Stage 3
Stage 3
Stage 1 (late)
Stage 1 (late)
Stage 1 (late)
Launch year
2016/2017
2021
2023
2022
2024
Launch year
2016
2021
2021
2022
2022
Peak sales
>$ 150m
~$ 500m
>$ 200m
~$ 1,000m
>$ 400m
>$ 500m
Peak sales
>$ 750m
>$ 750m
>$ 600m
>$ 600m
>$ 500m
Peak sales
>$ 150m
>$ 250m
>$ 400m
>$ 200m
>$ 100m
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 12
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
In seeds, we achieved the largest number
of genetically modified (GM) trait
introductions in the industry between
2010 and 2014. We are progressing
three new GM traits for soybean and
corn through the regulatory approval
processes. These are OH2 soybean
and corn molecular stacks for herbicide
tolerance and corn rootworm. We also
have a strong research pipeline, with more
than 20 corn trait leads in late research
or with late research potential. Our traits
have now been licensed by all our major
competitors, reflecting the strength
of our technology.
In 2015, our breeding programs resulted
in significant new launches in corn,
soybean and rice, as well as new yield
records for wheat and barley. In Vietnam,
the first hybrid developed in Syngenta’s
local rice breeding program was
approved for sale.
Hybrid wheat launch plan
Syngenta wheat hybrids could cover
82 million hectares.
2020
France, USA
2022
Canada
2024
Poland
2021
India
2023
Germany,
UK
2025
CIS
Technical proof of concept already achieved:
Yield performance of hybrids
Robustness of sterility system
Seed production capability
We are currently working to translate the
success of non-GM technology HYVIDO®
hybrid barley into hybrid wheat, thereby
revolutionizing the world’s largest crop.
We have already demonstrated the yield
performance of hybrids in wheat and see
long-term sales potential of over $ 3 billion.
New traits pipeline
The industry’s next wave of new GM traits is some years
out, but Syngenta has the platform and the capabilities
to continue delivering leading trait innovation to the market.
Next generation traits
New abiotic stress traits
New traits
Corn rootworm
Broad Lepidoptera
New soybean rust
h
c
n
u
a
l
f
o
y
t
i
l
i
b
a
b
o
r
p
e
v
l
i
t
a
e
R
Sucking insects
10
Size of circles represents relative sales potential
We expect to launch our first products
around the end of the decade.
Productivity is rising
We are accelerating the pace of new
product launches, while also increasing
their value. Average sales per AI launch
more than doubled from $ 0.2 billion in
2000–2004 to $ 0.5 billion in 2010–2014.
Trait productivity is also increasing, with
combined peak sales potential of
$ 0.9 billion in 2010–2014, compared
with just $ 0.1 billion in 2000–2004.
Integrating our breeding, traits and
chemical innovation engines into a single
R&D structure has allowed us to innovate
at scale across crops and indications while
enhancing collaboration and removing
duplication of functions. In product safety
and regulatory activities, outsourcing more
than half our re-registration work has cut
product safety cost per active ingredient
to two-thirds of the industry average.
Herbicide tolerance
Drought stress in corn
Carbohydrate yield
in corn
15
Years
20
Our integrated technology approach
enables us to combine genetics, chemistry
and computational science to develop
new AIs with precisely targeted modes of
action. In seeds, our unified R&D platform
allows us to take full advantage of our
global presence and the broadest range
of crops in the industry, applying our
strengths in genomics, molecular markers
and precision trialing to transfer technology
across crops.
Partnerships with academic institutions
and technology companies are key to the
productivity and pace of our innovation.
In November, Syngenta and DSM
announced an R&D partnership to develop
microbial-based agricultural solutions,
including bio-controls, bio-pesticides
and bio-stimulants. The collaboration
aims to accelerate the delivery of a broad
spectrum of products based on naturally
occurring micro-organisms for pre- and
post-harvest application around the world.
The collaboration is underpinned by the
potential of double-digit growth in the use
of biological solutions over the next
10 years.
Research and Development
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
13
Investing in people
and resources
Talent development is crucial to
maintaining leadership in innovation.
Our talent strategy attracts, retains and
develops scientists who can lead high-
performing teams. Diversity of experience
is fundamental to our approach, and
we actively pursue cross-functional
development across Syngenta. Additional
momentum comes from the launch of
our cross-functional Career Development
Center with its purpose to drive career
aspirations and promote activities such
as mentoring and coaching.
The excellence of our teams continues
to win external recognition. Accolades
in 2015 included the election of Mary Dell
Chilton to the National Inventors Hall of
Fame in the USA; Principal Chemistry
Fellow Alain de Mesmaeker was appointed
the President of the Swiss Chemical
Society for his foundational work in
biotechnology; and our soybean
breeding program received the
2015 Franz Edelman Award.
We support our talented people with
constant investment in high-quality R&D
facilities. Our $ 94 million investment in
a new Innovation Center at Research
Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA, is
nearing completion for occupation in the
second quarter of 2016. This will provide
world-class facilities designed to stimulate
interactions across functions to drive
innovation to new heights – a testament to
our long-term commitment to advancing
sustainable agricultural productivity.
Smarter breeding brings results and rewards
Developing higher-yielding crop varieties is essential to
producing more from less. One answer lies in agriculture’s
next science revolution – analytics.
The Syngenta R&D soybean breeding team used advanced
mathematics and new tools to improve the process of growing
a wider variety of healthy crops. The tools dramatically
improved project lead training, decision-making and planning.
The soybean breeding program won the 2015 Franz Edelman
Award, the most prestigious recognition of applying advanced
analytics to benefit business and humanitarian outcomes.
The power of analytics is truly transformational in agriculture,
and we are now customizing these tools for use on corn,
sunflowers, rice and even watermelons.
Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 14
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Crops in focus
Cereals
Seeing the world
as growers see it
Our aim is to transform the way crops are grown by looking
at each crop through the eyes of the grower. We’ve integrated
our business so that we can combine a broad range of
technologies that will have the greatest impact on yields,
quality and resource efficiency. No other company offers
solutions for such a large number of crops.
By integrating seeds and chemistry
into protocols, we can offer farmers
simple and reliable ways to maximize
performance. And we are transferring
know-how across our broad crop
portfolio: experience with GROMORE™
in rice, for example, has informed the
development of similar offerings in
soybean, potatoes, vegetables,
cotton and sugar cane. Our expertise
in hybridization has expanded the
sunflower market and is now
revolutionizing barley growing;
we are making significant progress
in rice and expect to launch wheat
hybrids at the end of the decade.
Focus on returns supported
by ongoing innovation
Farmers are investors. Whatever the
scale of their activities, they must weigh
the amount they invest in inputs against
the returns they can reap in terms of yield
and quality.
In 2015, commodity prices remained soft
for all major crops. Such conditions put
product performance under even greater
scrutiny: growers must be convinced
that their investment in seeds and crop
protection technology will be worthwhile,
even at lower crop prices.
Innovation can bring competitive edge
in challenging markets. Pest pressures,
resistance and climate change present
constantly evolving threats to farmers’
returns, and demand new solutions
regardless of the crop price cycle.
All crop sales in this section are
based on Syngenta estimates.
Sales $m
$1,686 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
1,553
133
Current portfolio highlights
Leading seeds business: wheat,
conventional and hybrid barley
Integrated growing systems, variety-
specific protocols: optimizing yield
and quality delivery
SDHI fungicide technology:
SOLATENOL™, SEGURIS®/
BONTIMA®, VIBRANCE®
Cereals is the world’s largest crop by
acreage, grown in over 120 countries
worldwide thanks to its exceptional
agronomic versatility. Wheat is also
the world’s largest food crop.
With leading positions in crop protection,
seed treatment and seeds, we are
uniquely placed to offer compelling
solutions to growers’ challenges. We have
taken a lead in helping growers meet the
specific needs of their various customers
including food companies, pasta makers,
brewers and maltsters. Our integrated
solutions – combining seeds with crop
protection and agronomic protocols –
enable growers to raise both their yields
and quality.
Cereals present major opportunities
for technification. Syngenta has made
substantial investments that have placed
us at the forefront of the technology drive,
and we are already beginning to reap the
benefits. Our hybrid-seed technology is
revolutionizing barley farming and is set
to do the same for wheat – a much larger
opportunity – in the 2020s.
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
15
The cereals market was not an easy one
in 2015, as softening commodity prices
made premium products harder to sell.
Despite these conditions, we built on
our crop protection success in 2014,
increasing share in most markets. This
reflects the strength of our portfolio: with
both traditional and new technologies,
we offer an unrivaled breadth of solutions
across all geographies, notably in the
area of resistance management.
Towards the end of the year, we received
registration for our breakthrough SDHI
fungicide SOLATENOL™ for wheat in the
USA. This new chemistry has already
shown major success against soybean
rust in Latin America. The US registration
came too late to affect 2015 sales
significantly, but will be a major driver
in 2016.
Increasing our leadership
in wheat
The German and Italian seed businesses
acquired in 2014 have reinforced our
global leadership in conventional wheat.
They have expanded our industry-leading
germplasm portfolio and strengthened the
opportunities open to us as we transfer
our hybridization technology from barley
to wheat.
We are currently developing wheat hybrids
adapted to the highest-value markets, and
made encouraging progress in 2015 after
successfully completing technical proof of
concept in late 2014. Having tackled the
technological aspects, we expect to launch
hybrid wheat around the end of this decade.
Profiting from innovation
in barley
Meanwhile, HYVIDO® has positioned us
at the forefront of driving hybrid barley
adoption. In 2015, in a market facing the
lowest commodity prices for a decade,
we increased European acreage of this
premium product by 20 percent. With
2015 launches in Italy, Serbia, Hungary,
Bulgaria and Romania, HYVIDO® is rapidly
replacing older technologies, with a strong
pull-through of our complementary crop
protection products. As the expansion
of HYVIDO® continues, we are also
increasing profitability by developing new
hybrids that cost less to produce and by
outsourcing hybrid supply.
Boosting biogas production with
HYVIDO® hybrid barley
In Italy, farmers have increased the production of biogas,
which is used to generate electrical power or heat, by planting
HYVIDO® hybrid barley instead of corn, wheat or triticale.
HYVIDO® offers several advantages over other crops; for
example, it is more able to resist diseases, is more resilient
to severe weather conditions and produces more organic
material from each hectare. Also, farmers are able to plant
two crops a year instead of one because HYVIDO®
has a shorter production time than alternative crops.
In 2015, after just two years, HYVIDO® accounted for
30,000 hectares in Italy.
In France, the ongoing introduction of
new hybrids has added to the attraction
of the offer: 40 percent of our 2015 sales
were for products launched that year.
Backing HYVIDO® with our Cashback
Yield Guarantee makes the choice very
attractive for farmers, and planted acreage
doubled from 25,000 hectares in 2014
to 50,000 hectares in 2015. We are
targeting a similar increase in 2016.
Outlook
In 2016, we expect continued progress.
We will drive further cereals sales in the
Americas and in Europe through our
partnerships with the value chain,
particularly in pasta and malting barley
for beer. SOLATENOL™ will be launched
in North America, where it has significant
sales potential, and has just received a
registration in Europe. VIBRANCE® – one
of our fastest-growing Seedcare products
in North America and Europe – will also
benefit from new European registrations.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 16
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Corn
Sales $m
$ 3,161m
Crop Protection
Seeds
1,988
1,173
Current portfolio highlights
ACURON®: new herbicide for
enhanced weed control
ENOGEN® corn offer
Water optimization native trait:
AGRISURE ARTESIAN®
Integrated insect and weed
resistance management solutions
Corn is Syngenta’s largest single crop.
It is widely grown across the world –
for food, animal feed and, in the USA,
for bio-ethanol.
Corn growers in many areas face a variety
of pest pressures and unpredictable
weather conditions. Our technological
leadership enables us to address these
challenges with innovative and clearly
differentiated solutions. Our strong
proprietary trait platform is enabling us
to expand our footprint and profitability in
seeds, with increasing revenues coming
from trait licensing as well as seed sales.
In 2015, we announced a licensing
agreement with KWS and Limagrain
under which we provide the two
companies and their joint ventures with
worldwide rights to our GM corn traits
portfolio. This collaboration follows on
from licensing agreements with all other
major corn seed companies.
Producing more with less
We help growers to reduce their water
needs. In 2014, North American growers
planted 400,000 hectares of our
AGRISURE ARTESIAN® hybrids – which
provide season-long drought protection
and also provide high yields in normal
GM corn tackles pests, weeds and weather
Growing corn in Vietnam is challenging due to the Asian corn
borer – the most damaging corn pest in Asia – weeds and
adverse weather. Syngenta is helping farmers overcome these
issues with genetically modified (GM) corn. It is the first GM
crop to be approved and grown in Vietnam.
The double-stack corn variety – which is herbicide tolerant and
insect resistant – improves productivity and crop quality.
Farmers receive a better return on investment, and Vietnam’s
dependence on corn imports is reduced.
The introduction of GM corn in 2015 supports Syngenta’s
market leadership in Vietnam and is another step towards
meeting the global demand for food, feed, fiber and biofuels.
conditions. Although there were no
widespread corn drought events in 2014,
high grower satisfaction resulted in a
50 percent uplift to 600,000 hectares
planted in 2015.
In the biofuels market, corn with our
ENOGEN® trait makes bio-ethanol
production substantially more efficient.
As well as producing more fuel from a
given amount of crop input, it can cut
a typical bio-ethanol plant’s water use
by around 1.7 million liters a year. In 2015,
ENOGEN® acres more than doubled
compared to 2014. Contracted production
plants currently have a combined annual
capacity of over 4.75 billion liters of
ENOGEN®-based ethanol.
Our CELLERATE™ process, co-developed
with Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies,
enhances production yields by producing
ethanol from waste corn kernel fibers.
The first plant fitted with this technology
reached production scale in 2015. It has
demonstrated potential to increase
production from existing plants by a further
6 percent – or an extra 7.7 billion liters of
fuel annually – on top of ENOGEN®-based
yield improvements.
Water efficiency is a cost issue as well as
an environmental one: irrigation can cost
US farmers $ 550 a hectare. Our response
is Water+ Intelligent Irrigation, an integrated
approach that cuts water inputs by
combining AGRISURE ARTESIAN®
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
17
with agronomic protocols and irrigation
equipment developed with Lindsay
Corporation. In 2015, the number of
hectares enrolled was up 70 percent –
with growers earning a return on
investment of around $ 230 per hectare.
Combating weed
and insect resistance
Resistant weeds and insects are eroding
the effectiveness of conventional crop
protection practices and products. This
provides increasing opportunity for our
strong technology portfolio and solutions
with multiple modes of action.
In 2015, our breakthrough herbicide
ACURON® received approval by the
US Environmental Protection Agency.
Combining a new chemical, bicyclopyrone,
with three other active ingredients, it
controls a wider range of weeds than
any existing selective herbicide used in
corn and will be critical in making corn
production more sustainable. Though
approval came towards the end of the
planting season, 200,000 hectares were
treated in 2015; global sales are forecast
to reach $ 500 million by 2020.
Sales of our insect control traits are
expanding, boosted by China’s approval
of AGRISURE VIPTERA® corn for import.
Insect resistance is a particular issue in
the tropical conditions of Latin America,
where AGRISURE VIPTERA® is the only
trait without resistance issues and the
only effective response to a critical
challenge, fall armyworm. In North
America, our AGRISURE DURACADE®
trait and FORCE® insecticide are key
tools for farmers combating corn
rootworm pests.
Profiting from
technology leadership
In the year ahead, sales and profit
growth will be powered by our unique
technologies – particularly ENOGEN®,
AGRISURE ARTESIAN® and ACURON®.
We also expect further progress in
Asia Pacific: we are spearheading trait
expansion in Vietnam, where we are
already market leader and have received
approval for a trait that controls Asian
corn borer, a significant corn pest in
ASEAN countries.
Diverse field crops
Sales $m
$1,105m
Crop Protection
Seeds
593
512
Current portfolio highlights
High-value hybrids: NK®,
SYNGENTA®, SPS®, MARIBO®,
HILLESHÖG®
Integrated sunflower weed control
system: native trait, LISTEGO®,
CAPTORA®
Enhanced root health: VIBRANCE®
Diverse field crops – principally consisting
of sunflower, oilseed rape and sugar
beet – are attractive crops offering
generally robust margins. Demand
is driven by a wide range of markets:
vegetable oils and sugars, animal feed,
industrial applications and biofuel
production. Productivity varies widely,
offering ample scope for growth through
technology intensification.
Sunflower
Syngenta is the market leader in
sunflowers. In our largest markets,
Russia and Ukraine, 2015 revenues were
impacted by adverse exchange rates and
soft commodity prices. We were, however,
able to maintain profitability through
price increases.
Globally, we have 30 percent market
share of planted sunflower acreage but
38 percent of crop value due to the high
value and performance of our hybrids.
Portfolio rejuvenation is a key part of our
strategy, and between 2015 and 2016
we will have replaced a third of our seeds
portfolio as we introduce new next-
generation herbicide-tolerant varieties
as well as high-oleic varieties that meet
market needs.
Herbicide tolerance is a cost-effective
way to improve yield, particularly in
combination with our leading herbicides
for broomrape control: LISTEGO® and
CAPTORA®. Our integrated offer is the
only successful solution for broomrape,
which can destroy a crop entirely. It will
spearhead our drive for growth across
the market in 2016.
Oilseed rape
We achieved ambitious crop protection
sales targets in our key European markets.
Seeds sales grew strongly as the market
trend towards hybridization continued. We
successfully integrated the German and
Polish winter oilseed rape breeding
operations acquired in 2014.
European farmers continue to face crop
damage resulting from the EU’s temporary
suspension of neonicotinoid seed
treatment, which prevents use of the
insecticide CRUISER®. No current
alternatives are as effective as
CRUISER®, but our contingency plans
for replacement, as well as our continuing
work on renewing our insecticide portfolio,
are resulting in important new products
for both the short and longer term.
In the Canadian canola seed market,
our integrated whole-farm approach –
seed, crop protection and rotation with
cereal crops – is delivering good results,
and further growth is expected in 2016.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 18
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Rice
Sugar beet
A global oversupply of sugar caused
reductions in sugar beet acreage in
2015, although in Russia poor weather
conditions resulted in many farmers
replanting. Business performance was
disappointing and we are currently
focusing on driving improved profitability.
We are working with European farmers
to prepare for the elimination of EU sugar
quotas in 2017, which will intensify
competition from imported cane sugar.
We expect sugar beet’s share of the
world sugar market to remain stable as
European companies strive to improve
their sugar production cost efficiency.
Although the changes will be challenging
for smaller players, they will bring new
export opportunities for the biggest
processors – who are becoming more
demanding customers as a result.
