COVID-19

We have in place a number of measures to protect our employees and help minimise the spread of the virus. We are continuing to support employees who are working at home and, as local legislation allows, helping employees return to offices in a safe and socially distanced way, with increased hygiene measures in place. As part of this, to ensure effective social distancing in our offices, we have also implemented split team working. We are complying with all local safety standards as a minimum and exceeding these as we think appropriate. Our priority remains the health and safely of all our people.

Our Group and regional COVID-19 Teams work with sites across the Croda Group to plan and support the safe return of employees to their workplaces. This includes, where local legislation allows, helping employees return safely to offices as well as continuing to support employees when working at home. Our plans are based on thorough risk assessments completed by each manufacturing site and location throughout the Croda Group. These assessments have focussed on identifying any potential hazards, the steps we need to take to mitigate risks associated with them and ensuring the safety of employees. They have also taken into consideration individuals’ circumstances. 

We continue to maintain stocks of raw materials across our sites where possible, and  have extended lead times, where necessary, on a small number of product lines. We will contact and work closely with customers should shortages or logistical complexity affect any deliveries.

To enable our customer care teams to respond swiftly to the most recent information surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, we keep up to date with local developments and are in touch with our customers and local authorities regularly. We continue to manage any potential impact to orders through our established shortage of supply process. This means that we are contacting customers directly if their supply may be impacted rather than completing individual questionnaires.

Our manufacturing sites, offices and labs continue to operate, subject to any local restrictions. Where necessary, we have implemented additional measures to ensure the safety of our colleagues and continue our high levels of customer service. We have reviewed our business continuity plans and have developed specific plans as appropriate. We continue to comply with all local safety standards as a minimum and exceeding these as we think appropriate.

We have stock of raw materials at all our manufacturing sites. Our global supply chain teams continue to work to identify any potential impact on our raw material supplies and are putting plans in place to help ensure supply. We regularly review our supply chains and will continue to monitor these, putting contingency plans in place as required. We have thorough business continuity plans that can be put in place should they be needed.

We continue to monitor the situation through our established Group and Regional COVID-19 Teams, who are responsible for overseeing our response to the virus and our contingency planning. These teams include representatives from all our operational and business functions to ensure alignment and coordination across Croda:

• Actively monitoring disease progression in each country, WHO guidance, supplier and supply chain risks and prevention and containment measures.
• Communicating best practices for safeguarding colleague health and ensuring that anyone displaying symptoms follows local guidance for seeking treatment and self-isolation
• Testing business contingency plans and building stock to ensure that we can maintain supply and delivery.
• Making the most of our existing video conference facilities, so that colleagues can easily continue their work from home or other sites, as necessary.
• Ensuring our sales teams have the latest information so that they can respond to customer enquiries regarding ingredients.

In line with our contingency plans and guided by our Group and Regional COVID-19 Teams, we continue to focus on safeguarding our colleagues and ensuring continued operations. 

Across all of our locations we have a range of measures in place to protect employees and continue business operations as normal, as well as location specific measures in place in response to specific local guidelines. These measures could include: increasing the proportion of employees working remotely; introducing more split team working and reorganising shift patterns, all minimising the opportunity of spreading the virus while maintaining our levels of service. We have risk mitigation plans in place for our raw materials that include actions such as good stock cover and second sources. As the outbreak has continued, we have also been continually reviewing raw material and stock levels, and relocating products as needed, this monitoring will continue throughout the pandemic.