FLAVOURS & FRAGRANCES customers have quickly adapted their manufacturing sites to produce handsanitising gel , supplying local health authorities and care homes alongside other key infrastructure organisations . Fragrance industry employees , as ‘ key workers ’, have worked hard to adapt their manufacturing sites , ensuring employee safety while sourcing materials to guarantee that those key products remain readily available to those in need . So , although nationalism may be a threat , the other side of the coin would be that we will enter a phase of unprecedented global co-operation in the long-term . COVID-19 has taught the world a valuable lesson : despite our advances in medicine and technology , we must all work together , sharing data and knowledge to manage the pandemic . It is not always possible to predict or prepare for a global disaster , yet globally we all have a common goal : to strive for human survival . We have seen in the past that global disasters produce an inclination to global co-operation and unification . A perfect example is the formation of the

United Nations at the end of World War II by those countries with a common goal . In the same way , COVID-19 may well set the scene for a long-term strengthening of world cooperation . New international organisations , treaties or agreements may well be on the horizon . Despite its critics , the WHO has , in this instance , demonstrated the importance of global cooperation in order to achieve its objectives . Humanity ’ s common goal of survival also requires us to understand the world around us in an emotional and more philosophical way . Perfumery is a balance of art and science , which are both basic human attempts to understand the world around us . The products we fragrance are diverse and have a multitude of different audiences , but the motivations and goals are fundamentally the same . The benefits of fragrance are many , not least during a human health crisis , where fragrance helps encourage the importance of good hygiene , health and cleanliness . As an industry we have a unique role to play in supporting and reinforcing good hygiene practices , thereby helping people to be clean and feel protected .

Tackling climate change

From early on in the pandemic , we saw satellite images showing a dramatic drop in air pollution in COVID-19 hotspots around the globe , offering a positive backdrop to an otherwise very dark picture . Those images are a graphic reminder of the climate crisis that will continue when the pandemic passes . As an industry we take our role here very seriously . We understand the importance of reducing waste and considering the necessity of all our actions . We will probably see a continued emphasis on social sustainability . Again , global co-operation will be needed to combat the environmental crisis . IFRA and IOFI , the flavour ‣

Speciality Chemicals Magazine MAR / APR 2021 | Page 41