There is already growing pressure in
the market for higher quality produce
at competitive prices.
Sales $m
$ 588 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
575
13
Current portfolio highlights
GROMORE™:
integrated rice protocols
New crop protection products:
CHESS® and VOLIAM TARGO®
Leading native trait
for bacterial leaf blight
Rice is a staple for more than 2 billion
people, providing livelihoods for almost
a billion growers and workers in the value
chain. Our activities in Rice are focused
on Asia Pacific, where 125 million hectares
of rice are grown: around 27 percent of
Syngenta’s Asian revenues come from
our Rice business.
Crop productivity varies considerably –
Asia’s most technified markets average
around 6–7 tonnes per hectare, roughly
double the yields achieved by less
developed countries. But current
improvements in productivity are not
keeping pace with demand and resources
are under pressure – the supply of water
for this water-intensive crop is diminishing,
and urbanization and industrialization are
reducing the availability of land and labor.
Building a differentiated offer
In most of our key markets, we are
the leaders in crop protection, with a
consistent record of growth. In recent
years, we have become more active in
seeds, with emphasis on hybrid seeds
and technologies offering substantial
productivity increases – particularly for
the low-tech farmers who grow most of
the world’s rice. This effort has gathered
momentum since the 2012 acquisition
of Devgen’s two-line hybrid technology
and broad germplasm portfolio. Hybrids
represent a significant market opportunity,
as their penetration outside China is less
than 5 percent.
We have three strategic aims: maximizing
the potential of our crop protection
portfolio; building a profitable seeds
business; and building a differentiated offer
around labor saving and convenience.
Underpinning all these is the GROMORE™
program, which integrates seeds and crop
protection protocols to deliver major
advances in productivity, reliability and
quality. GROMORE™ has now reached
over a million growers across Asia Pacific,
consistently raising yields by up to
30 percent.
Reaching smallholders
more efficiently
A focus on smallholders is central to
our strategy. The challenge is one of
scale: Asia Pacific has over 300 million
smallholder rice farmers, so we need
an efficient way to reach them, generate
demand and service them while keeping
close track of effectiveness and
profitability. Having developed
GROMORE™ as a proven and scalable
agronomic solution, we have now
established an efficient industrialized
platform for smallholders that will be
piloted in Thailand in early 2016.
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
19
Falling market prices for rice, and adverse
weather in South Asia and ASEAN, had
an adverse effect on crop protection
sales in 2015. But successful product
introductions included CHESS® and
VOLIAM TARGO®, which performed
particularly well in South Asia and China.
Building our position in hybrids
In seeds, we are progressing with work
on the Devgen two-line hybrid technology
platform. We anticipate market launch of
our first two-line products in 2018 in the
Philippines. Meanwhile, we have registered
our first locally-developed hybrid in the
important Vietnamese market.
We have been building capability in our
R&D and production organizations to
support future growth, while rationalizing
our existing seeds portfolio to raise
average margins.
We have discontinued the TEGRA®
mechanized offer, which was not realizing
sufficient levels of profitability; however,
we will continue to work on the related
technology, leveraging our experience
in the GROMORE™ protocols.
In 2016, we will be expanding the
smallholder approach to drive GROMORE™
sales in many more smallholder rice
markets, while building on the success
of our recent crop protection launches.
ISABION®
Untreated
Overcoming natural threats to rice
Rice faces not only pests and disease, but also abiotic stress
such as heat and cold. This affects growers in terms of yield,
time and ultimately their livelihood.
With ISABION®, a biostimulant, rice can better withstand
abiotic stress. By enhancing the plant’s nutrient uptake,
ISABION® mitigates the impact of heat or cold and delivers
superior yield under stress conditions. This is particularly
important in light of climate change.
In trials across Asia, rice seedlings treated with ISABION®
were more vigorous and yielded up to 10–15 percent more
than untreated plants. ISABION® is available in Asia including
China and India. New offerings in more countries and for
other crops will follow.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 20
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Soybean
Sales $m
$ 2,515 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
2,124
391
Current portfolio highlights
ELATUS™: market-leading
soybean rust control
Elite varieties with herbicide-tolerant
and insect-resistant traits
Broad portfolio for weed resistance
and early weed management
Soybeans are the largest protein source
in agriculture and are also used in biofuels.
Some 120 million hectares are planted
in 25 countries. Over 70 percent of this
acreage is in Brazil, Argentina and
North America, which – as a result of
high yields – account for over 80 percent
of global production.
Global demand for soybean is growing at
4 percent annually. Yields are threatened
by resistant weeds, particularly in the
USA, and by disease and insects in
Latin America. As suitable acreage is
limited, soybean growers are under
pressure to increase yields and are hence
very receptive to technological solutions
in breeding, genetically modified (GM)
traits and in chemistry, where Syngenta
is the market leader.
Our strategy focuses on delivering
solutions to growers that enhance yields
without using more land, water or inputs.
We have been accelerating the pace of
innovation, not only in crop protection but
also in seeds – where we have pioneered
the use of applied analytics to breed
higher-performing varieties faster.
Customized solution
to help increase productivity
Soybean growers need to meet rising demand without
increasing the amount of farmland used, so improving
yields is a constant challenge.
In Brazil, Syngenta provides its High Yield Soybean
integrated crop solution, locally named INTEGRARE™.
The offer – designed based on grower insights and our
technology expertise – can be customized to different
environments. It includes best-in-class seeds, seed
treatments and crop protection with robust protocols,
combined with a choice of agronomic or financial services
such as nutritional advice or risk management tools.
Following initial field results delivering 5–10 percent better
yield than competitors’ crops, the INTEGRARE™ solution
was used on 300,000 hectares in 2015.
Our herbicides also achieved strong
growth, driven by the success of our
weed management programs in the
USA and Argentina to combat
glyphosate resistance.
Leading the field
in crop protection
In crop protection, we have the leading
technology in herbicides, fungicides
and insecticides.
The highlight of 2015 was the ramp-up
of ELATUS™ in Brazil, following its launch
in 2014. This breakthrough fungicide
provides exceptional protection against
rust, and sales to soybean growers
in Brazil reached $ 384 million.
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
21
Raising profitability
through efficiency,
partnerships and innovation
In soybean seeds, our emphasis in 2015
was on increasing profitability. Building on
our excellent germplasm portfolio, our use
of applied analytics has further enhanced
our ability to develop differentiated, high-
yielding varieties that complement our
crop protection technology.
The rapid introduction of new traited
varieties in our Brazil portfolio was
supported by a new partnership model,
which has multipliers in the market,
as well as by a focus on efficiency
within the Accelerating Operational
Leverage program.
An integrated strategy
for growth
We are uniquely placed to help growers
increase their yields sustainably, and our
integrated crop strategy in soybean builds
on the broadest portfolio in the industry.
We developed our High Yield Soybean
solution in close collaboration with our
customers, looking at their specific needs
for each crop stage and providing them
with a complete offer to increase yield and
provide assurance of return on investment.
This solution combines our best-in-class
portfolio – seeds, seed treatment and
crop protection – and customized
protocols with agronomic support such
as nutrition advice and financial services
including risk management. Tailored
for each territory, it was first launched
in Brazil as INTEGRARE™, with
300,000 hectares planted in 2015.
It is now being expanded in the USA
under the AGRIEDGE® umbrella with
150,000 hectares planted in 2015,
and being piloted in Argentina
as INTEGRASOJA™.
Looking ahead
In 2016, we expect to extend our crop
protection leadership as we drive
SOLATENOL™ sales in Latin and North
America and launch a further SDHI
fungicide, based on the new active
ingredient ADEPIDYN™, in Argentina. We
will continue to enhance seed profitability
as we introduce new traited varieties in our
portfolio, and will further extend our High
Yield Soybean solution.
Specialty crops
Sales $ m
$1,882 m
Crop Protection
1,882
Seeds
0
Current portfolio highlights
Broad crop protection technology
footprint and breadth
Recent launches: ELATUS™,
REFLECT®, DYNALI®, AMPLIGO®,
DURIVO®, VIBRANCE®
Commercial ramp-up of
sustainability-based solutions
Our Specialty crops business is
focused on crop protection in more
than 40 high-value crops around the
world. It holds strong positions in many
markets, with around 80 percent
of sales coming from four principal
Specialty crop groups: potatoes,
cotton, fruits and plantation crops.
Specialty crop growers often have limited
access to new technology, as individually
their markets are too small to justify
substantial research and development
investment. We bring Syngenta’s broad
portfolio of crop protection technology
to these smaller market sectors by
assessing new active ingredients for
their applicability to specialty crops.
Where necessary, we then introduce
new formulations or make the best use
of existing solutions.
In 2015, we achieved more than
270 new use registrations in Specialty
crops. These included applications for
our chlorantraniliprole-based insecticide
mixtures – DURIVO®, AMPLIGO® and
VOLIAM TARGO® – across Europe. We
anticipate a particularly strong grower
response to the launch in 2016 of our
new high-performance fungicide,
ORONDIS™, which achieved
US registration in late 2015.
We also enhance existing products.
In 2015, we gained first registration for
an innovative new formulation of our
emamectin insecticide. On fruit trees,
potatoes and grapes, the new formula
halves the application rate by using a
sunscreen additive to reduce ultraviolet
degradation of the active ingredient.
Potatoes: contributing
to food security in China
Over the past three years of trial and
commercial use, our Potato Healthy
Tuber solution – combining quality
seed potatoes, chemistry and growing
protocols – has helped Chinese growers
to increase yields by over 30 percent
and earn a 3:1 return on their investment.
In 2016, we plan further enhancements
in partnership with other leading suppliers
in areas such as breeding and machinery.
Fruits: enhancing growers’
access to markets
Changing regulatory and food chain
requirements make it increasingly difficult
for fruit growers to access profitable
markets for their produce. Our Fruit Quality
Contract solution provides market access
guidance backed by tailored crop
protection protocols. In 2015, we tripled
its coverage to 30,000 hectares. Current
acreage is mainly in Europe, but we see
potential in rapidly-growing export markets
such as Chile and India. Growth will be
boosted in 2016 by unique new digital
applications offering faster and more
precise market access recommendations.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information
22
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Helping growers access attractive markets
Apple growers can face a challenge in exporting to some
European countries. Supermarkets, especially in Germany,
demand high-quality fruit with minimum pesticide residue
levels that are even lower than European Union requirements.
Syngenta has responded with the Fruit Quality Contract (FQC).
In 2015, we began working with seven grower groups in Poland.
We provide growers with training and customized advice
on crop protection using fast-degrading active ingredients.
Residue levels are met, and growers gain access to
attractive markets.
The goal for 2016 is to scale up to 3,000 hectares of apple
orchards in Poland.
Cotton: improving agronomic
knowledge in India
Our integrated FAST START
PERFORMANCE™ (FSP) program is
gaining rapid acceptance among cotton
growers in India, with participants up
from 3,500 to more than 12,000 in 2015.
FSP enhances growers’ agronomic
knowledge, while its optimized chemistry
and protocols support early crop
establishment and ensure strong plant
growth. Average yield increases of over
20 percent and improved fiber quality
have raised growers’ profitability and
satisfaction. We launched FSP to over
700 industry representatives in Australia
for the 2015 season, in partnership with
Cotton Seed Distributors. Trials will
continue in 2016 to assess new seed
treatment approaches.
Coffee: expanding NUCOFFEE®
In Brazil, we continue to grow our
NUCOFFEE® program. This enhances
growers’ profitability through agronomic
protocols to improve productivity,
combined with quality assurance
to secure higher prices. In 2015, we
expanded NUCOFFEE® to smaller farms
in Brazil and introduced it to leading
growers and cooperatives in Colombia.
Further expansion will follow in 2016.
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
23
Sugar cane
Sales $ m
$ 271 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
271
0
Current portfolio highlights
Unique chemical solutions for biotic
stress: MODDUS®, CALLISTO®,
ACTARA®
Integrated fields
Nursery solution: PLENE® PB
Demand for sugar cane continues to
grow – to feed the world’s increasing
appetite for sugar and also for use in
biofuel production. More than 40 percent
of the world’s sugar cane is now produced
in Brazil, which has more than doubled
its production in the past decade. Brazil
is therefore our largest single market for
sugar cane.
In comparison to other field crops,
relatively few technologies are available for
sugar cane, signifying considerable scope
for intensification. Yields currently average
75 tonnes per hectare, but could
potentially be raised to several hundred
tonnes. Until recently, cultivation methods
remained highly traditional, with pest
control achieved largely by pre-harvest
crop burning. Now many countries are
phasing out crop burning – the practice
will soon be banned throughout Brazil –
and harvesting is becoming increasingly
mechanized. These trends are driving
greater demand for herbicides,
insecticides and fungicides.
Revolutionizing
sugar cane cultivation
In order to raise vigor and yields, we have
been developing new crop protection
protocols while pursuing our work on
breeding. We are producing high-quality
seedlings under the PLENE® brand at
our Itápolis biofactory in Brazil. Branded
PLENE® PB, these pre-germinated plants
are used by sugar mills and growers to
plant their nurseries and to fill the gaps
found in fields after crop establishment
or after harvesting, with the aim of
recovering the full yield potential of the
fields. PLENE® PB was introduced on
380 hectares in 2014 and planted on
2,500 hectares in 2015.
Meanwhile, we are making further
progress towards the launch in 2017
of the full PLENE® program, incorporating
a system of direct mechanized planting.
This system is being developed through
a licensing agreement for CEEDS™
(Crop Expansion Encapsulation and
Drilling Systems), a technology allowing
growers to plant small encapsulated
seedlings instead of large pieces of cut
sugar cane. This increases the number
of hectares that can be planted in a day,
enabling mills and growers to further
improve yields and quality by planting only
in optimal weather conditions. In 2016,
we will run the first demonstration plots
with customers.
We are also harnessing our experience in
genetically modified traits for soybean and
corn to develop new sugar cane varieties
as part of integrated solutions against
insects and herbicide resistance.
Rationalizing to
enhance profitability
In 2015, we rationalized our crop
protection portfolio but increased
profitability. We moved away from some
high-volume but low-margin products,
to focus on fungicides and insecticides
where our products are clearly
differentiated from the competition.
The launch of AMPLIGO® for borers
and other insects was well received
and sales have been growing rapidly.
Vegetables
Sales $ m
$1,540 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
924
616
Current portfolio highlights
Innovative cyantraniliprole insecticide
and seed treatment mixtures:
sucking pests
Broad seeds portfolio with leading
native traits: leafy and fruity
vegetables, brassicas
Commercial ramp-up of MAXVEG™
integrated smallholder offer
Our global Vegetables business covers
more than 30 species across five
categories: peppers and tomatoes,
melons and cucumbers, salad vegetables,
brassicas and sweet corn. Across all
these markets, there is an overall trend
of rising expectations in terms of both
quality and seasonal availability. We help
growers meet the requirements of their
customers – whether consumers, retailers
or processors – while improving their
productivity and sustainability.
Currently our major Vegetables markets
are Europe and the USA, which continue
to grow well. We are targeting future
growth in Latin America, Africa and Asia
Pacific and, in particular, see substantial
potential in China and sub-Saharan Africa.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information
24
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Lawn and Garden
Bringing big crop solutions
to smaller crops
As is the case for specialty crops,
vegetable growers can miss out on new
technology as their separate crops cannot
justify substantial investment in R&D. To
give growers access to Syngenta’s broad
portfolio of crop protection technology,
we evaluate new active ingredients under
development for larger crops to identify
suitable applications for vegetables.
We then introduce new formulations that
bring vegetable growers the benefits of
the latest chemistry, or ensure that they
can make best use of products formulated
for other crops.
This cost-effective approach has made
us a top-three player in all five of our
Vegetable categories, maximizing the
value of our innovation.
We achieved more than 400 new use
registrations in Vegetables in 2015.
These included a range of vegetable
applications in Europe for our insecticide
mixtures DURIVO®, AMPLIGO® and
VOLIAM TARGO®.
In 2015, we received first registration
for an innovative new formulation of our
emamectin insecticide, which halves the
application rate by reducing ultraviolet
degradation of the active ingredient.
Bringing technology benefits
to smallholders
Smallholders are increasingly important
to us as we expand our reach in emerging
markets. We aim to boost their profitability
by making technology more accessible.
Our MAXVEG™ platform integrates modern
chemistry and agronomy to maximize
marketable yields through safe, effective
use of crop protection – consistently
raising productivity by more than
20 percent.
In 2015, we expanded MAXVEG™
throughout India and China. Reaching
vast numbers of smallholders, particularly
in Asia, is a challenge we also face in rice.
We are drawing on our experience of the
GROMORE™ rice program for the mass
marketing and delivery of MAXVEG™
across a wide range of vegetables.
Innovating in Vegetables Seeds,
growing crop protection
Our Vegetables Seeds business is high
margin with a significant global footprint
and a wide array of class-leading varieties.
It has an excellent record of innovation and
introduced 180 new varieties in 2015.
In our crop protection business, we can
leverage technology from other parts
of the business. Our product pipeline
remains very strong, and in 2016 we will
benefit from the US launch of our new
high-performance fungicide, ORONDIS™.
Sales $ m
$ 648 m
Crop Protection
Seeds
455
193
Our Lawn and Garden business provides
industry-leading chemistry for professional
turf and landscape markets such as
golf courses, and for industrial pest
management. It also includes Syngenta
Flowers, a market leader in mass market
and value-added plants which develops
innovative solutions for seasoned and
hobby gardeners alike. Our high-value
chemistry solutions, flower offerings
and retail partnerships help to enrich lives
and make living environments inspiring
and healthy.
Lawn and Garden achieved a strong
financial performance in 2015. We drove
growth by launching new products,
increasing market penetration,
broadening our reach in new and
established markets and expanding
our flower retail programs. And, although
we faced some market headwinds, we
mitigated risks by prioritizing investments
and controlling costs.
Crops in focus
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
25
Innovations drive
market share growth
In our key North American turf and
ornamentals market, we gained market
share through new product launches
including APPEAR®, HERITAGE ACTION™,
MAINSPRING®, SECURE® and VELISTA®.
These offer customers value by increasing
productivity and sustainability – and,
in turf applications, playability.
Our professional pest management
business has expanded mainly in North
America, following successful integration
of the DuPont professional insecticides
portfolio acquired in 2012. Numerous
registrations currently pending will enable
us to introduce this innovative chemistry
portfolio in all of our other regions.
The potential was demonstrated in
2015 by the excellent take-up of
ACTELLIC® CS300, which we launched
into many African countries. This
encapsulated insecticide provides
long-lasting control against malarial
mosquitoes resistant to pyrethroids.
