Our strategy
Our focus on growth, innovation and sustainability aims to ensure that Croda smart science helps our customers everywhere to deliver on their consumer and sustainability commitments, while we continue creating sustainable value as a business. Our corporate strategy and our sector priorities are clearly linked to our Purpose and are enabled by our business model and powered by our people.
Our established strategy has delivered successful results even during times of global change and uncertainty.
In 2020 we:
- Acquired Iberchem, a global fragrances and flavours business, strengthening our customer offer in Consumer Care
- Acquired Avanti Polar Lipids LLC, a US-based business creating delivery systems for pharmaceutical products, expanding our portfolio in Life Sciences
- Invested more than GBP £120 million in manufacturing facilities including speciality excipients and leveraging Avanti expertise
- Increased sales despite the global pandemic, driven by second half recovery and acquisitions
A strategy for a changing world
Growth
We continue connecting to fast-growing markets and meeting unmet customer needs to grow profit ahead of sales, ahead of volume.
We achieve this by:
- Living and sharing our Purpose: Smart science to improve livesTM
- Applying our strong and resilient business model
- Utilising our unrivalled local presence, including local, direct and digital sales
- Creating a more balanced global manufacturing footprint
- Proactive and targeted M&A activity: investing in high return opportunities
- Ensuring a disciplined approach to capital allocation
Our priorities in 2021 include:
- Continuing to build our capability in R&D, sales & marketing and digital, and our skills in Asia
- Realising the value of a new full-service offering for Personal Care and Home Care through our Consumer Care sector
- Continuing to scale our drug delivery business
- Successfully integrating our acquisitions
Innovation
Innovation is Croda’s lifeblood. Through our technical and commercial expertise, our focus is to increase the sales of new and protected products (NPP).
We achieve this by:
- Investing in our R&D application and regional innovation centres
- Working closely with customers to address their many and changing needs
- Identifying disruptive technologies
- Working with our Open Innovation partners
In 2020 we:
- Enabled R&D teams to access laboratories safely during COVID-19 restrictions, securing our future innovation pipeline
- Added proprietary lipid technology to our capabilities in drug delivery systems (Avanti acquisition)
- Upgraded innovation centres in Shanghai, the UK and USA so we can work even more closely with our local and global customers
- Continued to invest in our digital programme across our business model
Our priorities in 2021 include:
- Scaling our biotechnology expertise: increasing investment and smart partnerships in line with sector and sustainability goals
- Continuing to build our digital capability in knowledge management
Sustainability
Sustainability connects all parts of our business. Building on our bio-based raw material heritage, we are evolving Croda products, technologies and supply chains to meet new and emerging needs.
We achieve this by:
- Creating ingredients that provide a benefit in use with reduced environmental impact
- Aligning our business with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Identifying the short, medium and long-term time horizons and specific climate-related risks and opportunities that could have a material financial impact on our operations
In 2020 we:
- Established interim goals to measure progress towards our 2030 sustainability Commitment
- Developed decarbonisation roadmaps for our top 10 carbon-emitting sites
- Started replacing traditional petrochemical surfactants with our ECO range of bio-based products
- Identified impacts to products and our supply/value chain under different climate-related scenarios
- Identified climate-related adaptation and mitigation activities and invested in R&D and operations to increase resilience
Our priorities in 2021 include:
- Continue assessing the carbon benefits of our products in use
- Start implementing the decarbonisation roadmaps for our sites
- Continue developing decarbonisation roadmaps for other Croda sites
- Continue monitoring where our strategies may be affected by climate-related risks and opportunities, and extending the work already done for recent acquisitions
Strategic priorities by sector
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Transition to a dedicated Consumer Care and Life Sciences company
CorporateCroda enters agreement to sell majority of Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals businesses; completing its transition into a dedicated Consumer Care and Life Sciences company
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Croda announces major milestone in its digital enhancement journey
CorporateCroda is today celebrating the continuation of its digital customer enhancement journey with the launch of its new corporate website, croda.com.
Read more Our markets
Developing and delivering innovative, sustainable ingredients is at the heart of our business.
Find out moreOur approach
Sustainability means doing business the right way, adapting and challenging ourselves to meet business needs, today and in the future.
Find out moreSmart science
Innovation drives us to achieve our Purpose, from the ingredients we create and how we operate, to the natural, renewable raw materials that we use.
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