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Box CH-4002 Basel Switzerland www.syngenta.com Syngenta Annual Review 2009 2009 Annual Review Bringing plant potential to life Syngenta is one of the world’s leading com than 25,000 employees in over 90 countr purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. W Crop Protection and Seeds, we contribut global challenges. Our challenge A growing population with an increasing demand for food is putting pressure on limited natural resources such as soil and water. To meet this challenge the world needs to grow more from less. For more information, see page 8 For the business year 2009, Syngenta has published three reports: Annual Review (incorporating the Corporate Responsibility Report), Financial Report and Corporate Governance Report. All documents were originally published in English. The Annual Review 2009 and the Corporate Governance Report 2009 are also available in German. These publications are also available on the Internet: www.syngenta.com/ar2009 Syngenta International AG, Basel, Switzerland. All rights reserved. Editorial completion: February 2010 Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements: This document contains forwardlooking 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. Consultancy, design and production: Radley Yeldar, London, UK Consultancy: Context, London, UK Printing: NZZ Fretz AG, Zürich, 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. Photo of World Economic Forum on page 3 courtesy of WEF. Photos on pages 8 and 9: Alexander Müller courtesy of IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin; Achim Steiner courtesy of Keystone; Juergen Voegele © Simone D, McCourtie/World Bank ® Registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company ™ Trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company Our contribution Increasing yields through technology For more information, see page 10 Improving crop quality For more information, see page 12 The SYNGENTA Wordmark, BRINGING PLANT POTENTIAL TO LIFE and the Purpose icon device are trademarks or registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. www.syngenta.com Contents Our approach Highlights in 2009 Chairman’s letter Chief Executive Officer’s letter Global challenges Our contribution 01 02 04 06 08 10 Crop Protection Seeds Lawn and Garden Research and Development People Operations 18 22 26 28 30 32 Article number 016827.040 Annual Review 2009 Visit our online Annual Report at www.syngenta.com/ar2009 04 Syngenta Annual Review 2009 05 Syngenta Annual Review 2009 Chairman’s letter “The challenge of feeding the rising world population over the next 40 years on a finite area of arable land is a daunting one. Given continued technological progress, however, and – most crucially – acceptance of technology, it is perfectly achievable.” However, a potential barrier to progress exists – the worrying trend away from science-based regulation in certain countries, particularly in Europe. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel-prize winning architect of the Green revolution who died in September, once stated that his pioneering seed technology would simply never have made it to the hands of the growers had it been subjected to the regulatory climate that exists in some countries today. The slide towards “opinion-based” regulation is a real threat to technological progress and denies growers, in developed and developing countries, access to the products they need to improve yields and thus their livelihoods. The indulgence of imaginary fears suppresses innovation and harms economic growth. Worse, it is a betrayal of the hungry. On my many visits to see growers around the world, I have been struck by the passion shown by Syngenta people. They are working to meet customer needs, capture significant business opportunity and, at the same time, make a substantial contribution to the environment and the development of rural communities. This indivisibility between our financial, environmental and societal goals is, once again, reflected in this year’s Annual Review, which explains our 2009 performance from all three perspectives. Our efforts in this regard have again been recognized by the key global sustainability indices: DJSI and FTSE4Good; Syngenta continues to hold leading positions in both. Our high standing as a company relies entirely on the daily activities and actions of our employees around the world. In 2009, we made further progress in embedding the highest standards of behavior in our Company by engaging 19,700 employees in our revised Code of Conduct, which covers aspects from legal compliance and business ethics to our contribution to society and approach to developing our people. In so doing, we are ensuring that we adhere to the highest ethical standards and that we protect our economic, physical and 3. 1. Throughout 2009, the headlines were dominated by the continuing repercussions of the global financial crisis. The crisis brought a heightened focus on the sustainability of business strategies in a world of greater uncertainty and volatility. In this challenging environment, Syngenta continued to perform well. Our financial strength enabled us to invest in our business to generate future growth and create sustainable value over the long term. While the financial crisis grabbed the headlines, the underlying challenge of ensuring food security for a growing world population remained central to the agenda of governments worldwide. The magnitude of this challenge was reinforced by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which announced in June that the combination of global economic slowdown and high food prices had pushed another 100 million people into a state of chronic hunger and poverty. The total number of people on the planet who are malnourished has now surpassed the one billion mark. At Syngenta, we remain committed to help address this challenge through working with our customers around the world – from smallholders in developing countries to professional growers in large-scale agriculture – to deliver a step change in farm productivity in a sustainable way. We have developed a deep understanding of plants and innovative technologies that help growers produce more food while conserving precious natural resources such as water and soil. Coupled with our global presence, this makes us uniquely positioned to develop innovative, integrated offers for tomorrow’s farmer. Syngenta’s contribution is increasingly recognized by society, but of course no single corporation, government or NGO can hope to tackle the food security challenge alone. Collaboration and partnership will accelerate progress, and we have been very active in 2009 in engaging around the world in the wider public debate on agriculture. We seek the opinions of key leaders in the public sphere to inform our work. Some of their thoughts on how to address these issues are set out on pages 8 and 9 of this review. We look forward to further dialogue, and to the development of new partnerships in the coming years. 1. “Breakfast meeting” discussion with Syngenta employees in Basel. 2. At a small kiosk in West Java with APAC CP Region Head, Andrew Guthrie, and Indonesia CP Head, Arshad Saeed Husain, discussing the Java Channel strategy. 3. With Didit Hidayat, Field Technical Manager of Java SBU, Mr. Syahid, an Indonesian farmer, and Midzon Johannes, Development Head Syngenta Indonesia, after attending the Syngenta Expo at Tugu Mukti Village in West Java Province. reputational assets. In addition, a Senior Executive Committee was established to oversee all aspects of our compliance and risk management activities in a single approach under the governance of the Board. At the Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) in April, Jürg Witmer was elected Vice Chairman of Syngenta, replacing Rupert Gasser who left the Board upon reaching the statutory retirement age. The OGM also saw the election of new Directors, David Lawrence and Stefan Borgas, to the Board. I should like to thank them and all my Board colleagues for their valuable contributions to Syngenta during the year. The challenge of feeding the rising world population over the next 40 years on a finite area of arable land is a daunting one. Given continued technological progress, however, and – most crucially – acceptance of technology, it is perfectly achievable. The scale of the problem and the means of addressing it are increasingly well understood. The conviction that companies like Syngenta have a critical role in delivering the solution gives purpose to the work of everyone at the Company. 2. Martin Taylor Chairman pp 4-5 The CEO’s letter in the Syngenta Report clearly sets up the issues which the Company faces, and discusses the policies and performance in relation to these. It is interesting to note the Company commitment to global sustainability challenges in this statement, such as ‘achieving global food security’. www.blacksunplc.com © Black Sun Plc 2011 23