We also made promising progress in
new tree care technologies – including
micro-injection to control pests in trees
in France. This is a highly profitable
business where we are strongly
positioned for growth through our
combination of high-value chemistry
and product innovation based on deep
understanding of customer needs.
Flowers offer pleases retailers
Our premium flowers business is based
on industry-leading innovation, high-quality
genetics and an efficient distribution
network. A strong performance in 2015
resulted from increased profitability in the
mass market plants business, successful
reorganization of the Europe-based
FLORIPRO SERVICES® and an improved
seeds forecasting process. Our flowers
retail programs showed continued
success during the crucial spring period,
setting new value-added price points
while boosting profitability for our retail
and channel partners. We also made
significant progress in attaining
GLOBALG.A.P. and GRASP certification
for our flowers farms.
Controlling multiple turf diseases
The fungicide VELISTA® successfully controls multiple diseases
affecting turf through the innovative SDHI mode of action. It is
a valuable addition to our portfolio, and can be used in rotation
with other fungicides to help manage the resistance of turf
grass to other treatments.
Syngenta’s formulation department was quickly able to
develop the newly-acquired active ingredient, penthiopyrad,
into a product that met the quality and efficacy required by
the company and its customers.
VELISTA® has been well accepted by customers in the
important golf sector, and sales have outstripped expectations.
Crops in focus Strategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance dataCorporate information 26
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
The Good Growth Plan
Securing a
sustainable future
The challenge of feeding a fast-growing world population is well
documented. As a business that serves the agricultural industry,
helping farmers rise to that challenge is part of our mission.
It’s central to our strategy for business growth.
The Good Growth Plan goes further: it’s our commitment
to help farmers meet the challenge sustainably. That’s central
to our strategy for ensuring that our own business has a
sustainable long-term future. This is far-sighted business
planning with hard, stretch targets. We’re consciously setting
our sights higher – and measuring and reporting the impact.
The Good Growth Plan is an integral
part of our business strategy. Its six
commitments focus our skills and
resources on understanding and
meeting the most pressing needs
of our customers and stakeholders.
It demands innovation and enterprise
from every part of our organization.
The Plan considers: the resource
efficiency that must underpin current
productivity; the ecosystem resilience
necessary to sustain future productivity;
and the knowledge transfer needed
to support and strengthen rural
communities. It pays particular attention
to smallholders, because they have
the greatest potential to increase
farm productivity.
As part of our business strategy, it sets
targets that are quantified, measurable
and ambitious. While we cannot be
certain that we will achieve them all by
the 2020 target date, we do know that
we will not achieve them on our own.
Working in partnership with others –
farmers, academic institutions, NGOs,
governments and other organizations –
is an essential part of the Plan. To foster
collaboration, we are publishing our
targets and results transparently, and
sharing data openly so that all interested
parties can build on what we learn.
Two years into The Good Growth Plan,
more than 3,600 farmers and many
organizations are working with us to
demonstrate and measure what is
possible for 21 crops, the environment
and the people in 42 countries. We are
gathering increasingly reliable data,
independently collected and validated,
and publishing it in accordance with best
practice – using open data formats to
be as transparent, accountable and
useful as possible.
Across our six commitments, we
are establishing a growing body
of productive partnerships. We are
maximizing the value of what we
learn by leveraging knowledge across
projects, partners, territories and crops.
Supporting the
UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals
In 2015, the United Nations (UN)
announced 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) that member states will be
expected to use to frame their agendas
and political policies over the 15 years
from January 2016.
We welcome these goals, and believe
they will help to mobilize the action
and innovation needed to make a
better and more sustainable world.
To achieve them, member states
will need to build multi-stakeholder
partnerships, address governance
challenges, and invest in new
technologies and business models.
They will need better data for
monitoring and accountability,
made openly accessible to
accelerate sustainable innovation
and technological advancement.
With The Good Growth Plan, we
believe Syngenta has already begun
to make its contribution.
For more on the UN’s SDGs, visit:
sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics
See detailed performance data for
The Good Growth Plan on pages 57–58
The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
27
Make crops
more efficient
Increase the average productivity
of the world’s major crops by
20 percent without using more
land, water or inputs
Average productivity increase1
2%
2020
2015
2
2014
20%
2%
0%
1 On reference farms compared to baseline 2014
Farm network
2015
2014
No. of Reference farms
1,062
860
No. of Benchmark farms
2,586
2,738
Progress and key achievements
Improved statistical precision
by increasing the number of
reference farms
Shared results with farmers,
researchers and those seeking
to understand how best to save
scarce resources
Collaborating to harmonize data
exchange standards to accelerate
innovation in agriculture
Feeding a fast-growing world population,
while mitigating the impacts of climate
change, requires a step change in farm
productivity and resource efficiency. We
are working with farmers to help them
grow more from less – focusing particularly
on smallholders, who have the greatest
potential to increase productivity.
Syngenta at the forefront of
open data in agriculture
To test and measure what’s possible,
we have created a network of reference
farms across crops and regions in our
key markets. These farmers are working
with our field experts to trial new solutions
and raise productivity. In 2014, we
established 860 of these farms, and
signed-up additional benchmark farms
for comparison.
Higher quality wheat for better pasta production
Producing high-quality pasta begins with growing top-quality
durum wheat, which has consistently high protein content. In
Italy, we are helping growers produce more, top-quality durum
wheat through the value chain project “Grano Armando”,
guaranteeing them a higher, more reliable income.
More than 1,000 growers benefit from a sustainable cultivation
protocol, quality seeds and farmer support. The growers also
join a network that connects them with pasta manufacturers
in Italy.
Yields are 15 percent higher than average, and the protein
content of the wheat is 14 percent, as opposed to the Italian
average of 12 percent.
In 2015, the network covered more than
1,000 reference farms and just under
2,600 benchmark farms. In some areas,
such as China and parts of Latin America,
we’ve doubled the number of reference
farms to gain better insights.
Our crop advisers have been working with
reference farmers to optimize the way they
use new products coming out of our R&D
pipeline and to provide feedback data for
our technical teams. We share performance
reports with reference and benchmark
farmers, so that they can compare results
with their peers and identify opportunities
for improving efficiency.
We are now gathering an abundance
of real-world farm data for 21 crops in
42 countries. For 2015, the global average
productivity increase on reference farms
was 2 percent.
The unique and unprecedented data
resource of The Good Growth Plan will
help us to understand what makes crops
and protocols more efficient. To turn the
data into knowledge and insight, we’re
actively sharing data with growers,
academics and governments to unlock
the benefits as quickly as possible.
Operational performanceThe Good Growth PlanStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusPerformance dataCorporate information
28
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
And to increase the speed of innovation
and knowledge transfer, we’ve been
collaborating with the Open Data Institute
(ODI) and have published our aggregated
baseline and progress data for anyone to
access online and use free of charge.
This puts us at the forefront of open data
in agriculture, enabling us to reach people
and communities with ideas and solutions,
quickly and cost-effectively. It opens our
data to scrutiny, helping to ensure that it’s
collected and used with rigor. And it’s a
two-way flow: we should be able to link
our farm data with other agricultural data
on open-access collaborative platforms.
As part of this effort we have joined Global
Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition
(GODAN), a consortium of companies,
governments and NGOs working to make
agricultural data accessible and usable
worldwide. We want to work with GODAN
to use open data better, so that we help
to create insights on what works best
on the farm to optimize the use of
scarce resources.
What next?
We’re working to improve the way we
share The Good Growth Plan data with
growers, empowering them to make
positive changes by highlighting best
practices linked to efficiency results. While
continuing our collaboration with the ODI,
we look forward to supporting GODAN
with the harmonization of agricultural data
exchange standards that are accessible to
all. And we’re aiming to build a community
around our data by developing tools and
platforms that make it easier to use.
Rescue
more farmland
Improve the fertility of
10 million hectares of farmland
on the brink of degradation
Impacted farmland m ha1
2.4m
2020
2015
2014
1.6
1 Cumulative since baseline 2014
10.0
2.4
0.8
Progress and key achievements
Embedded soil protocols
in our commercial offers
Consulted multiple stakeholders
to inform our program
Engaged decision makers on soil
policy, in partnership with UNCCD
Agriculture relies on healthy and fertile
soil. But a third of the world’s arable land
is thought to have been affected by
degradation and desertification.
We are raising awareness of this issue and
promoting conservation practices based
on minimum soil disturbance, crop rotation
and permanent ground cover. These are
aimed at preventing, halting and reversing
land degradation by contributing to
organic carbon storage, water retention
and soil biological activity.
Demonstrating the benefits
of soil conservation
This work is about changing perspectives:
land’s economic value is chronically
understated. Land has long been valued
solely for its current productivity, while
often disregarding ecosystem resilience
and future productivity. But it is also about
meeting clear grower expectations.
We continue to build our best soil
knowledge and tools – diagnostics,
management practices and technologies –
into our commercial offers. But achieving
the desired benefits of soil conservation
depends on many other tools and services
at farm level. That’s why we support the
creation of inclusive platforms where
multiple stakeholders – including those
representing machinery, financial solutions
and educational opportunities – join
forces to offer farmers a compelling soil
conservation proposition. We have piloted
this approach for smallholders in Mexico,
medium-sized growers in Hungary and
large-scale farmers in Russia.
At the same time, we have run smaller
demonstration projects in many countries,
generally in partnership with local
universities or non-governmental
organizations, to show growers what can
be achieved under local conditions and
how sound practices result in better yields
and livelihoods.
In 2015, our programs impacted 1.6 million
hectares of land, bringing the two-year
cumulative total to 2.4 million hectares.
The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
29
Sustainable implementation on the farm
also requires supportive agricultural policy
frameworks. That’s why we work with the
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) and have
developed the Soil Leadership Academy
for policy and decision makers. In October
2015, the Academy successfully ran its
first simulation exercise for national policy
makers at the UNCCD Conference
in Turkey.
We have also worked with the United
Nations Global Compact (UNGC) on
developing a set of sustainable soil
management principles. These were
published in October 2015 after extensive
stakeholder consultation.
What next?
In the coming year, we will continue
working with our commercial teams
on building good practices into our offer,
supporting demonstration projects on
the ground and building multi-stakeholder
networks that promote integrated offers.
In addition to this ‘push’ activity, we are
also encouraging ‘pull’ from the value
chain – raising awareness of good soil
practices among food processors and
retailers while promoting the benefits of
marketing these practices to consumers,
to stimulate demand for more sustainably
grown produce.
Better soil leads to better crops
Fertile soil is the foundation of sustainable agriculture. But poor
farming practices and extreme weather lead to erosion and
infertility. In Eastern Russia, we are helping farmers switch from
traditional plowing to new techniques that preserve soil and
increase growers’ yields.
Working with local universities, we educate farmers in minimum
tillage, which avoids churning up the earth. Soil retains moisture
and porosity, as the passages made by root systems, worms
and insects are undisturbed.
Minimum tillage, along with crop rotation, is leading to cost-
effective, high-quality production. In 2015, we held four events
connecting 245 farmers with scientists and Syngenta
employees. So far, the project involves seven farms covering
464,000 hectares.
Operational performanceThe Good Growth PlanStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusPerformance dataCorporate information 30
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Help biodiversity
flourish
Enhance biodiversity on
5 million hectares of farmland
Impacted farmland m ha1
1.6m
2020
2015
2014
0.9
1 Cumulative since baseline 2014
5.0
1.6
0.7
Progress and key achievements
Integrated biodiversity conservation
in customer loyalty programs
Opened new demonstration plots with
universities and local stakeholders
Forged breakthrough implantation
partnership in US potato fields
Biodiversity determines the health
and resilience of ecosystems – directly
affecting erosion control, soil formation,
nutrient cycling, pollination, biological
pest control and climate regulation.
In the past 35 years, biodiversity has
declined by more than a quarter – an
unprecedented rate. The main causes
are population growth, consumption
patterns and habitat destruction.
Biodiversity is damaged as species’
habitats are lost or fragmented. Smaller,
more isolated species populations limit
genetic variation and evolutionary
adaption, and increase the possibility
of extinction; and climate change
exacerbates these trends. Landscape
connectivity is recognized as the greatest
opportunity to enhance biodiversity in
agricultural landscapes. Planting rich
habitats on marginal and less productive
farmland alongside fields and waterways
creates interconnected habitat
infrastructures and corridors. We call
them multifunctional field margins,
because they help to prevent soil
erosion and protect waterways while
boosting biodiversity.
scheme rewards farmers with seeds and
support for planting field margins.
A joined-up approach
to landscape connectivity
Syngenta has a long history of biodiversity
enhancement projects: our Ecoaguas
project has been restoring and managing
riparian forests in Colombia for two
decades. In Germany, our customer loyalty
However, achieving desired results on the
ground is a slow and resource-intensive
process. Growers have to be convinced
to invest in marginal and less productive
land for biodiversity, and they need
support in implementing the necessary
management protocols.
Redundant land becomes home
to bees and butterflies
R.D. Offutt, the largest potato grower in the USA, planted non-
productive corners of its potato fields in Minnesota with regional
wildflower seeds to create environmentally diverse habitats and
increase the number of pollinators. The habitats provide forage
for honeybees, monarch butterflies and other pollinating insects,
as well as reducing soil erosion and protecting water resources.
Syngenta advised on how to prepare the sites and which plants
to use. In 2015, more than 240 hectares were planted – a good
size project when even small areas of less than half a hectare
can make a difference.
The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
31
Empower
smallholders
Reach 20 million smallholders
and enable them to increase
productivity by 50 percent
Smallholders reached1
17.2m
2020
2015
2014
1 Through sales
20.0
17.2
13.8
Progress and key achievements
Carried out Social Impact
Assessments in China, India
and Mexico
Collaborated with University
of Zurich to develop a sustainability
embeddedness model
Established new partnerships aimed
at empowering smallholders
The world’s estimated 500 million
smallholders hold the key to future
food security. Their relatively low
productivity means they offer the
greatest potential for steeply increasing
food production sustainably.
With partners such as USAID, we aim
to raise smallholders’ productivity and
earnings sustainably – not only by bringing
them products, know-how and training
but also by helping them to finance
higher-yielding products and reach
markets to sell their crops.
Reaching more,
and measuring our impact
We estimate that over half of our sales
are in developing economies dominated
by smallholder farmers, particularly in
Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa.
In 2015, we increased the number of
smallholders we reach through sales
from 13.8 million to 17.2 million.
Our contact with smallholders comes
primarily through our sales teams. In
emerging and less developed economies,
millions of growers are so small-scale and
dispersed that it is not easy to know where
they are, what they grow or how to contact
them. Our sales management information
system helps us reach them more
effectively by integrating information that
identifies smallholders and tracks our
interactions with them. We have been
standardizing the way we do this in Asia,
and we expect to do the same in Latin
America in 2016. This will help us to build
local smallholder profiles, understand
grower needs, develop and promote
locally tailored protocols and training,
and improve our go-to-market strategies.
Our commitment is not just to reach
smallholders but to empower them.
To better understand smallholders’
needs, we are working with development
agencies and other partners such as:
IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative; the
Sustainable Markets Intelligence Center
(CIMS); and the Sustainable Food Lab.
To measure the benefits we are bringing
to local communities, we are using social
impact assessments of our smallholder
go-to-market strategies.
In 2015, for example, an independent
assessment by CIMS found that growers
in our Nicaraguan FRIJOLNICA™
program – which now has over
12,000 participants – were achieving
double the national average kidney and
black bean yield. They were more
optimistic about the future than the control
group and keen to spread good practice
by sharing their insights with neighbors.
We are now carrying out similar
assessments in other smallholder
markets: China, India and Mexico.
Partnering to extend our reach
Through the World Economic Forum’s
Grow Africa and Grow Asia platforms, we
work with other public and private players
to develop partnerships that enable
smallholder farmers to produce more
in a sustainable way. In this way we can
empower more growers, equipping them
with agronomic know-how and training
that help them use inputs safely
and efficiently.
Two years into The Good Growth Plan,
we have projects in over 30 countries
across Europe, Latin America, North
America and Asia. These encompass
a variety of local partnerships and
environmental and cultural approaches
to create multifunctional field margins,
managed forests and biodiversity-
friendly farming.
Our programs are now impacting a
total area of 1.6 million hectares – with
0.9 million hectares added in 2015 alone –
but we still have a long way to go. We have
been working with partners around the
world to identify priority programs, agree
specific targets and define protocols for
implementation. The core task is still to
raise awareness and establish biodiversity
alongside water and soil conservation
as a primary goal for farmers and value-
chain partners.
Our work is dependent on engaging
stakeholders to stimulate dialogue and
explore environmental governance issues.
In 2015, we held two major international
workshops attended by more than
60 experts, with another 175 contributing
through surveys. These have helped us
to find common ground and develop a
compelling framework for implementing
and reporting biodiversity projects
more effectively and cost efficiently.
What next?
We continue to work with external
stakeholders – academics, policymakers
and conservation experts – to build on
experience from the demonstration sites.
To achieve the expected long-term
economic benefits of biodiversity
conservation, we are also working to
link growers to consumers. We are
encouraging retailers and food processors
to set biodiversity enhancement standards
for their suppliers, enabling them to
promote sustainable food production
and consumption to consumers.
Another key goal is to incorporate the
concept of multifunctional habitats into
our commercial offer, and make
investment in field margin habitats
simpler and cheaper for farmers.
Operational performanceThe Good Growth PlanStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusPerformance dataCorporate information
32
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Help people
stay safe
Train 20 million farm workers
on labor safety, especially
in developing countries
People trained on safe use1
10.4m
2020
2015
2014
5.7
1 Cumulative since baseline 2014
20.0
10.4
4.7
Progress and key achievements
Rolled out new guidelines for safe
and responsible use training
Redesigned train-the-trainer program
and launched new online tool
Engaged with stakeholders
at global Farmer Safety Workshop
We share a responsibility to help improve
occupational health and safety in
agriculture – particularly among
smallholders and farm workers in
developing countries. Our training
programs raise awareness of hazards,
principally those related to crop protection
products, and show how to manage and
prevent them. More than 90 percent of our
training is delivered by our own sales and
stewardship teams. To extend our reach,
we also work with both commercial and
academic partners.
Farmers help each other
to become more prosperous
Encouraging progressive smallholders to share expertise
with others makes a tangible difference by increasing yields
and incomes.
In East Java, Indonesia, successful rice growers are educating
other farmers in good agricultural practices and the
implementation of our GROMORE™ solution. Rice growers who
raise yields to 10 tonnes per hectare are invited to join the Rice
Ten Tonne Club. Supported by Syngenta agronomists and
government farming counselors, these lead farmers then pass
on their knowledge to groups of smallholders.
