HI&I and Nonwovens
Why is sustainability a priority to us?
For Croda, sustainability means doing business the right way; environmentally, socially and financially. On a daily basis, all of our employees are working towards delivering our commitment to:
- Using renewable raw materials and environmentally sensitive and safe processes
- Producing innovative, high quality products with sustainable benefits in use
- Supporting our people and communities in which we operate
'Sustainability is fundamental to who we are and what we do. It touches every area of our business: from the way we design our products and run our manufacturing sites, to the way we work with our suppliers and engage with our communities.'
Steve Foots, Group Chief Executive
Sustainability is an unstoppable mega trend, with consumers of cleaning products increasingly seeking more sustainable solutions and manufacturing companies searching for ways to meet these expectations.
Sustainability is at the core of our business, from the new materials we create according to our Green Chemistry principles, to the sustainable manufacturing practices we have in place in our facilities around the world. Our scientific focus has always been to create chemistries that are economically viable, ecologically sound and socially responsible without compromising on product performance.
Our business strategy and sustainability programme is informed by three global drivers of most importance to us. These global drivers, listed below, are influencing the needs of our customers and consumers. By responding to these, we can create new opportunities for growth and contribute to a more sustainable world for all.
Changing Demographics
People in developed economies, and increasingly in the developing world, are living longer and have more income and better access to buy a wider range of health, beauty and well-being products.
Fragile World
The impacts of global warming are accelerating as a result of greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, coupled with the degradation of the natural means of the planet to counteract these effects.
Changing Expectations & Behaviours
Fuelled by the convergence of social, mobile and 'big data', consumers' expect greater choice while demanding more transparency in the products and services they use with anywhere, anytime access to information.
We have a responsibility to continue to improve our environmental, social and economic performance by innovating for a sustainable future. Our chemistry and raw material sources support consumer demands, and wider stakeholder calls, for products with better ecological and environmental profiles. This expertise, alongside our close customer relationships, is delivering sustainable products with outstanding product performance to the markets in which we operate.
Raw Material Sourcing
The Home Care business is no different to the rest of Croda in that sustainability is integral to all aspect of what we do. We are committed to consistently sourcing and using a high level of natural, renewable raw materials to make our products. We continue to build on our renewable raw material heritage to create, make and sell sustainable solutions today, to positively influence tomorrow.
Technologies & Initiatives
- 100% renewable non-ionic surfactants
- All relevant manufacturing sites are RSPO Supply Chain Certified to handle Certified Sustainable Palm Oil derivatives, meeting our corporate target
- Create label-free cleaning products for safer handling
- Low Carbon energy sources - including wind, solar and landfill gas
Minimising Global Environmental Impact
To maintain safe levels of Carbon emissions, it is estimated that by 2040 the world needs to reduce its emissions by 50%. Croda is committed to do its bit and continually strive to use natural, renewable raw materials.
We work hard to minimise the environmental impact of our operations, by reducing volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing waste to landfill and water consumption. This is partly achieved by an increase in non-fossil fuel energy sources, but a key measurement of our progress in this area is on reducing our impact on a fragile world, which has been a major focal point in 2016 as we obtained verification of our energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) data in accordance with ISO 14064-3. At the same time we have broadened our scope of GHG measurement to include all of our business locations in addition to our manufacturing sites, and now include tracking of our refrigerant inventories, although only small, to gauge any losses of these potent GHGs. Our multiyear energy and carbon strategy has passed another major milestone with the commissioning of a large bio-gas energy system at our manufacturing site at Gouda in The Netherlands. This is an integrated bio-refinery and uses by‑product materials to generate energy, just one example of how our teams around the world are working hard to continually improve the efficiency of all our operations in a safe environment, whilst ensuring customer satisfaction and consumer safety.