Croda has developed a tool to automate the calculation of cradle-to-gate product carbon footprints for the majority of our Beauty Care portfolio. Launched to customers in the summer of 2023, and aligned with the guidance from Together for Sustainability (TfS), it covers scope 1 direct greenhouse gas emissions, scope 2 emissions, scope 3 emissions for raw materials, plus data on transport and other areas. “The aim is to create a validated methodology to measure the carbon footprint of ingredients at a product-specific level,” says Cara Eaton, Sustainability Director, Consumer Care. “The availability of far more granular data is incredibly valuable to Croda and our customers, moving us beyond compliance. We can identify emissions hotspots within our portfolio and put decarbonisation strategies in place, and customers can make more informed decisions as they work towards their own targets.” 

The polymeric dispersant Atlox™ 4913 is used widely in agrochemical products. An LCA study across multiple manufacturing sites examined the impacts of changing key raw materials from petrochemical to commercially available bio-based alternatives. The first raw material showed a clear climate change benefit, reducing GHG emissions by over 25% with minimal other environmental impacts so the decision was taken to make this transition in consultation with the market. However, for a second raw material the LCA demonstrated a significant burden shift on land and water use if switched, and highlighted the environmental burden from a third raw material. These have led to dialogues with suppliers to reduce them. The LCA also explored the climate change impact of a new processing technology designed to increase efficiency, and to include downstream customer-generated emissions. This demonstrates the potential of LCAs as a valuable tool for innovating and re-designing products aligned with Net Zero agriculture.

Brazil’s Federal University of Minas Gerais launched a project in 2015 to support pregnant women who are addicted to cocaine and crack cocaine, helping to address the challenges of quitting. This led to the development of a molecule and formulation in which Croda’s adjuvants and excipients purification technology plays a central role in ensuring safe vaccine production. The innovative new therapeutic vaccine Calixcoca triggers an immune response that blocks cocaine and crack from reaching the brain, so numbing the effect. The vaccine, to be administered at rehabilitation clinics, was approved for human trials in 2023 and, if it receives regulatory approval, this will be the first time cocaine addiction has been treated using a vaccine. Chemically produced in a lab, Calixcoca does not require cold storage and is cost effective. It won Europharma’s Euro Health Innovation Award in 2023, which promotes healthcare solutions and innovations in Latin America.

We have a long history of providing educational opportunities to young people. In the last year, our UK STEM outreach team developed a five-year strategy that focuses activity where it can have the greatest impact, prioritising deprived schools local to Croda sites. We partner with the University of York’s Centre for Industry Education Collaboration and its Children Challenging Industry programme, funding an advisory teacher to deliver science lessons in primary schools. Children learn about Croda science linked to the National Curriculum and later visit Croda laboratories. In summer 2023, our Goole, UK headquarters supported a local summer school for children who qualify for free school meals. STEM activities have also been taken up globally: for the last two years, our Atlas Point site in Delaware, USA has supported six children from a local high school to attend a prestigious engineering summer camp at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania.

In 2023, our Incotec business signed a Memorandum of Understanding with tech-driven reforestation company Land Life to work on a pioneering project to integrate smart coating technologies on tree seeds. In a world of ecological decline, this aims to help scale-up reforestation globally: Incotec ’smart tree seeds’ help to simplify logistics, expand the scale of operations and reduce costs. The first coated seeds will be introduced in Colorado, USA, Victoria, Australia and Northern Spain. In September 2023, Incotec won the 2023 Sustainability Award for this project at the 8th edition of the Plantum Sustainability Awards. The jury praised it as a concrete restorative initiative that plays a crucial role in addressing a global issue.

In 2023, Croda India developed and equipped a community for construction workers from other parts of the country and their families at our greenfield site in Dahej, Gujarat state. The goal was to create an inclusive environment that promotes physical and mental wellbeing, prevents ill-health and equips residents with lasting benefits and skills. The site includes water facilities, a dining centre providing subsidised food and snacks, an ambulance and a well-equipped first aid centre, hosting weekly health check-ups from the Gujarat government and supporting blood donations and health awareness programmes. There is also a fully staffed daycare centre for workers’ children providing basic primary education classes for over 20 children. Female workers have separate transport to the construction site. Particular focus has been given to safety, with regular awareness and training, safety awards, motivational activities and recognition. Providing better working facilities and support has contributed to the project achieving 1 million safe staff hours at the construction site.