So far, more than 15,000 smallholders are benefiting from
modern methods of growing rice.
We continue to seek new partnerships
and opportunities to reach smallholders
worldwide. In 2015, we were invited to join
the Advisory Board of the Sustainable
Food Lab, whose social impact
assessment framework we have been
using. We became the first company
in our industry to be accepted as a
supporting partner by Sustainability
Initiative Fruits and Vegetables, part of
the Dutch government’s IDH initiative.
We also became one of the three
corporate participants in a University
of Zurich project, funded by the Swiss
Commission for Technology and
Innovation (CTI), aimed at designing a tool-
kit that measures the positive sustainability
effects of locally-embedded Swiss-based
multinational companies in developing
countries. University students are working
with local academics, value chain
representatives and other stakeholders
to assess Syngenta’s impact in Colombia
and Kenya.
What next?
We’ll continue to extend our smallholder
reach with the help of our growing body
of partners. We’ll also be extending
the social impact assessment program
into other countries, and sharing what we
learn to show transparently where we are
active and what difference we are making.
The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
33
Training farmers to stay safe
As we work with farmers in Mexico to increase productivity
in a sustainable way, we ensure they are also trained in safe
use of crop protection products.
We have joined with government and partners from industry
in the MasAgro program – The Sustainable Modernization
of Traditional Agriculture, overseen by the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT. The aim is to target
smallholders who lack access to agricultural technologies and
markets to help them raise productivity of corn and wheat,
increasing incomes.
To ensure as many people as possible are trained, Syngenta
experts educate CIMMYT technicians who then train farmers.
In 2015, the program reached 2,600 smallholders.
Better training,
more lasting impact
In 2015, we reached 5.7 million people –
more than 70 percent of them
smallholders – through dedicated safety
training programs or through safe use
briefings linked to commercial activities.
The cumulative total of people reached
in the first two years of this commitment
exceeded 10 million.
Safe use training has for many years been
an integral part of the way we do business
worldwide, but our approach has varied
from country to country. As part of The
Good Growth Plan commitment we have
harmonized our approach, developing
guidelines and tools that enable our
people to plan and implement training
consistently. These were launched in 2015
and are now distributed in six languages.
To embed the new guidelines, we also
rolled out revised train-the-trainer protocols
in 2015 – initially in Latin America and Asia.
The primary focus of this work is not on
the number of farm workers we reach, but
on the quality of training that our trainers
impart and its lasting impact. To support
this initiative, we created a new online
tool: www.pesticidewise.com. Targeting
farmers and trainers, this aims to raise
awareness of the hazards and risks of
using pesticides and explains what users
can do to mitigate them.
Operational performanceThe Good Growth PlanStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusPerformance dataCorporate information 34
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
We recognize that we don’t have all the
answers, and it is important to learn
from others working in related fields. In
November 2015, we held a global Farmer
Safety Workshop to share experience
and ideas with representatives of the value
chain, academia and other civil society
organizations such as the Sustainable
Agriculture Network, Solidaridad and
the Centre for Development Innovation
at Wageningen UR. This has deepened
our understanding of the many cultural
and behavioral factors involved in helping
farmers to work more responsibly and
safely. For example, we need to improve
our training to target women in countries
where they do much of the farm work,
but have not been encouraged to actively
participate in training sessions.
What next?
In the year ahead we will be rolling out
new training programs based on our
revised guidelines and incorporating
the learning from our Farmer Safety
Workshop. We are also adopting new
approaches and partnerships to extend
our training footprint – particularly in
Africa and other areas where we need to
supplement our own internal resources
in order to reach the number of people
we have committed to train.
Major endorsement
for our Fair Labor Program
In 2015, we completed implementation of
our Fair Labor Program in the Philippines
and began implementation in China.
By the end of the year, the program
covered 27,091 suppliers in Asia Pacific,
Eastern Europe and Latin America.
This represented 84 percent of our seed
supply chain, and we remain on track for
100 percent by 2020. The total number
of seed suppliers in 2015 was significantly
lower than in previous years, reflecting
market demand and our work on
streamlining the supply chain.
In 2015, we became the first agriculture
company to receive FLA accreditation,
for our program in India. This major
endorsement confirms that we have
effective systems and procedures across
all our production and supply operations
to communicate our standards, assess
compliance, train staff to assess and
resolve non-compliance, and give workers
confidential reporting channels.
The program demonstrated its
effectiveness by identifying key areas
requiring improvement. These included
wage payments, on-farm health, safety
and environmental measures, and access
to grievance mechanisms. Corrective
action plans were developed and actions
piloted in the following growing season.
All our own flower seeds production sites
in the Europe, Africa and Middle East
region and our site in Guatemala are
GLOBALG.A.P. certified, and our sites in
Portugal and the Netherlands are certified
to G.A.P.’s social practice standard
(GRASP). By the end of 2015, our larger
third-party suppliers had also achieved
G.A.P. certification.
Look after
every worker
Strive for fair labor conditions
throughout our entire
supply chain network
Seed supply farms
in our Fair Labor Program1
84%
2015
2014
84%
53%
1 2014 value was estimated and not assured
Progress and key achievements
First agricultural company to receive
FLA accreditation
GLOBALG.A.P./GRASP certification
for our flower farms
Joined Together for
Sustainability initiative
Labor standards are a priority concern
for all our farms and production plants.
We expect the same from our suppliers,
and take positive action to ensure fair
labor conditions in our supply chain.
Our more than 30,000 seed supply farms
in 36 countries pose particular challenges.
Since 2004, we have worked with the
Fair Labor Association (FLA) to address
labor standards on these farms. Under
our Fair Labor Program, our supplier
contracts set out standards in nine
areas: Employment Relationship;
Nondiscrimination; Harassment and Abuse;
Forced Labor; Child Labor; Freedom of
Association and Collective Bargaining;
Health, Safety and Environment; Hours
of Work; and Compensation. Each year,
we audit compliance on at least
20 percent of farms in each country;
the FLA independently audits a further
2 to 5 percent in higher-risk countries,
and ensures transparency by publishing
all its findings.
The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
35
There are around 900 companies in
our chemicals supply chain, and our
assessment program checks their
compliance with our health, safety, quality
and labor standards. In 2015, we joined
the Together for Sustainability initiative.
This brings together international chemical
companies – 14 so far – to share joint
supplier audits on health, safety,
environmental, social and ethical issues
in line with the principles of the United
Nations Global Compact, Responsible
Care and the International Labor
Organization. This enables us to reach
deeper into our supply chain and to raise
the bar for suppliers. It will also free up
resources so that we can conduct ‘deep
dive’ assessments of our strategically
most important suppliers.
What next?
In 2016, we will continue to roll out our
Fair Labor Program for seeds suppliers,
completing coverage of Latin America
and Asia Pacific. We will also begin
reporting compliance levels for all
countries in the program – an important
step for transparency. While we have
come a long way in improving labor
conditions in the supply chain, we
recognize that there is still more to be
done. The Good Growth Plan measures
will enable better informed discussion of
the challenges we face and the progress
we are making.
Keep up to date with
The Good Growth Plan
Throughout the year, we provide
updates on The Good Growth Plan
website. There, you’ll find more
information about each commitment
as well as a range of case studies
from the field. Visit:
www.goodgrowthplan.com
To find more about our approach to
open data or to access the files, visit:
www.data.syngenta.com
Taking a stand for fair labor
In Argentina, millions of people work in agriculture. Fair labor on
farms is an issue of great importance. In 2011, an audit of our fair
labor compliance in Argentina carried out in partnership with the
Fair Labor Association (FLA) showed key areas for improvement.
A subsequent supply chain review led to an ambitious program
to enhance labor and safety practices for field workers on our
seed supply farms. This included improving workers’ access
to training, focusing on health and safety risk identification
and reporting. In 2015, our Argentine supply chain achieved
99.5 percent compliance with the FLA Code of Conduct.
Operational performanceThe Good Growth PlanStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusPerformance dataCorporate information 36
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Operational performance
Maximizing the value
of innovation
Excellence in innovation underpins our business strategy
and The Good Growth Plan. As a sustainable business,
we aim to capture all the potential value that our innovation
creates. We need a talented and motivated workforce.
We must be efficient and profitable. And we have to earn
the support of employees, regulators and the public
as a responsible and respected organization.
We now have a framework for
sustainable operations, based on the
principle that we will maximize the pace
and impact of our initiatives if we focus
on the areas offering greatest scope
for beneficial change. This framework
identifies five focus areas: energy, water,
waste, suppliers and logistics.
Our operational performance has many
facets. But it all depends on one factor:
our people. The long-term success of
our business will be shaped by the talent,
skills and motivation of the people who
work here.
See Non-financial information and data
on pages 55–62
We have built an internal Operational
Excellence team and trained our own
coaches so that we have in-house
capability to apply this methodology
over the long term.
We continue to invest in our production
assets to ensure that we have the right
facilities and capacity to satisfy demand
efficiently. As part of our ongoing review
of capacity, we also consider where we
need our own production facilities and
whether it makes better sense to partner
with external suppliers instead.
As an integral element of our operations
strategy, we have continued to focus
on the sustainability of our operations.
Just as The Good Growth Plan seeks
to increase the sustainability of our offers
in the field by 2020, this work aims to
secure the long-term viability of our
internal and external operations.
Delivering outstanding quality
with focus on profitability
Our operations strategy encompasses
all our procurement, supply, production,
distribution, quality and business
services. It aims to support profitable
growth by ensuring we deliver innovation
to growers with scale, agility and
efficiency. Our efforts have been
strengthened by Syngenta’s Accelerating
Operational Leverage (AOL) program,
which has focused attention across
the business on enhancing efficiency,
profitability and the experience we
provide for customers.
A key enabler of AOL is the Operational
Excellence program that we are
implementing. This is a well-proven
approach to systematically and
continuously improve the efficiency and
value of our operations. It is designed to
unleash the potential of our people by
giving them a greater sense of direction,
engagement and achievement in
their work. It augments our culture of
innovation by bringing greater rigor and
discipline to the way we work. And it will
ensure that we improve the customer
experience as we increase the efficiency
of our operations.
Operational performance
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
37
People
Attrition rate %
2015
2014
2013
6.1
5.5
5.5
Recordable illness and injury rate
per 200,000 hours
2015
2014
2013
0.38
0.37
0.41
In our rapidly evolving industry, we need
innovation not only in the way we develop
new products, but in the way we lead
and change the organization. We invest in
recruiting, developing and enabling talented
people who can meet the challenges and
opportunities of our industry successfully.
Developing our people
and capabilities
In 2015, we invested $ 25.1 million (2014:
$ 29.8 million) in training programs to help
our employees achieve their potential
and to build the capabilities we need.
All employees took part in performance
review, goal setting and personal
development discussions with their line
managers throughout the year, and we
continue to invest in building a more diverse
and inclusive culture through a variety of
programs and activities. We continued to
engage people in The Good Growth Plan,
and recognize our employees’ achievements
in our biennial Syngenta Awards.
Enhancing efficiency and profitability
is a strategic priority throughout the
business, demanding constant attention
from our leadership teams. Investing in
our executive development is a priority
and, throughout the year, many senior
leaders participated in a new Executive
Leadership Program specifically focused
on enterprise leadership.
Connecting employees and customers
A group of employees based in the Philippines gained a better
understanding of rice farmers and of The Good Growth Plan
commitments with a visit to one of our learning centers.
The employees learned more about the training we conduct
for farmers on technology, products and stewardship, helping
to bring to life The Good Growth Plan commitments.
The employees also experienced the daily tasks farmers carry
out when the group took part in harvesting or planting rice
at the center.
Managing change successfully
and responsibly
We also invested in equipping a broad
cross-section of managers to lead and
manage change; this helps us successfully
plan and implement performance
improvement projects in our Accelerating
Operational Leverage (AOL) program.
The AOL program has resulted in around
1,800 job reductions and relocations
across the business. As anticipated in last
year’s report, the majority of these were
completed in 2015. We opened a new
Global Operations Center in Manchester,
UK, and a new European Finance Center
in Budapest, Hungary. These moves, while
difficult for impacted employees, were
completed successfully and employee
morale in both centers is high.
Operational performanceStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanPerformance dataCorporate information
38
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Building our talent pool
efficiently
We continued to have a high employee
retention rate in 2015. Due to restructuring,
total turnover was 12.5 percent – higher
than in 2014 (9.9 percent) but still lower
than in 2013 (14.1 percent). The number
of voluntary leavers – which excludes
retirement and restructuring – rose slightly
to 6.1 percent (2014: 5.5 percent).
Although our staff turnover remains
relatively low, we still need to recruit new
people each year – not only to replace
those who retire or leave, but also to enter
new markets and acquire new skills
and experience. In 2015, we entered a
partnership agreement with IBM Kenexa,
one of the world’s largest recruitment
consultancies, to manage our global
recruitment. Starting in the UK and Asia
Pacific in 2015, it will operate globally
by the end of 2016.
Working safely and securely
We aim to be an industry leader in health
and safety standards and performance.
To this end, we make continuous
investments in our safety program
to sustain a best-in-class Illness and
Injury Rate (IIR) of below 0.5. The rate
remained low in 2015, at 0.38 recordable
incidents per 200,000 hours (2014: 0.37).
This was a good performance in a year
that saw a further increase in the
proportion of field work, where injury
rates tend to be higher.
Sadly, there was one fatality during the
year: a sales promotion employee in
Bangladesh died when his motorcycle
collided with a bus while he was returning
from a business meeting. We have
programs in place to continuously improve
the safety of our sales force when driving,
including online e-training targeted at
accident causes. In Latin America, we
have introduced satellite-based tracking
of fleet vehicles. This generates reports
on parameters such as speed, seat belt
use and driving time, which we use to
identify the need for improvement. In
Brazil, where it now covers one-third of
all vehicles, vehicle incidents in 2015 were
60 percent lower than in 2014. Across
Syngenta, the number of incidents per
million km driven was 1.3 in 2015 – lower
than our benchmark figure of 2.0–3.0.
Since the launch of our new Health, Safety,
Environment and Security reporting
system at the end of 2013, we were able
to collect more and better data on health
and safety incidents. In 2015, we have
been able to use this data to analyze risks
to our people’s health and safety more
closely and take appropriate action to
control and minimize them.
Since 2011, our Goal Zero initiative has
sought to achieve zero harm to people
and zero safety incidents, on the principle
that all accidents are preventable. The
construction project to quadruple the size
of our Formosa plant in Brazil exemplifies
this commitment. While the plant
maintained operations throughout the two-
year project, with up to 1,500 people on
site, in 2015 it completed 1.2 million hours
worked without a single lost-time incident.
We also take the security of our people,
products, assets and information
extremely seriously at all times. As a global
organization, we remain exposed to a
significant and complex range of potential
risks – from the counterfeiting of our
products to cybercrime. We aim to assess
and address emerging security risks
proactively, before they become live
issues, and we train our local security
staff in how to handle emergencies to
safeguard our people and surrounding
communities. In 2015, under our Security
360° program, our security professionals
evaluated 117 sites to determine risk levels,
and helped to develop site-specific risk
management plans.
Counterfeiting of our products can be
hazardous to users, the public and the
environment. We have increased our
resources for combating it, and in 2015
played an active part in securing seizures
of some 323 tonnes of counterfeit
and illegally imported chemicals (2014:
178 tonnes) with an estimated retail value
of $ 43 million (2014: $ 17 million). We also
contributed to the seizures of 91 tonnes
of counterfeit seeds with an estimated
market value of $ 11.4 million.
Sustainable
operations
CO2e emissions intensity g/$sales
2015
2014
2013
124
114
116
Hazardous waste intensity g/$sales
2015
2014
2013
Water usage intensity liters/$sales
2015
2014
2013
14.4
15.6
16.0
2.6
2.5
2.5
Our efficiency and our sustainability go
hand-in-hand. Our viability – now and in
the future – depends on using resources
efficiently and maintaining our license
to operate by minimizing our external
impacts. This is why our sustainability
standards and performance are
closely scrutinized and approved
by Syngenta’s Board.
Operational performance
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
39
Ensuring we have
the capacity to deliver
Our Finished Product Processing teams
continue to deliver high-quality seeds
and crop protection products to meet
demand – safely, reliably, responsively
and cost effectively. Production is carried
out both in-house and through toll
manufacturers: we continually review
our in-house production assets to
increase agility, minimize disruption,
reduce idle capacity and ensure delivery
in line with our integrated strategy and
long-term goals.
In 2015, investment continued at our
Paulinia site in Brazil to ensure we can
meet demand for SOLATENOL™ in
Latin America. We continue to build
on established relationships with toll
manufacturers who have demonstrated
their ability to deliver to our quality and
cost standards.
All our eight global active ingredient sites
have ongoing ‘lean’ initiatives to enhance
Operational Excellence and have
maintained their ability to deliver at high
capacity. All expansion projects were
delivered on time and budget, including
key projects at Huddersfield, UK, and
Monthey, Switzerland, as well as at
Nantong in China. In 2015, we announced
our intention to divest our site in Goa,
India, in a further consolidation of
internal capacity.
Empowering people to achieve excellence
Increased customer demand for crop protection products
created production challenges at Syngenta’s diversified
agri-chemical formulating and packaging facility in Omaha,
USA. Employees faced rising overtime and heavy workloads.
To meet production targets without putting undue — and
unsustainable — strain on resources, management introduced
Operational Excellence: a well-proven approach to continuously
improve efficiency and value. By embracing the idea of
continuous improvement, employees changed the culture of
their site through a focus on new techniques and teamwork.
Today, four years on, overtime has been reduced, work
processes are more efficient and there is a more positive
working environment.
Operational performanceStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanPerformance dataCorporate information 40
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Making our operations more sustainable
These are the principal actions currently underway to enable us to understand what
is necessary to ensure the sustainability of our operations and to set appropriate
targets. The majority of these actions are due for completion by the end of 2016.
Action by focus area
Energy
Significance
Completion
Carry out detailed audit of our top 10 sites,
accounting for over 80 percent of our
energy use
The energy audit program is based on EU energy requirements:
audits will set baselines for all sites in the program with targets
for improvement
Water
Establish a water footprint for the
seed supply business
Waste
Seed supply is our principal water-using activity, so we are including
it in our data collection process and will cover water types and
usage patterns
Establish waste footprints for the 10 active
ingredients generating over 80 percent
of our hazardous waste
Our hazardous waste comes mainly from active ingredient production:
a life-cycle approach to key products will cut hazardous waste generation
by optimizing processes and enhancing recycling and reuse
Suppliers
Conduct sustainability risk assessments
for 100 percent of direct and indirect
procurement categories
Actively participate in the Together for
Sustainability (TfS) initiative
Ensure 100 percent participation by active
ingredient and other strategic suppliers
in our improvement program, and by key
third-party waste treatment providers in
our compliance program
Logistics
Adopt fourth-party logistics (4PL) to cover
our global operations in Crop Protection
and field crops
This will identify the supply markets which represent the biggest
sustainability risks, to guide future action
By applying consistent standards across the industry, this initiative
is improving sustainable sourcing and raising standards across the
supply chain while cutting complexity and costs
Regular audits will reduce risks from third-party waste management
2020
A 4PL supplier acts as a single interface between the client and
multiple logistics service providers. Their role is to optimize the
logistics and transportation network in order to drive continuous
service improvement and cost reduction. This can significantly cut
CO2 emissions by optimizing road, rail and sea transport and storage
2020
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
Operational performance
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
41
Ensuring our viability
for the future
In 2015, we increased our effort to analyze
the external impacts of our operations
and identified five key focus areas
for reducing our impact – as set out
in the table: “Making our operations
more sustainable”.
Three of the focus areas concern the
way we use resources: energy, waste
and water. Our energy and waste impacts
come primarily from our production sites;
and although we have some 300 of these,
just 10 sites account for about 80 percent
of the impacts. We have, therefore, been
focusing our attention on these sites.
While our water efficiency initiatives are
concentrating on the most water-intensive
manufacturing sites, we understand that
our greatest water-consuming activity by
far is seed production. We have, therefore,
been devoting considerable attention to
water use on our seed supply farms and
how best to manage it.
The two other focus areas concern the
way we work with third-party suppliers.
Our business model is evolving to place
greater emphasis on outsourcing.
As a result, external suppliers now
account for a large – and growing –
part of our environmental footprint. So
we are placing more attention on the way
we work together to help them manage
their environmental impacts effectively and
efficiently. In addition to our production
suppliers, we are also looking closely
at logistics – the way we transport and
store materials through the distribution
chain – where greater efficiency will have
a substantial impact on costs as well
as our environmental footprint.
We have identified priority actions for our
sustainability performance in these five
focus areas. Our work so far has centered
on understanding our footprints, to see
where the risks are highest and how we
can invest efficiently to achieve desirable
change. This in turn will allow us to set
location-specific targets that are relevant
and demanding – a process scheduled
to complete by the end of 2016. In the
meantime, we have continued to work
on tracking and reducing our impacts,
as we have done for many years.
Using resources more efficiently
Our environmental impacts arise mostly
in the areas of energy, hazardous waste,
wastewater and water consumption.
A summary of each of these follows –
for more detailed performance data see
pages 60–61. We report our performance
both in absolute terms and as intensity
expressed per dollar of sales. The benefits
of concentrating attention on the sites
where our impacts are greatest are evident
in the 2015 figures.
Energy
We have energy efficiency programs
at all our sites. The drive for ever-greater
efficiency is continuous and permanent:
when targets are met, we will set new
and more demanding ones.
We are currently undertaking detailed
energy audits on our top 10 sites, which
account for over 80 percent of our energy
use. These audits will guide target setting
and action plans in 2016.
In 2015, we continued to reduce our
energy consumption. Absolute energy
consumption reduced by 7 percent
to 9,222 TJ, driven by the reduction
in production over the year. Energy
intensity and, consequently, CO2e
emissions intensity increased slightly.
The contribution to our carbon footprint
from distribution has remained stable
while the need for business travel has
been reduced by the installation of
telepresence rooms at all our major sites.
Enabling people to join virtual meetings
instead of traveling saves energy, travel
costs and management time.
Waste
One of our major impacts is hazardous
waste, generated mostly by our active
ingredient manufacturing sites. As well
as reducing the waste generated during
production, we aim to convert or reuse
as much waste as possible. To do this,
we constantly review the opportunities
for optimizing both new and existing
processes, and for regenerating or
reusing unavoidable waste – usually
as an additional source of energy.
In 2015, we reduced hazardous
waste generation by 18 percent to
193,000 tonnes – due principally to
a substantial initiative at our Huddersfield,
UK, site and reduced production in Goa,
India. The reduction in intensity was
8 percent.
Water
Until recently, our data collection on
water use has been largely confined
to our manufacturing sites. In 2015, we
commissioned a major third-party analysis
of our water footprint across our toll
manufacturing and seed production
supply chains, as well as our own sites.
This highlighted the impact of seed
production, which used more than
1.1 billion m3 of rain and irrigation water
in 2015, compared with just 35 million m3
for chemical manufacturing plants. We are
now gaining a better understanding of our
water use and profiling more accurately
to discriminate, for example, between
rain-fed and irrigation-fed water use in
fields. This work is continuing so that we
can fully understand the risk implications
of measures to reduce our water footprint.
Operational performanceStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanPerformance dataCorporate information In our drive to ensure sustainable
procurement – and to audit suppliers
rigorously and efficiently – we successfully
applied to join Together for Sustainability
(TfS) in 2015. TfS brings together
14 international chemical companies
to work jointly on supplier audits and
assessments on health, safety and the
environment, as well as social and ethical
issues which support the principles of the
UN Global Compact, Responsible Care
and the International Labor Organization.
Its vision is to become the global standard
for sustainability in chemical supply
chains. TfS membership will help
us meet the commitments contained
in The Good Growth Plan; and by
eliminating duplication of audits, it
enables us to raise the bar for suppliers
while achieving greater efficiency.
Distributing more efficiently,
with less CO2
During 2015, we began optimizing our
logistics activities – both transport and
storage – to enable cost-efficient growth,
increased compliance and improved
visibility of operations while reducing our
carbon footprint. This work involves
standardizing and optimizing processes,
leveraging scale and making increasing
use of ‘fourth-party logistics’ providers in
which a single partner integrates and co-
ordinates all logistics operations across the
supply chain. This work will cut our CO2
emissions, while increasing the efficiency,
scalability and productivity of the way we
deliver our products to customers.
42
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
In 2015, water use was down 7 percent
in absolute terms and practically
unchanged in intensity. In our
manufacturing operations, the
principal factor was a reduction in
water consumption for processing
mainly in our sites at Goa, India,
Huddersfield, UK, and St. Gabriel, USA.
Wastewater effluents were down 6 percent
overall, although the principal factor was
reduced production.
Air emissions
Air emissions reduced in both absolute
and intensity terms. This was partly due
to lower SO2 emissions resulting from
reduced production at our Goa site.
Working in partnership
with suppliers
Our strategic approach to suppliers
ensures that we work with partners
who meet our standards of operation,
possess differentiated technical capability
and are able to meet our expectations
of year-on-year cost savings, as well as
understanding the benefits and risks of
working in our industry.
In 2015, our supply chain included more
than 30,000 seed supply farms. We are
committed to covering all these suppliers
with our Fair Labor Program, developed
over more than a decade with the
Fair Labor Association (FLA). This program
aims to communicate, monitor and ensure
FLA-approved standards on child labor,
health and safety, rights awareness,
wages and benefits, working hours,
harassment, abuse and discrimination.
In 2015, 84 percent of seed supply farms
were covered by the program. For more
details, see “Look after every worker” on
page 34.
In October 2015, we received accreditation
from the FLA for the Fair Labor Program
in India. FLA accreditation is significant
recognition, and we are the first agriculture
company to receive it. The FLA concluded
that we have appropriately rigorous
systems and procedures to ensure fair
labor standards throughout our Indian
production and supply operations.
Business integrity
Compliance cases reported
2015
2014
2013
196
96
110
Corporate community investment
$m
2015
2014
2013
24
25
21
We believe that building and maintaining a
culture of doing the right thing is crucial to
managing risk and growing a sustainably
successful business. It is also the essential
foundation on which The Good Growth Plan
is built.
We comply with all local, national and
international laws, codes and conventions,
and uphold the principles set out in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Labor Organization’s
Core Conventions. We expect our
suppliers to do the same.
Operational performance
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
43
But real business integrity demands more
than regulatory and legal compliance. We
have been moving beyond a rules-based
approach to build a values-based culture
of doing the right thing, which we share
with our partners and suppliers. This
supports our longstanding policy of
engaging actively with the communities
in which we operate, to build mutual
understanding and benefit.
Building a ‘do the right
thing’ culture
Our Code of Conduct sets out clear
ethical, environmental, and social
responsibilities for all employees; we
expect them to honor these and report
any suspected breaches. We also monitor
our suppliers’ compliance – both with our
standards and external regulations – on
issues such as health and safety, the
environment, fair labor practices and
animal welfare.
Building a ‘do the right thing’ culture is an
explicit line management responsibility.
We have introduced compliance sessions
in which managers meet with their teams
to discuss relevant compliance topics and
encourage employees to speak up if they
have concerns. We want to create a
climate in which people feel confident
about speaking to their leaders without
hesitation, so that ethical issues can be
addressed before they become problems.
Our compliance helpline, successfully re-
launched in 2014, remains a vital part of
our vigilance in monitoring, detecting and
preventing misconduct by allowing
employees to seek advice or report
concerns confidentially.
Our Compliance and Risk Management
Committees (CRMCs) at region, territory
and function levels have been instrumental
in raising compliance awareness and
fostering the manager-led compliance
sessions. These committees are our most
important drivers of a compliance and risk
management mindset and culture, and in
2015, we produced a CRMC handbook
to help leaders establish and run these
meetings effectively.
Our success in establishing a climate of
openness is demonstrated by a steady
increase in questions being raised –
through line managers, CRMCs and the
helpline. To give us a clearer overview,
all matters initiated through any of these
routes are being entered into a single
case-management system. We have now
adopted the annual total number of entries
as the most useful performance indicator
in this area: in 2015, the total was 196.
We continue to make our approach to
compliance more systematic and
consistent globally. When we appoint
third-party service providers, we have
begun using a new due diligence process
to screen them for compliance risks. This
includes an online questionnaire and risk-
scoring tool that automates consistent
assessment, approvals and controls.
We are introducing the new process
progressively, using a risk-based
approach. In 2015, we piloted it in
Argentina, China, Morocco and Turkey
to assess its effectiveness under a range
of different conditions. In 2016, we will
roll it out to 10 more countries.
At many production sites we have
introduced training programs for local
suppliers on our Code of Conduct and
other important policies.
In 2016, we will continue to work on our
compliance culture and business integrity
through manager-led sessions. For new
recruits, we will be supplementing the
existing Code of Conduct training with a
new e-learning module providing a fuller
overview of our key compliance policies,
and we are taking additional steps to
ensure that all new joiners complete
the courses in full.
Earning the support
of our neighbors
Every country and region expects us to
meet its legal and regulatory requirements;
but we also strive to meet wider social
expectations. Our operations are part of
local economies and communities, urban
and rural, in more than 90 countries
worldwide. We aim to benefit them in
a variety of ways.
We provide economic benefit by paying
taxes and providing employment, as well
as by buying goods and services, which
we source locally where appropriate.
Each year, we report this contribution
as “Economic value shared”. In 2015,
it totaled $ 13,440 million (2014:
$ 14,982 million). The lower figure in 2015
was due largely to reductions in purchased
goods and in savings as a result of our
Accelerating Operational Leverage
program – there is a detailed breakdown
of the figures on page 62.
Operational performanceStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanPerformance dataCorporate information 44
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Our economic contribution is only part
of the picture. For many years we have
made it a priority to engage directly
and responsively with local communities
wherever we operate. Good relationships
are good for our business. We believe our
interests are best served when we listen
to local communities, share knowledge,
protect the environment, promote health
and improve the quality of life so that
we protect our reputation and earn
their support.
For many years, our site managers have
had an explicit responsibility to be open
and available to their local community
and respond quickly to its needs and
concerns. Many have made increasing
use of technology such as social media
to do this more effectively – for example,
by using social media to communicate
site news or alert neighbors before testing
emergency sirens.
We support community initiatives through
sponsorships, donations and support
in kind. Under our new Community
Engagement policy launched in 2014,
these contributions have focused more
closely on five areas where our support
has particular relevance: water efficiency,
land use efficiency, support for agricultural
production and education, community
health and nutrition, and science
and education.
Raising awareness among tomorrow’s farmers
The Escola no Campo program (School in the Field) has been
introducing schoolchildren in rural Brazil to sustainable
agriculture, environment and the important role of biodiversity
for more than 20 years.
Targeting the future farmers of Brazil, the program has
increasingly focused on elements closely linked to our
commitments in The Good Growth Plan – in particular
environmental awareness, the importance of helping
biodiversity flourish, and topics such as child labor
prevention and good practices.
So far, more than 430,000 children in 11 states in Brazil
have taken part. The program, developed in partnership
with the Abrinq Foundation, has received several national
sustainable agriculture awards.
Public debates
From time to time, issues arise that divide
opinion among our stakeholders and the
wider public. Different groups may seek
divergent outcomes. In such cases, we
seek open and constructive discussion
with all relevant interest groups to find
solutions. In 2015, such issues included
bee health, food security, pesticide
labeling and the treatment of suppliers.
Protecting bee health
In recent years, the health of bees and
other pollinators has been a growing
concern across Europe and North America.
After European campaigners claimed that
neonicotinoid pesticides, including our
thiamethoxam, were damaging bees, the
EU imposed a restriction on using some
of these chemicals in certain applications
from December 2013. We have challenged
the measure because field-level research
and many years of independent monitoring
have shown that neonicotinoids do not
adversely affect bee health when used
properly, nor are they the cause of the
decline in bee health.
Since the restriction on use began,
EU farmers have expressed increasing
concern that it has reduced yields and
forced them to use older, less effective
chemicals. Several EU countries have
allowed temporary use of neonicotinoids
in emergency situations so that farmers
can protect their crops from pests.
In North America, the number of honey
bee populations has increased in both
Canada and the USA. Bees are thriving in
crops where neonicotinoids are used –
including a range of bee-attractive crops
Operational performance
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
45
such as canola. In July 2015, the province
of Ontario implemented a new regulation
targeting an 80 percent reduction in
neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean
seeds by 2017. We are disappointed with
this decision, as the arbitrary reduction
in treated seeds planted is not evidence-
based and will disadvantage growers
without contributing to bee health.
Bees and bee health are crucial to
agriculture, and much of our industry’s
seed production depends on bees for
pollination. This is why we have been
committed to bee health for many years
through initiatives like Operation Pollinator,
which focuses on improving pollinator
habitats and nutrition in the farm
landscape across the globe.
Read more on
www.operationpollinator.com
Debating how to feed the planet
Syngenta joined Basel’s exhibit at EXPO
Milano 2015, where the theme was
“Feeding the planet, energy for life”.
Our display highlighted the challenges
of food security and our R&D innovations
and partnerships in pursuit of
sustainable solutions.
Our participation drew criticism from some
NGOs – who, in anticipation of EXPO
Milano, staged a protest against Syngenta.
Their overall charge was that Syngenta
is part of a globalized agricultural system
based on fossil fuels, chemistry and
genetic research, which in their view
is unsustainable.
We engaged in open discussion and
confirmed our view that there is no single
solution to the world’s food security
challenges. Many approaches and
methodologies are needed, and we can
only be one part of a much wider effort.
Investments in agricultural research
are a fundamental part of the solution.
Together with our partners, we are
committed to innovating for food security.
Our participation in Expo Milano has
stimulated the debate.
Ensuring safe use of pesticides
Many agricultural chemicals can be
hazardous if used incorrectly. So we
attach great importance to growers using
them safely and responsibly. Our focus is
on product labels and on providing safe
use training for farm workers – one of our
commitments in The Good Growth Plan,
see page 32.
We aim to comply with all local legislation
on product labeling, marketing and
safe use training – and we review our
compliance regularly. As a member of
the industry body CropLife International,
we also undertake to comply with the
International Code of Conduct on
Pesticide Management (ICCPM) set
out by the UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World
Health Organization.
In 2015, a group of European NGOs filed
a complaint with the FAO stating that
Syngenta, among others, was selling a
number of products in the Indian Punjab
market carrying labels inconsistent with
the ICCPM standards. They argued that
Indian labeling regulations are inadequate,
and that we should therefore apply ICCPM
standards instead.
In line with agreed procedures, the FAO is
currently consulting on this issue with the
Indian government and other stakeholders;
we have welcomed this approach. To
date, given the incompatibilities between
Indian government regulations and the
ICCPM recommendations, we have to
comply with local regulations. However,
we have confirmed that we will work with
other stakeholders to address any
problems that the FAO consultations may
identify, and to seek solutions. We have
also invited representatives of the NGOs
concerned to join our ongoing work on
enhancing training protocols.
This case highlights a broader issue: the
need for greater harmonization between
countries to achieve more consistent
approaches to labeling and safe use
standards. We believe the FAO is the
appropriate facilitator and arbiter for
this work.
Read more on the ICCPM:
www.fao.org – and search “ICCPM”
Treating growers fairly
In December 2014, the Danish NGO,
DanWatch, published an online
documentary alleging that we dealt
improperly with seed growers in rural
Andhra Pradesh, India. It claimed that
Syngenta was party to exploitative
moneylending to growers – and that this,
together with low seed prices paid to
growers, was linked to labor violations
on farms.
Serious allegations demand a serious
response. We have worked with the
Fair Labor Association (FLA) since 2004
to address labor conditions in our seed
supply chain – see “Look after every
worker” on page 34. So we asked the
FLA to commission an urgent independent
investigation. This confirmed that the
moneylending and low-price allegations
were unfounded; but it did highlight areas
for improvement – particularly in the
transparency of money flows between
intermediaries and growers. We took
prompt action to implement improvements.
India faces acute labor and worker welfare
challenges, and we recognize low wages
in particular as an issue requiring constant
attention. As part of our response to the
independent investigation, we announced
a joint FLA-Syngenta multi-stakeholder
consultation event in India in January 2016
to address ways of ensuring that our
suppliers pay agreed minimum wages.
We are confident that this will result in
positive change.
Read more on
www.fairlabor.org/affiliate/syngenta
Operational performanceStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanPerformance dataCorporate information The deliberate reduction in glyphosate
volumes and lower glyphosate prices
reduced sales by $ 224 million.
Asia Pacific
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
1,837
2,033
1,935
Full year sales volumes were affected
by extended drought conditions in
ASEAN and the phase-out of paraquat
sales in China due to a regulatory
change Pricing gains however were
broad-based, with significant increases
notably in South Asia; seeds sales in
ASEAN reflected the continued adoption
of genetically modified (GM) technology.
Australasia saw good volume growth
with increased cotton acreage driving
higher Seedcare sales.
46
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Regional performance
Europe, Africa
and the Middle East
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
The deliberate reduction in glyphosate
volumes and lower glyphosate prices
reduced full year sales by 4 percent.
In the USA, ongoing low commodity
prices negatively affected the demand
for crop enhancement applications.
In Canada, sales were lower owing to
dry weather conditions and high channel
inventories of Seedcare products.
3,884
4,547
4,223
Latin America
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
3,632
4,279
3,991
Market conditions deteriorated in the
second half of the year, with the sharp
depreciation of the Brazilian real as well
as tight credit conditions for growers in
both Brazil and Argentina. Despite this,
ELATUS™ performed well in its second
year in Brazil, demonstrating the
continuing customer demand for
new technology.
The fourth quarter also included
$ 55 million in trait revenue from the
KWS and Limagrain agreement.
In 2015, the Company implemented
a change in contractual sales terms
for crop protection products in Brazil,
which caused a timing change in sales
recognition. The full year effect was
a $ 239 million increase in sales.
The region achieved further growth at
constant exchange rates in the fourth
quarter, measured against a strong
finish to the 2014 season: higher volumes
in the quarter were supported by a
successful campaign for corn and
sunflower seeds.
Full year growth reflected significant
price increases in the CIS which offset
currency depreciation. Crop Protection
volumes were slightly above 2014 levels –
despite dry conditions, low disease
pressure and depressed cereals prices –
with strong performances by the cereal
fungicides SEGURIS® and MODDUS®
as well as Seedcare. This offset the
erosion of seeds volumes in the CIS
caused by price increases.
North America
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
3,410
3,582
3,848
Volume growth was strong in the fourth
quarter, driven by the success of
ACURON™, a newly launched herbicide
that provides corn farmers with an
effective solution to combat weed
resistance. Sales in the quarter also
included trait revenues of $145 million
from the licensing agreement with
KWS and Limagrain announced
in October.
1 Excluding Lawn and Garden
All sales commentaries are
at constant exchange rates.
Performance data
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
47
Product line performance
Crop Protection
Selective herbicides
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
2,894
3,083
3,051
Sales performance in North America
was driven by the success of ACURON™,
which achieved its target of $100 million
sales in its launch year. This more than
offset the impact of dry weather conditions
in Canada. In Europe, strong price gains
were recorded in the CIS to compensate
for currency depreciation. Sales in Latin
America were higher as a result of the
change in sales terms in Brazil.
Non-selective herbicides
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
913
1,445
1,545
The sales decline is largely a result of
the decision to reduce volumes of solo
glyphosate in order to improve the
profitability of the business. TOUCHDOWN®
prices were also lower, reflecting a decline
in the active ingredient purchasing costs.
GRAMOXONE® sales in China have been
phased out following a regulatory change
affecting paraquat liquid formulations.
Fungicides
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
3,357
3,518
3,035
Broad-based growth was achieved across
the portfolio despite dry conditions in parts
of Europe and Asia Pacific. ELATUS™
performed well in its second year in Brazil,
with total sales exceeding $ 400 million.
Volume growth was solid across Europe
with a strong performance by the cereals
fungicides ALTO®, MODDUS® and
SEGURIS®. In January 2016, Syngenta
announced that SOLATENOL™, the active
ingredient used in ELATUS™, has been
approved by the EU authorities, with first
sales in France expected for the
2016/2017 season.
Insecticides
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
Strong price gains were recorded in Asia
Pacific, driven by increased adoption of
GM technology. Soybean sales in Latin
America were lower, as sales were shifted
to distributors as part of the implementation
of the Integrated Business Partner model
in Brazil.
1,705
2,066
1,912
Growth came from price increases in
Europe and volume growth in Asia Pacific,
as well as new product introductions in
China and India. This did not compensate
for the impact of reduced sales in Latin
America, due to dry weather and low
insect pressure in Argentina and to high
channel inventories in Brazil. However,
ACTARA® performed strongly in Brazil in
the fourth quarter with an improvement
in the sugar cane market.
Seedcare
Sales1 $m
2015
2014
2013
994
1,115
1,228
Growth in Europe reflected a solid
performance of Seedcare solutions for
the cereals market in the CIS and Central
Europe. In Asia Pacific, sales were boosted
by increased focus on key accounts in
China and by broad-based growth in
Australasia. In North America, sales were
affected by high channel inventories in the
Canadian cereals market and lower cotton
acres in southern US states.
Seeds
Corn and soybean
Sales $m
2015
2014
2013
1,564
1,665
1,654
Corn sales were up in all regions, with
a significant progression in the Americas
owing to the licensing agreement with
KWS and Limagrain, for which revenue
was recorded in the fourth quarter. This
was partially offset by lower US branded
sales due to the acreage shift from corn
to soybean. Corn volumes were down in
Europe as a consequence of reduced
acreage, but the impact was offset by
significant price increases in the CIS.
Diverse field crops
Sales $m
2015
2014
2013
658
827
842
Sunflower sales increased significantly
in Europe, the most important region,
reflecting substantial price increases
in the CIS which fully offset the impact
of currency depreciation. These price
increases had some impact on volume, as
high-value hybrids faced competition from
local seeds. Sugar beet sales were lower,
as oversupply on the sugar market led to
significant acreage shifts in Europe.
Vegetables
Sales $m
2015
2014
2013
616
663
708
Growth was broad-based across
the four regions. Price increases were
robust, owing to a focus on capturing
value for high-quality hybrids across the
portfolio and in particular to the strong
return on investments being achieved
by growers in South Asia. Sweet corn
sales in the USA were affected by high
processor inventories.
1 Includes sales of Crop Protection products to Seeds
and excludes non-product line sales
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information
48
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Financial information
A summary of Syngenta’s consolidated financial statements and other
financial information is provided on pages 48 to 54. For full details and
analysis of the Group’s audited financial results, prepared in accordance
with IFRS, please refer to our comprehensive Financial Report 2015, which
is available on request or on our website www.ar2015.syngenta.com
References to EBITDA in the following financial information excludes
the impact of restructuring, impairment and discontinued operations.1
Summarized financial information 2015 and 2014
Excluding restructuring
and impairment 1
Restructuring
and impairment
As reported
under IFRS
2014
–
(13)
(193)
(206)
(206)
38
(168)
–
(168)
(1.83)
(1.82)
2015
13,411
6,369
(2,210)
(1,362)
(956)
1,841
1,592
(248)
1,344
(5)
1,339
14.57
14.52
2014
15,134
6,942
(2,497)
(1,430)
(910)
2,105
1,895
(273)
1,622
(3)
1,619
17.66
17.60
Year ended December 31 ($ m, except per share amounts)
Sales
Gross profit
Marketing and distribution
Research and development
General and administrative
Operating income
Income before taxes
Income tax expense
Net income
Attributable to non-controlling interests
Attributable to Syngenta AG shareholders:
Earnings/(loss) per share ($ )2
Basic
Diluted
Gross profit margin excluding
restructuring and impairment
EBITDA4
EBITDA margin
Tax rate on results excluding restructuring
and impairment
Free cash flow 5
Trade working capital to sales6
Debt/Equity gearing 7
Net debt 7
Cash flow return on investment 8
2015
–
–
(388)
(388)
(388)
88
(300)
–
(300)
(3.26)
(3.26)
2015
CER3
49.1%
2015
13,411
6,369
(2,210)
(1,362)
(568)
2,229
1,980
(336)
1,644
(5)
1,639
17.83
17.78
2014
15,134
6,955
(2,497)
(1,430)
(717)
2,311
2,101
(311)
1,790
(3)
1,787
19.49
19.42
2015
2014
47.5%
2,777
20.7%
17%
795
38%
31%
2,586
11%
46.0%
2,926
19.3%
15%
1,083
34%
25%
2,248
11%
1 For further discussion of restructuring and impairment charges, see page 54. Net income and earnings per share excluding restructuring and impairment are provided as
additional information and not as an alternative to net income and earnings per share determined in accordance with IFRS
2 The weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue used to calculate the earnings per share were as follows: For 2015 basic EPS 91,908,128 and diluted 92,206,535;
for 2014 basic EPS 91,674,127 and diluted 92,007,089
3 For a description of CER, see page 54
4 EBITDA is defined on page 54
5 For a description of free cash flow, see page 54
6 Period end trade working capital as a percentage of 12-month sales
7 For a description of net debt and the calculation of debt/equity gearing, see page 54
8 For a description of the cash flow return on investment calculation, see page 54
Performance data Financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
49
Full year sales
Year ended December 31
Group sales
Europe, Africa and Middle East
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Total integrated sales
Lawn and Garden
Group sales
Crop Protection by region
Europe, Africa and Middle East
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Total
Seeds by region
Europe, Africa and Middle East
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Total
Sales by business
Crop Protection
Seeds
Elimination of Crop Protection sales to Seeds
Total integrated sales
Lawn and Garden
Group sales
Full year product line sales
Year ended December 31
Selective herbicides
Non-selective herbicides
Fungicides
Insecticides
Seedcare
Other crop protection
Total Crop Protection
Corn and soybean
Diverse field crops
Vegetables
Total Seeds
Elimination of Crop Protection sales to Seeds
Lawn and Garden
Group sales
2015
($ m)
2014
($ m)
Actual
%
CER
%
3,884
3,410
3,632
1,837
12,763
648
13,411
2,892
2,326
3,249
1,538
10,005
1,017
1,116
400
305
2,838
10,005
2,838
(80)
12,763
648
13,411
2015
($ m)
2,894
913
3,357
1,705
994
142
10,005
1,564
658
616
2,838
(80)
648
13,411
4,547
3,582
4,279
2,033
14,441
693
15,134
3,312
2,578
3,769
1,722
11,381
1,274
1,044
522
315
3,155
11,381
3,155
(95)
14,441
693
15,134
2014
($ m)
3,083
1,445
3,518
2,066
1,115
154
11,381
1,665
827
663
3,155
(95)
693
15,134
-15
-5
-15
-10
-12
-7
-11
-13
-10
-14
-11
-12
-20
+7
-23
-3
-10
-12
-10
n/a
-12
-7
-11
Actual
%
-6
-37
-5
-17
-11
-8
-12
-6
-20
-7
-10
n/a
-7
-11
+10
-4
-5
-3
–
+3
+1
+10
-8
-4
-4
-1
+9
+8
-6
+2
+5
-1
+5
n/a
–
+3
+1
CER
%
+6
-31
+9
-8
–
-1
-1
+4
+8
+5
+5
n/a
+3
+1
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information
50
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Condensed consolidated income statement
Year ended December 31 ($m, except share and per share amounts)
Sales
Cost of goods sold
Gross profit
Marketing and distribution
Research and development
General and administrative:
Restructuring
Other general and administrative
Operating income
Income from associates and joint ventures
Financial expense, net
Income before taxes
Income tax expense
Net income
Attributable to:
Syngenta AG shareholders
Non-controlling interests
Net income
Earnings per share ($ ):
Basic
Diluted
Weighted average number of shares:
Basic
Diluted
All activities were in respect of continuing operations.
Restructuring and impairment before taxes
Year ended December 31 ($m)
Accelerating operational leverage programs:
Cash costs
Non-cash impairment costs
Pension curtailment gain
Integrated crop strategy programs:
Cash costs
Operational efficiency programs:
Cash costs
Acquisition, divestment and related costs:
Cash costs
Non-cash items
Reversal of inventory step-ups
Fixed asset impairment
Other non-cash restructuring:
Non-current asset impairment
Total restructuring and impairment before taxes 1
1 $ nil (2014: $13 million) is included within Cost of goods sold
2015
13,411
(7,042)
6,369
(2,210)
(1,362)
(388)
(568)
1,841
7
(256)
1,592
(248)
1,344
1,339
5
1,344
14.57
14.52
2014
15,134
(8,192)
6,942
(2,497)
(1,430)
(193)
(717)
2,105
7
(217)
1,895
(273)
1,622
1,619
3
1,622
17.66
17.60
91,674,127
91,908,128
92,206,535 92,007,089
2015
2014
228
33
(21)
27
–
91
–
1
29
388
49
14
–
61
18
27
13
–
24
206
Performance data Financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
51
Condensed consolidated balance sheet
At December 31 ($m)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade receivables
Other accounts receivable
Inventories
Derivative and other financial assets
Other current assets
Total current assets
Non-current assets:
Property, plant and equipment
Intangible assets
Deferred tax assets
Financial and other non-current assets
Associates and joint ventures
Total non-current assets
Total assets
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities:
Trade accounts payable
Current financial debt and other financial liabilities
Income taxes payable
Other current liabilities
Provisions
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities:
Financial debt and other non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities
Provisions
Total non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Equity:
Shareholders’ equity
Non-controlling interests
Total equity
Total liabilities and equity
2015
2014
1,141
4,128
845
4,345
401
338
11,198
3,383
3,040
783
396
177
7,779
18,977
(3,311)
(730)
(444)
(983)
(193)
(5,661)
(3,501)
(668)
(727)
(4,896)
(10,557)
(8,401)
(19)
(8,420)
(18,977)
1,638
3,698
747
4,861
377
244
11,565
3,562
3,186
1,008
420
188
8,364
19,929
(3,472)
(1,329)
(706)
(984)
(216)
(6,707)
(2,976)
(665)
(676)
(4,317)
(11,024)
(8,889)
(16)
(8,905)
(19,929)
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 52
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Condensed consolidated cash flow statement
Year ended December 31 ($m)
Income before taxes
Reversal of non-cash items
Cash (paid)/received in respect of:
Interest and other financial receipts
Interest and other financial payments
Income taxes
Restructuring costs
Contributions to pension plans, excluding restructuring costs
Other provisions
Cash flow before change in net working capital
Change in net working capital:
Change in inventories
Change in trade and other working capital assets
Change in trade and other working capital liabilities
Cash flow from operating activities
Additions to property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment
Purchases of intangible assets
Purchases of investments in associates and other financial assets
Proceeds from disposals of intangible and financial assets
Acquisitions and divestments, net
Cash flow used for investing activities
Increases in third party interest-bearing debt
Repayments of third party interest-bearing debt
(Purchases)/sales of treasury shares and options over own shares, net
Distributions paid to shareholders
Cash flow used for financing activities
Net effect of currency translation on cash and cash equivalents
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Free cash flow
Year ended December 31 ($m)
Cash flow from operating activities
Cash flow used for investing activities
Cash flow used for/(from) marketable securities
Cash flow used for/(from) foreign exchange movements and settlement of hedges of inter-company loans
Free cash flow
2015
1,592
1,203
472
(623)
(482)
(125)
(156)
(80)
1,801
32
(868)
225
1,190
(453)
74
(90)
(29)
46
(10)
(462)
1,098
(1,174)
(34)
(1,078)
(1,188)
(37)
(497)
1,638
1,141
2015
1,190
(462)
–
67
795
2014
1,895
808
277
(483)
(330)
(26)
(184)
(70)
1,887
326
(332)
50
1,931
(600)
39
(82)
(38)
39
(87)
(729)
2,272
(1,556)
(104)
(1,032)
(420)
(46)
736
902
1,638
2014
1,931
(729)
(1)
(118)
1,083
Performance data Financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
53
Full year segmental results excluding restructuring and impairment
2015 ($m)
Sales
Cost of goods sold
Gross profit
Marketing and distribution
Research and development
General and administrative
Operating income/(loss)
2014 ($m)
Sales
Cost of goods sold
Gross profit
Marketing and distribution
Research and development
General and administrative
Operating income/(loss)
Europe, Africa,
Middle East
3,884
(1,889)
1,995
(586)
–
(126)
1,283
Europe, Africa,
Middle East
4,547
(2,167)
2,380
(720)
–
(161)
1,499
North
America
3,410
(1,779)
1,631
(537)
–
(84)
1,010
North
America
3,582
(2,003)
1,579
(564)
–
(92)
923
Latin
America
3,632
(2,118)
1,514
(557)
–
(39)
918
Latin
America
4,279
(2,492)
1,787
(615)
–
(77)
1,095
Asia
Pacific
1,837
(1,012)
825
(286)
–
(35)
504
Asia
Pacific
2,033
(1,107)
926
(314)
–
(48)
564
Non-
regional
–
54
54
(83)
(1,310)
(274)
(1,613)
Non-
regional
–
(92)
(92)
(110)
(1,376)
(307)
(1,885)
Total
integrated
12,763
(6,744)
6,019
(2,049)
(1,310)
(558)
2,102
Total
integrated
14,441
(7,861)
6,580
(2,323)
(1,376)
(685)
2,196
Lawn and
Garden
648
(298)
350
(161)
(52)
(10)
127
Lawn and
Garden
693
(318)
375
(174)
(54)
(32)
115
Group
13,411
(7,042)
6,369
(2,210)
(1,362)
(568)
2,229
Group
15,134
(8,179)
6,955
(2,497)
(1,430)
(717)
2,311
Segmental operating income reconciled to
segmental results excluding restructuring and impairment
2015 ($m)
Operating income/(loss)
Restructuring and impairment:
Europe, Africa,
Middle East
1,155
North
America
973
Latin
America
890
Asia
Pacific
484
Non-
regional
(1,781)
Total
integrated
1,721
Lawn and
Garden
120
Group
1,841
Expenses
128
37
Operating income excluding
restructuring and impairment
Operating margin (%)
1,283
33.1
1,010
29.6
28
918
25.3
20
504
27.5
168
381
7
388
(1,613)
n/a
2,102
16.5
127
19.6
2,229
16.6
2014 ($m)
Operating income/(loss)
Restructuring and impairment:
Cost of goods sold 1
Expenses
Operating income excluding
restructuring and impairment
Operating margin (%)
1 Reversal of inventory step-up
Europe, Africa,
Middle East
1,456
North
America
901
Latin
America
1,069
Asia
Pacific
560
Non-
regional
(1,981)
Total
integrated
2,005
Lawn and
Garden
100
13
30
1,499
33.0
–
22
923
25.8
–
26
1,095
25.6
–
4
564
27.8
–
96
(1,885)
n/a
13
178
2,196
15.2
–
15
115
16.6
Group
2,105
13
193
2,311
15.3
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information
54
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Constant exchange rates (CER)
Results in this report from one period to
another period are, where appropriate,
compared using constant exchange rates
(CER). To present that information, current
period results for entities reporting in
currencies other than US dollars are
converted into US dollars at the prior
period’s exchange rates, rather than at
the exchange rates for the current year.
CER margin percentages for gross profit
and EBITDA are calculated by the ratio
of these measures to sales after restating
the measures and sales at prior period
exchange rates. The CER presentation
indicates the underlying business
performance before taking into account
currency exchange fluctuations.
EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before
interest, tax, non-controlling interests,
depreciation, amortization, restructuring
and impairment. Information concerning
EBITDA has been included as it is used
by management and by investors as
a supplementary measure of operating
performance. Management excludes
restructuring from EBITDA in order to
focus on results excluding items affecting
comparability from one period to the next.
EBITDA is not a measure of cash liquidity
or financial performance under generally
accepted accounting principles and the
EBITDA measures used by Syngenta may
not be comparable to other similarly titled
measures of other companies. EBITDA
should not be construed as an alternative
to operating income or cash flow as
determined in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles.
Restructuring and
impairment before taxes
Restructuring represents the effect on
reported performance of initiating and
enabling business changes that are
considered major and that, in the opinion
of management, will have a material effect
on the nature and focus of Syngenta’s
operations, and therefore require separate
disclosure to provide a more thorough
understanding of business performance.
Restructuring includes the incremental
costs of closing, restructuring or relocating
existing operations, and gains or losses
from related asset disposals. Restructuring
also includes the effects of analyzing and
preparing for potential industry consolidation
transactions as well as completing and
integrating significant business combinations
and divestments, including related
transaction costs, gains and losses.
Recurring costs of normal business
operations and routine asset disposal
gains and losses are excluded.
Impairment includes impairment losses
associated with major restructuring as
well as impairment losses and reversals
of impairment losses resulting from major
changes in the markets in which
a reported segment operates.
The incidence of these business changes
may be periodic and the effect on reported
performance of initiating them will vary from
period to period. As each such business
change is different in nature and scope,
there will be little continuity in the detailed
composition and size of the reported
amounts which affect performance in
successive periods. Separate disclosure
of these amounts facilitates the
understanding of performance including
and excluding items affecting
comparability. Syngenta’s definition of
restructuring and impairment may not be
comparable to similarly titled line items in
financial statements of other companies.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow comprises cash flow from
operating and investing activities: excluding
investments in and proceeds from
marketable securities, which are included
in investing activities; excluding cash flows
from and used for foreign exchange
movements and settlement of related
hedges on inter-company loans, which
are included in operating activities; and
including cash flows from acquisitions
of non-controlling interests, which are
included in financing activities.
Free cash flow is not a measure of financial
performance under generally accepted
accounting principles and the free cash
flow measure used by Syngenta may not
be identical to similarly titled measures of
other companies. Free cash flow has been
included as it is used by many investors
as a useful supplementary measure of
cash generation.
Net debt reconciliation
Net debt comprises total debt net of cash
and cash equivalents and marketable
securities. During 2015, Syngenta
redefined net debt to exclude fair values
of financing-related derivatives, as these
are now offset by the financial assets and
liabilities arising from collateral paid and
received under Credit Support Annex
contracts (CSAs). Net debt is not a
measure of financial position under
generally accepted accounting principles
and the net debt measure used by
Syngenta may not be comparable to the
similarly titled measure of other companies.
Net debt has been included as it is used by
many investors as a useful measure of
financial position and risk. The following
table presents the derivation of the debt/
equity gearing ratio:
($m)
Net debt
Shareholders’ equity
Debt/Equity gearing ratio
20141
2015
2,248
2,586
8,889
8,401
31% 25%
1 Under the definition of net debt used in 2014,
debt/equity gearing ratio was 27%
Cash flow return on investment
Cash flow return on investment is a
measure used by Syngenta to compare
cash returns to average invested capital.
Gross cash flow used in the calculation
comprises cash flow before change in net
working capital, excluding interest and
other financial receipts and payments.
Invested capital comprises: total current
assets, excluding cash and derivative and
other financial assets; total non-current
assets, excluding non-current derivative
and other financial assets and defined
benefit pension assets, and adjusted to
reflect the gross book values of property,
plant and equipment and intangible
assets; total current liabilities, excluding
current financial debt and other financial
liabilities; and deferred tax liabilities.
Performance data Non-financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
55
Non-financial information
At Syngenta, non-financial information refers to quantitative and qualitative
information on strategies, policies or activities pursued towards our business,
environmental and social goals.
Our non-financial performance is reported
throughout this Annual Review and
quantified in the Non-financial performance
summary on pages 57 to 62.
Corporate Responsibility
Corporate Responsibility (CR) is integral
to our business. Our ambition is to bring
greater food security to an increasingly
populous world in an environmentally
sustainable way by creating a worldwide
step change in farm productivity.
The Good Growth Plan sets specific,
ambitious and measurable targets
focused on boosting resource efficiency,
rejuvenating ecosystems and
strengthening rural communities. We are
also committed to developing our people,
reducing our environmental footprint,
enhancing our social engagement, raising
supply chain sustainability and doing
business responsibly. Syngenta is guided
by the conviction that short-, medium-
and long-term value creation depends
on successfully integrating business,
social and environmental performance.
Corporate Responsibility
governance
Our Board-level Corporate Responsibility
Committee, chaired by the Syngenta
Chairman, acts as custodian on all
CR matters. At senior executive level,
the Corporate Responsibility Panel
directs CR-related standards, strategy,
objectives and partnerships, and the
Compliance and Risk Management
Committee reviews and advises on non-
financial reporting and the effectiveness
of implementation of internal policies.
Materiality and stakeholder
engagement
We regularly assess stakeholder concerns
and expectations, as well as the issues
that we believe present the greatest risks
and opportunities for our business. We
engage with and collect feedback from
stakeholders in a variety of ways. We listen
to the grower community through
satisfaction surveys and farmers’ direct
contact with our sales teams on the
ground. We also engage directly with
our employees and locally with the
communities close to our operations.
Our interaction with industry associations,
non-governmental organizations,
governments and the investor community
enables us to gather feedback on our
activities and monitor issues important
to stakeholders. We conduct research
to better understand consumers’
perceptions of topics associated with
agriculture and our industry; and we
aim to be open and accessible – for
example, answering their frequently
asked questions under “Questions
about Syngenta” on our website.
In 2015, we conducted an assessment to
identify our most material issues to help
drive our strategy, determine allocation
of effort and resources, and guide our
external communication and reporting.
The most important issue to our
stakeholders is our contribution to food
security. In particular, they want to know
how our technologies and products will
enable growers to deliver sustainably the
quality and quantity of food needed by
a growing population. We contribute to
addressing these issues through our
Good Growth Plan.
Director
level
Board of
Directors
Corporate
Responsibility
Committee
Senior
executive
level
Compliance and
Risk Management
Committee
Corporate
Responsibility
Panel
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 56
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Approach to
non-financial reporting
The Non-financial performance summary
on the following pages presents data on
our progress towards four goals:
The Good Growth Plan
Help shape the future sustainability of
agriculture, and deliver solutions that
are better, more productive and more
beneficial to rural economies
People
Attract and retain talent while creating
an environment that stimulates
innovation and personal performance
and development
Sustainable operations
Manage our environmental footprint
and maintain the highest standards
in our operations
Business integrity
Maintain the highest standards across
our entire business and go beyond
regulatory compliance, while benefiting
the communities and economies
in which we operate
Materiality matrix
Focus
areas
Monitored
activities
l
s
r
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Positions
Importance to Syngenta
We have three levels of disclosure
based on the importance of the
issues to our stakeholders and
to Syngenta.
Our non-financial reporting is for the
operations of Syngenta Group, including
material interactions with selected third
parties as reported in the Non-financial
performance summary. Our non-financial
reporting is guided by the Global Reporting
Initiative principles and is externally assured,
see page 63. The non-financial reporting
period is October 1 to September 30.
Syngenta is a signatory to the United
Nations Global Compact. Syngenta’s
Annual Report serves as our
Communication on Progress (COP)
made in implementing these principles.
Approval of Non-financial
performance summary
The information in the Non-financial
performance summary on pages 57 to
62 of the Annual Review was approved
by the Board of Directors on February 2,
2016. Syngenta’s Board of Directors
and management are responsible
for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal controls over
non-financial reporting.
Syngenta’s internal controls over non-
financial reporting were designed to
provide assurance to Syngenta’s Board
of Directors and management regarding
the reliability of non-financial reporting
and the preparation and fair presentation
of the information published in the Non-
financial performance summary.
All internal controls, no matter how well
designed, have inherent limitations and
therefore may not prevent or detect
misstatements. In designing internal
controls over non-financial reporting,
Syngenta used the criteria established in
Internal Control – Integrated Framework
(2013) issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO).
PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Switzerland,
an independent registered public
accounting firm, has issued an opinion
on Syngenta’s Non-financial performance
summary, which is included in the Annual
Review on page 63.
Read more on:
www.cr.syngenta.com
www.questions.syngenta.com
www.gri.syngenta.com
Focus areas
We share our views, we
measure and evaluate
performance, and we have
set or plan to set goals or
quantitative targets on the
most important issues, in
particular our contribution
to food security.
Biodiversity
Energy, hazardous waste
and water use
Monitored activities
We share our views, and
we measure and evaluate
performance on these
issues to sustain the trust
and confidence of our
stakeholders, and for us to
be a responsible business.
Animals in research
Community relations and
stakeholder engagement
Corporate conduct
Health, safety and wellbeing
Corporate governance
Human rights and fair
labor practices
Land productivity
Logistics optimization
Product stewardship
Science and intellectual
property
Smallholder empowerment
Soil and water conservation
Supply chain sustainability
Talent attraction and retention
Economic value shared
Environmental compliance
and liabilities
Greenhouse gas and other
air emissions
Product responsibility
compliance
Security practices
Positions
We share our views on the
issues that engage public
interest and have a bearing
on our business.
Biofuels
Biotechnology
Climate change adaptation
Diminishing crop diversity
and monoculture practices
Food availability, affordability
and waste
Land grabbing
Local investment and sourcing
Marketing practices
Organic agriculture
Pollinators and pesticide use
Product registration
Public policy and advocacy
Responsible practices for
product development
Rural development
Tax transparency
Transparency
Performance data Non-financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
57
Non-financial performance summary
The Good Growth Plan
Make crops more efficient 1
Total number of reference farms
Total number of benchmark farms
Annual average productivity increase on reference farms compared to baseline 2014
2015
2014
2013
1,062
2,586
2%
860
2,738
–
–
–
–
Total number of clusters 2
Land productivity index:
≤0%
>0 – <5%
5 – <10%
10 – <15%
15 – <20%
≥20%
Nutrient efficiency index:
≤0%
>0 – <5%
5 – <10%
10 – <15%
15 – <20%
≥20%
Pesticide efficiency index:
≤0%
>0 – <5%
5 – <10%
10 – <15%
15 – <20%
≥20%
Performance of reference farm clusters
compared to baseline 2014 3, 4
Performance of benchmark farm clusters
compared to baseline 2014 3, 4
2015
172
148
6
5
3
4
6
148
2
0
5
2
15
145
4
1
3
0
19
2014
205
205
–
–
–
–
–
205
–
–
–
–
–
205
–
–
–
–
–
2013
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2015
172
149
6
5
3
4
5
146
5
2
4
2
13
146
2
2
1
1
20
2014
205
205
–
–
–
–
–
205
–
–
–
–
–
205
–
–
–
–
–
2013
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1 2014 first year of reporting
2 Reduced number of clusters in 2015 due to cluster consolidation
3 2014 value was restated to represent clusters with reference and/or benchmark farms
4 Number of clusters with reference and/or benchmark farms per range of percentage increase in land productivity, nutrient efficiency and pesticide efficiency
since the 2014 baseline. US Department of Agriculture data are used for benchmark farms in clusters located in the USA
The table above presents the number of reference farms, benchmark farms
and clusters in the network. It also outlines the distribution of percentage increases
in land productivity, nutrient efficiency and pesticide efficiency on a cluster basis.
A cluster presents homogeneous agro-climatic conditions and contains reference and/
or benchmark farms with similar grower characteristics. Reference farms were selected
by Syngenta and are recommended to use Syngenta products and follow optimized
protocols. Benchmark farms were randomly selected by a third-party research agency
and represent grower practice for each cluster. The reduction of clusters in 2015
versus 2014 was due to the consolidation of some clusters with similar conditions
and characteristics.
Performance of reference and benchmark farm clusters compared to baseline 2014
represents the distribution of percentage increases achieved in reference and
benchmark farms compared to the baseline year on a cluster basis. The table
is set up to show trends over time on reference and benchmark farms. As the
baseline year is 2014, all clusters are reported as “≤0%” in 2014.
Read more about how we are measuring The Good Growth Plan
on www.data.syngenta.com
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 58
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
The Good Growth Plan continued
Rescue more farmland 1
Hectares of impacted farmland (m)
Help biodiversity flourish 1
Hectares of impacted farmland (m)
Empower smallholders 1
Smallholders reached through sales (m) 2
Help people stay safe
People trained on safe use (m)
Of which: smallholders 1
Countries with established Syngenta product toxicovigilance programs
Crop Protection sales represented
Cumulative since
baseline 2014
2015
2014
2013
2.4
1.6
0.8
1.6
0.9
0.7
17.2
13.8
–
–
–
10.4
72%
5.7
71%
100
93%
4.7
74%
100
93%
2.8
–
100
93%
Look after every worker
Seed supply farms included in Syngenta Fair Labor Program 3, 4
Of which: farms in Fair Labor Association (FLA)’s audit scope 4
Total seed supply farms covered by Syngenta Fair Labor Program 3, 5
HSEQ assessments at chemical suppliers
HSEQ assessments at formulation, fill and packaging suppliers and seed toll manufacturing 6
HSEQ assessments at warehouse/logistics service providers
27,091
18,571
84%
84
34
118
28,361
28,361
53%
72
74
156
22,895
22,895
–
86
38
157
1 2014 first year of reporting
2 2014 value was restated due to clarification of definitions and scope
3 Until 2014, figure included only number of farms in Fair Labor Association (FLA)’s audit scope
4 Reduction in 2015 due to decrease in production volumes and reorganization of seed suppliers
5 2014 value was estimated and not assured
6 Seed toll manufacturing has been included since 2014
Read more about how we are measuring The Good Growth Plan
on www.data.syngenta.com
People
Employment
Employees 1
Europe, Africa and Middle East 2
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Part-time employees
Turnover rate 3
of which: <35 years
35–50 years
>50 years
Attrition rate 4
Senior managers
Headquarters
Europe, Africa and Middle East
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
1 Permanent full-time equivalent (FTE)
2 Including headquarters (Switzerland)
3 Including voluntary leavers, retirees and restructuring
4 Includes only voluntary leavers
2015
2014
2013
28,704
13,047
4,335
4,962
6,360
984
12.5%
41%
43%
16%
6.1%
332
44%
16%
18%
12%
29,340
13,300
4,636
4,945
6,459
948
9.9%
43%
41%
16%
5.5%
359
42%
18%
18%
12%
10%
10%
28,149
12,763
4,654
5,221
5,511
976
14.1%
43%
35%
22%
5.5%
366
47%
13%
18%
12%
10%
Performance data Non-financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
59
People continued
Diversity
Nationalities in senior management 1
Female employees
Female employees in management roles
Female employees in senior management
Employee development 2
Training investment ($ m)
Average training investment per employee ($ ) 3
Reward and recognition
Employees eligible to participate in Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) 4
of which: employees participating 4
Employees participating in long-term equity incentive plans
Health, safety and wellbeing
Recordable injury and illness rate (IIR) per 200,000 hours 5
Recordable injury rate per 200,000 hours 5
Europe, Africa and Middle East 6
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
Recordable occupational illness rate per 200,000 hours 5
Europe, Africa and Middle East 6
North America
Latin America
Asia Pacific
First aid cases
Recordable injuries 7
Bruise, strain, sprain and dislocation
Cut and abrasion
Bone fracture
Concussion and internal injury
Multiple injuries
Other
Cases of recordable occupational illness
Cases of work-related stress
1 2014 value was restated due to a calculation error and revised definition
2 Includes only training delivered by external providers
3 Permanent full-time equivalent (FTE)
4 2014 value was restated due to late reporting from one country
5 According to US OSHA definition for injuries and illness
6 Including headquarters (Switzerland)
7 New reporting system and injury categories introduced in 2014. 2013 percentages were restated in 2014 to align to new breakdown
2015
2014
2013
33
30%
22%
14%
37
29%
21%
13%
41
30%
20%
13%
25.1
874
29.8
1,015
27.1
964
20,088
44%
1,370
20,666
44%
1,304
18,790
47%
1,226
0.38
0.35
0.48
0.69
0.24
0.11
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.06
0.01
413
154
39%
31%
13%
3%
1%
13%
14
26
0.37
0.33
0.41
0.54
0.41
0.10
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.12
0.01
420
145
52%
19%
11%
4%
3%
11%
17
35
0.41
0.35
0.38
0.64
0.38
0.15
0.07
0.07
0.14
0.08
0.02
623
148
44%
22%
15%
1%
–
18%
28
36
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 60
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Sustainable operations
Energy
Energy intensity (MJ/$sales)
Energy (TJ)
Gas (TJ)
Electricity (TJ)
Steam (TJ)
Oil (TJ)
Other (TJ)
Greenhouse gases
Total CO2e emissions intensity (g/$sales)
Total CO2e emissions (000s tonnes)
Within direct control:
CO2e emissions from own operations (000s tonnes)
CO2 emissions from company vehicles (000s tonnes)
Within indirect control:
CO2e emissions from purchased energy (000s tonnes)
CO2 emissions from business trips (000s tonnes)
CO2 emissions from distribution (000s tonnes)
Other air emissions
Other air emissions intensity (g/$sales)
Other air emissions (tonnes)
NOx (tonnes)
Non-halogenated VOCs (tonnes)
Halogenated VOCs (tonnes)
Particulates (tonnes)
SO2 (tonnes)
NH3 (tonnes)
HCl (tonnes)
Water
Water usage intensity (liters/$sales)
Water usage (million cubic meters)
Cooling (million cubic meters)
Irrigation (million cubic meters)
Processing and washing (million cubic meters)
Product ingredient (million cubic meters)
Sewage and sanitary (million cubic meters)
Other (million cubic meters)
Origin of water:
Surface fresh water (million cubic meters)
Underground water (million cubic meters)
Drinking water from municipal network (million cubic meters)
Recovered rain water (million cubic meters)
Saline water (million cubic meters)
2015
2014
2013
0.69
9,222
3,840
2,349
1,547
536
950
0.66
9,930
3,946
2,460
1,633
854
1,037
0.69
10,202
4,050
2,459
1,578
975
1,140
124
1,660
114
1,730
116
1,710
574
70
400
36
580
0.088
1,176
462
384
26
79
210
6
9
2.6
35.0
20.8
6.8
5.3
0.2
1.1
0.8
24.4
7.8
2.7
0.1
0.0
620
75
419
43
573
0.099
1,500
523
435
32
101
386
6
17
2.5
37.8
21.2
7.0
7.3
0.3
1.0
1.0
26.7
7.7
2.9
0.1
0.4
634
76
417
40
543
0.103
1,514
440
427
21
105
494
8
19
2.5
36.8
19.4
7.6
7.4
0.3
1.1
1.0
25.6
7.8
3.0
0.1
0.3
Performance data Non-financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
61
Sustainable operations continued
Wastewater effluents
Industrial wastewater discharge intensity (liters/$sales)
Industrial wastewater discharge (million cubic meters)
Total organic carbon (TOC) (tonnes)
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) (tonnes)
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) (tonnes)
Total suspended solids (tonnes)
Soluble salts discharged (000s tonnes)
Direct discharge of uncontaminated cooling water (million cubic meters)
Waste
Hazardous waste intensity (g/$sales)
Hazardous waste (000s tonnes)
Recycled and re-used (000s tonnes)
Incinerated (000s tonnes)
Landfill (000s tonnes)
Other (000s tonnes)
Hazardous waste by type:
Chemical
Solvents
Other
Non-hazardous waste intensity (g/$sales)
Non-hazardous waste (000s tonnes)
Recycled and re-used (000s tonnes)
Incinerated (000s tonnes)
Landfill (000s tonnes)
Other (000s tonnes)
Non-hazardous waste by type:
Plant and seed waste from seed sites
Inerts
Packaging materials
Household
Other
Environmental compliance
Significant unplanned releases 1
Security management
Sites included in Syngenta Security 360 Program 2
Product Security cases 3
Suspect counterfeit Crop Protection product seized by authorities (tonnes) 3
Suspect counterfeit Seed product seized by authorities (tonnes) 3
2015
2014
2013
0.70
9.4
649
1,953
189
294
125
20.5
0.66
10.0
687
2,059
197
370
137
21.0
0.74
10.8
879
2,679
225
345
143
19.1
14.4
193
95
83
1
14
55%
36%
9%
9.7
130
96
3
21
10
58%
8%
6%
4%
24%
15.6
236
114
106
1
15
59%
33%
8%
9.4
143
106
9
20
8
65%
4%
6%
5%
20%
3
0
117
677
323
91
105
–
–
–
16.0
235
72
148
3
12
66%
27%
7%
9.0
132
101
8
17
6
66%
3%
7%
5%
19%
1
70
–
–
–
1 Releases that escaped beyond the site boundary and could cause either environmental impact and/or concern from neighbors and regulators. The three unplanned
releases in 2015 were air emissions; no actual off-site incident occurred or was reported
2 Policy on security management reporting was revised in 2014: 2015 and 2014 include all evaluated sites. 2013 includes only sites in medium and high-risk countries
3 New KPI introduced in 2015 to capture counterfeiting of our products
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 62
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Business integrity
Corporate conduct
Compliance cases reported 1
Animal testing compliance
Management system audits performed in contract laboratories
Management system non-compliances found
Biotechnology and regulatory compliance
Employees completing trial regulatory compliance training
Trial locations requiring a permit 2
Trial inspections performed by Syngenta
Economic value shared
Economic value shared ($ m)
Payments to suppliers 3
Employee wages and benefits 4
Payments to governments (taxes) 5
Payments to providers of capital 6
Capital expenditure 7
Corporate community investment 8
2015
2014
2013
196
96
110
13
0
1,627
155
169
13,440
8,453
2,725
432
1,223
583
24
17
0
1,711
411
203
14,982
9,613
2,888
366
1,285
805
25
13
0
1,228
420
272
14,864
9,792
2,828
405
1,139
679
21
1 Since 2015, the number of cases reported includes all cases managed by Group Compliance: cases reported through the compliance helpline, line management, directly to
Group Compliance or other channels. In previous years, the value only included cases reported via the helpline
2 In 2015, an additional 220 North American trial locations not requiring a permit were handled as regulated and managed in accordance with the North American Regulatory
Compliance Program
3 Decrease in Payments to suppliers mainly reflects lower production activity due to lower sales and efforts to reduce inventory
4 Employee benefits and wages increased due to termination costs from the AOL restructuring program, but show a decrease due to the impact of foreign exchange translation
5 Consists of income and other taxes paid, excluding VAT (included in Payments to suppliers) and employment-related taxes (included in Employee wages and benefits)
6 Consists of expenditures for dividends, share repurchases (excluding those for employee share plans) and interest on debt
7 Decrease in capital expenditure reflects lower investment in Property, Plant and Equipment during the period
8 The PwC Independent Assurance Report includes in its scope only the Corporate community investment figure used in the calculation of Economic value shared
Performance data Non-financial information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
63
Independent Assurance Report on the Syngenta Non-financial Reporting
To the Board of Directors, Syngenta AG,
Basel (‘Syngenta’)
We have been engaged to perform
assurance procedures to provide assurance
on the Non-financial performance summary
of Syngenta included in the Annual Review
2015 (‘Report’).
Scope and Subject matter
Our assurance engagement and the related
levels of assurance focused on the data and
information disclosed in the aggregated non-
financial reporting of Syngenta for the
financial year ended December 31, 2015:
Reasonable Assurance
The following subject matter contained
in the Report is within the scope of the
reasonable assurance:
– The application of the Syngenta reporting
guidelines published on The Good Growth
Plan Progress Data website in the non-
financial reporting; and
– the internal reporting system and
procedures to collect and aggregate the
non-financial data for the six Good Growth
Plan commitments on page 56, excl. the
materiality matrix; and
– the data and information in the Non-
financial performance summary, in all
material aspects, on pages 57 and 58
(excl. people indicators) of the Report.
Limited Assurance
The related Non-financial performance
summary disclosed, in all material aspects,
on pages 58 (limited to people indicators)
to 62 of the Report is within the scope of
the limited assurance.
Our assurance procedures do not cover
the indicators on payments to suppliers,
employee wages and benefits, payments to
governments and providers of capital, and
capital expenditure presented in the related
Non-financial performance summary on
page 62 of the Report.
Criteria
The reporting criteria used by Syngenta
are described and disclosed on The Good
Growth Plan Progress Data website and in
the internal non-financial reporting guidelines.
These define those procedures based on the
related sections of the ‘Standard Disclosure’
of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines G4
published in 2013 by the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI), by which the non-financial
performance data are internally gathered,
collated and aggregated.
The accuracy and completeness of non-
financial performance indicators are subject
to inherent limitations given their nature and
methods for determining, calculating and
estimating such data. Accordingly, our
assurance report should therefore be read
together with the related reporting criteria.
Responsibilities and Methodology
The Board of Directors of Syngenta AG is
responsible for both the subject matter and
the reporting criteria as well as for the entire
reporting process of the selected information
in accordance with the criteria. This
responsibility includes the design,
implementation and maintenance of related
internal control relevant to this reporting
process that is free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Our responsibility is to perform a limited
or reasonable assurance engagement to
express an opinion on positions in the related
Non-financial performance summary on
pages 57 to 62. We planned and conducted
our engagement in accordance with
International Standard on Assurance
Engagements (ISAE 3000) (revised)
‘Assurance engagements other than audits
or reviews of historical financial information’.
That standard requires that we comply with
ethical requirements and plan and perform
our procedures to obtain reasonable or
limited assurance whether the related
Non-financial performance summary
were prepared, in all material aspects,
in accordance with the Reporting Criteria.
A limited assurance engagement under ISAE
3000 (revised) is substantially less in scope
than a reasonable assurance engagement
in relation to both the risk assessment
procedures, including an understanding
of internal control, and the procedures
performed in response to the assessed risks.
Consequently, the nature, timing and extent
of procedures for gathering sufficient
appropriate evidence are deliberately limited
relative to a reasonable assurance
engagement and therefore less assurance
is obtained with a limited assurance
engagement than for a reasonable
assurance engagement.
The procedures selected depend on the
assurance practitioner’s judgment.
Our Independence and Quality
Control
We have complied with the independence
and other ethical requirements of the Code
of Ethics for Professional Accountants issued
by the International Ethics Standards Board
for Accountants, which is founded on
fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity,
professional competence and due care,
confidentiality and professional behavior.
Our firm applies International Standard on
Quality Control 1 and accordingly maintains
a comprehensive system of quality control
including documented policies and
procedures regarding compliance with ethical
requirements, professional standards and
applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Summary of work performed
Our assurance procedures included the
following work but not limited to:
– Evaluation of the application of group
guidelines;
– Visits of six different sites in Argentina and
Brazil selected based on quantitative and
qualitative criteria;
– Testing of the performance indicators on a
sample basis for evidence supporting the
Non-financial performance summary
relative to completeness, accuracy,
adequacy and consistency;
– Review of the documentation supporting
relevant data on a sample basis, including
management and reporting structures
and documentation;
– Reviewing the management and reporting
processes. Assessing the consolidation
process of data at the Group level.
We have neither carried out any work in
respect of projections and targets nor such
outside of the agreed scope.
We believe that the evidence we have obtained
is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our assurance conclusions.
Reasonable assurance conclusion
In our opinion,
– The Good Growth Plan guidelines as
published on The Good Growth Plan
Progress Data website are being applied,
in all material aspects; and
– The internal reporting systems to collect
and aggregate The Good Growth Plan data
are functioning as designed and provide
an appropriate basis for this reporting; and
– The data and information disclosed in the
Non-financial performance summary in the
Report on pages 57 and 58 (excl. people
indicators) give a fair picture of Syngenta’s
non-financial performance.
Limited assurance conclusion
Based on our work performed on the related
Non-financial performance summary nothing
has come to our attention causing us to
believe that disclosed data and information
in the related Non-financial performance
summary in the Report on pages 58 (limited
to the people indicators) to 62 does not give
a fair picture of Syngenta’s non-financial
performance, in all material aspects, in
accordance with the reporting criteria.
PricewaterhouseCoopers AG
Zurich, February 16, 2016
Gerd Tritschler
Bettina Buomberger
Performance dataStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performanceCorporate information 64
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Board of Directors
at December 31, 2015
Syngenta is led by a strong and experienced Board of Directors.
The Board includes representatives with seven nationalities, drawn from
broad international business and scientific backgrounds. Its members
bring diversity in expertise and perspective to the leadership of a complex,
highly-regulated, global business.
2
4
6
8
1
3
5
7
9
1 Michel Demaré
Chairman of the Board, non-executive Director.
Chairman of the Chairman’s & Governance
Committee, the Corporate Responsibility
Committee and the Nomination Committee.
He is also Chairman of the Syngenta Foundation
for Sustainable Agriculture
Born: 1956
Nationality: Belgian
Initial appointment: 2012
2 Jürg Witmer
Vice Chairman, non-executive Director.
Chairman of the Compensation Committee,
member of the Chairman’s & Governance
Committee and the Nomination Committee
Born: 1948
Nationality: Swiss
Initial appointment: 2006
3 Vinita Bali
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Corporate Responsibility Committee
Born: 1955
Nationality: Indian
Initial appointment: 2012
4 Stefan Borgas
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Audit Committee
Born: 1964
Nationality: German
Initial appointment: 2009
5 Gunnar Brock
Non-executive Director. Chairman of the
Audit Committee and member of the
Nomination Committee
Born: 1950
Nationality: Swedish
Initial appointment: 2012
6 Eleni Gabre-Madhin
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Corporate Responsibility Committee
Born: 1964
Nationality: Swiss
Initial appointment: 2013
7 David Lawrence
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Audit Committee and Chairman of the
Science and Technology Advisory Board
Born: 1949
Nationality: British
Initial appointment: 2009
8 Eveline Saupper
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Compensation Committee
Born: 1958
Nationality: Swiss
Initial appointment: 2013
9 Jacques Vincent
Non-executive Director. Member of the
Compensation Committee
Born: 1946
Nationality: French
Initial appointment: 2005
Corporate information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
65
Executive Committee
at December 31, 2015
Under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer, the Executive
Committee is responsible for the active leadership and the operative
management of the Company.
1
3
5
7
2
4
6
8
1 John Ramsay
Chief Executive Officer ad interim
Chief Financial Officer
Born: 1957
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2007
2 Caroline Luscombe
Head Human Resources
Born: 1960
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2012
3 Christoph Mäder
Head Legal & Taxes and Company Secretary
Born: 1959
Nationality: Swiss
Appointed: 2000
4 Patricia Malarkey
Head Research & Development
Born: 1965
Nationality: British/American
Appointed: 2014
5 Jonathan Parr
Chief Operating Officer
Born: 1961
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2015
6 Mark Peacock
Head Global Operations
Born: 1961
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2007
7 Davor Pisk
Chief Operating Officer
Born: 1958
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2008
8 Jonathan Seabrook
Head Corporate Affairs
Born: 1969
Nationality: British
Appointed: 2013
Read the full biographies:
Corporate Governance Report
and Compensation Report on
pages 06–08 and 13–14
Corporate informationStrategic overviewResearch and DevelopmentCrops in focusThe Good Growth PlanOperational performancePerformance data 66
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
Shareholder information
%
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
%
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
Syngenta shares are listed on the
SIX Swiss Exchange and on the
New York Stock Exchange, where
the shares are traded as ADS
(American Depositary Shares).1
Trading symbols
Shares
Shares in issue
At December 31, 2015
Total shares in issue
SIX Swiss
Exchange
New York
Stock
Exchange
SYNN
SYT
Number of shares
92,945,649
of which treasury shares
1,161,397
Syngenta share price performance January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015
(Indexed to zero at closing price on December 31, 2014)
Dec 31, 2015
CHF392.30
High: CHF430.80
Low: CHF281.60
*
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Share price and market capitalization 2
Syngenta Eurotop 300 SMI
* Closing high/low during the year
At December 31, 2015
Share price (CHF)
Share price ($) (ADS)
392.30
78.73
Syngenta ADS price performance January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015
(Indexed to zero at closing price on December 31, 2014)
Market capitalization (CHF million)
36,007
Market capitalization ($ million)
36,283
Dividend history
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 3
CHF
8.00
9.50
10.00
11.00
11.00
1 1 share = 5 ADS
2 For the purposes of calculating market capitalization
the number of shares stood at 91.8 million
3 To be submitted to shareholders for approval
at the Annual General Meeting on April 26, 2016
Dec 31, 2015
$78.73
High: $93.61
Low: $61.92
*
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Syngenta ADS S&P 500 Dow Jones
* Closing high/low during the year
Reporting dates
First quarter trading statement
Annual General Meeting
Half-year results
Third quarter trading statement
April 20, 2016
April 26, 2016
July 22, 2016
October 25, 2016
A full form 20-F is accessible at: www.investors.syngenta.com
Investors can subscribe to media releases by email or via RSS at: www.investors.syngenta.com
The full year results press release can be viewed up to six months after the event at:
www.fyr-2015.syngenta.com
Corporate information
Syngenta Annual Review 2015
67
Syngenta share price performance January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2015
(Indexed to zero at closing price on December 31, 2010)
CHF275.00
CHF366.60
CHF355.20
CHF320.00
Dec 31, 2015
CHF392.30
%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2011
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2012
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2013
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2014
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2015
Syngenta Eurotop 300 SMI
Syngenta ADS price performance January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2015
(Indexed to zero at closing price on December 31, 2010)
%
75
60
45
30
15
0
-15
$58.94
$80.80
$79.94
$64.24
Dec 31, 2015
$78.73
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2011
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2012
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2013
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2014
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
2015
Syngenta ADS S&P 500 Dow Jones
Total shareholder return 1 January 1, 2006 – December 31, 2015
Syngenta ADS
FTSE EU Chemicals
Syngenta share
S&P US Chemicals
NASDAQ
S&P 500
Eurotop 300
SMI
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350%
1 Share price appreciation plus reinvested dividends, calculated on a monthly basis, indexed to closing price on December 31, 2005
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Switzerland
Investor Relations
T +41 61 323 5883
F +41 61 323 5880
E global.investor_relations@syngenta.com
Media Relations
T +41 61 323 2323
F +41 61 323 9044
E media.relations@syngenta.com
Share Register
T +41 41 798 4833
F +41 41 798 4849
E syngenta@devigus.com
Shareholder Services
T +41 61 323 2121
F +41 61 323 5461
E shareholder.services@syngenta.com
Corporate Responsibility
E csr@syngenta.com
Syngenta switchboard
T +41 61 323 1111
F +41 61 323 1212
E global.webmaster@syngenta.com
USA
Investor Relations
T +1 202 737 6520
T +1 202 737 6521
E global.investor_relations@syngenta.com
Media Relations
T +1 202 737 8913
E media.relations_us@syngenta.com
Contacts for ADS holders
T +1 888 269 2377 – from within the USA
T +1 201 680 6825 – from outside the USA
E shrrelations@cpushareownerservices.com
Syngenta AG
Corporate Affairs
Schwarzwaldallee 215
P.O. Box
CH-4002 Basel
Switzerland
www.syngenta.com
For the business year 2015, Syngenta has
published three books: the Annual Review 2015
(including information about our non-financial
performance), the Financial Report 2015,
and the Corporate Governance Report and
Compensation Report 2015.
All documents were originally published
in English. The Annual Review 2015 and
the Corporate Governance Report and
Compensation Report 2015 are also
available in German.
These publications are also available
on the Internet: www.syngenta.com
© 2016 Syngenta AG, Basel, Switzerland.
All rights reserved.
Editorial completion: February 2016
Copywriting: KainesLang,
Berwick-upon-Tweed, UK
Design and production: Radley Yeldar,
London, UK
Printing: Stämpfli Ltd., Bern, Switzerland
Printed on Hello Silk, made with wood fiber
from managed forests and manufactured at
a mill that has achieved the ISO14001 and
EMAS environmental management standards.
® Registered trademarks of a Syngenta
Group Company
™ Trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company
The SYNGENTA Wordmark and BRINGING
PLANT POTENTIAL TO LIFE are registered
trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking
statements: This document contains forward-
looking statements, which can be identified by
terminology such as “expect”, “would”, “will”,
“potential”, “plans”, “prospects”, “estimated”,
“aiming”, “on track” and similar expressions.
Such statements may be subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause the actual results
to differ materially from these statements.
We refer you to Syngenta’s publicly available
filings with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission for information about these
and other risks and uncertainties. Syngenta
assumes no obligation to update forward-
looking statements to reflect actual results,
changed assumptions or other factors.
This document does not constitute, or form
part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue,
or any solicitation of any offer, to purchase
or subscribe for any ordinary shares in
Syngenta AG, or Syngenta ADSs, nor
shall it form the basis of, or be relied on
in connection with, any contract therefor.
Syngenta supports the
10 principles of the United
Nations Global Compact
through an established
commitment to Corporate
Responsibility and ongoing
implementation of
policies on human rights,
fair labor, environmental
protection and anti-corruption.
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Article number SYN01002.EN