Our approach
Smart science to improve lives™
The United Nation Sustainable Development Goals play a key part in shaping our strategy. We act on our commitment to sustainability through our purpose, “Smart Science to Improve Lives”. By 2030, we are committed to becoming Climate, Land and People positive. This encompasses all aspects of our business.
Our Commitment
We will be the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients. We will create, make and deliver solutions to tackle some of the biggest challenges the world is facing. By 2030 we will be Climate, Land and People Positive.Our commitment to the UN SDGs
What are the UN SDGs?
On the 25th September 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are a set of 17 global goals and 169 specific targets measured through 230 indicators. The SDGs will be highly influential in shaping the future trajectory of sustainable development, as all countries are expected to try and achieve the goals by 2030.The UN SDGs have been described as closest thing to a strategy for planet Earth that humanity has ever generated. The SDGs:
avoid the need for a subjective view on what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for society
are adopted as a reference point; agreed by 195 governments
Further information on how these SDGs were developed and current progress towards the goals can be found on the UN website.
What do the UN SDGs mean to us at Croda?
In 2018, our Executive Committee worked with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership to develop our sustainability strategy to 2030 and achieve alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following an assessment of the relevance of the SDGs to our business, we divided the SDGs into two categories.The ‘Drivers’ are SDGs that we directly contribute to through our strategy and through the sales of our products across all sectors. For example, through the sustainability benefits our products offer in use or our emission reduction targets.
The ‘Fundamental’ SDGs are ones that we contribute to through our day to day business activities or indirectly through our philanthropic activities, so while they are important, they do not drive our strategy.
Goal 17 sits between these two layers, as nearly all our contributions are dependent on partnerships between ourselves and other stakeholders.
By identifying our current contribution to the SDGs, we can begin to visualise how we can drive our strategy to increase our contribution towards these global goals, unlocking new business potential along the way.
We are currently developing KPIs, with associated stretching targets for each of our Material Areas based on our assessment against the SDGs. Alongside this, we are looking at how we can contribute to some of the 169 targets that sit beneath the 17 SDGs. This will help us to identify where our activities have a measurable impact and help us find ways to increase our positive contributions to the SDGs.
Global Drivers of Change
We are both impacted by and have an impact upon the global megatrends. Our sustainability programme addresses the four that we feel are most important to our business and industry, to ensure we continue to have a positive impact in the future
There is unprecedented change in world demographics. People in developed economies are living longer and have more income and better access to buy a wider range of products.
In the developing world, a population increase of two to three billion is forecast between now and 2050, driven by lower mortality rates. In addition, an expanding middle class is expected to attain Western levels of consumerism, generating new markets for products that make a difference to living standards.
What this means for our industry
- Growing need for consumer products that use our ingredients
- Increasing demand for anti-ageing, beauty and health products as incomes rise and consumers’ expectations change
- Demand for increased crop yields to support the growing population
- Demand for energy saving materials and increased bio-based content to mitigate against carbon emissions in supply chains.
What do we do to help?
- We develop close working partnerships with our customers, smart partners and suppliers to develop innovative ingredients with intrinsic and extrinsic sustainability benefits across all our market sectors
- We have local market teams who are close to our customers, with the right global market sector insight and expertise to meet rapidly changing market demands
- Investment in local research and development laboratories in growing regions
- Capital investment in manufacturing assets in Asia and Latin America to reduce supply chain length and bring supply closer to our customers.
The continuing accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming, resulting in rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather. Both impact the land and its ability to supply food and water for the growing global population. These adverse changes bring an increased focus from international organisations on restricting global warming and climate change.
What this means for our industry
- A demand for increased product performance from lower levels of active ingredients
- Need to minimise environmental and social impact along the entire customer supply chain
- Emergence of taxes and incentives for businesses to reduce the net environmental burden
- A move away from petrochemicals towards renewables and industrial biotechnology.
What do we do to help?
- We have in-house regulatory experts who sit on industry wide committees to inform and shape future policy
- Our new product developments are assessed against the globally recognised 12 Principles of Green Chemistry framework, to ensure that they are as sustainable as they can be
- Investment in our North American bio-surfactant plant to produce the bio-based ECO range of ingredients, both reducing reliance on fossil fuels and eliminating the need for rail transportation of ethylene oxide
- Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment to assess the impact of our ingredients and identify where we can make further reductions in our carbon footprint
- Report to CDP climate change, forest and water disclosures.
Technology advances are reshaping the world we live in, with digitalisation transforming consumer behaviour. Digital technologies make it easier for their voices to be heard and increase the speed at which new trends are adopted.
The evolution of the internet has also enabled significant advancements in our ability to gather, analyse and distribute data and turn it into information and knowledge.
What this means for our industry
- Consumer demand for niche products
- Increase in small independent (‘indie’) customers and virtual communities demanding a different level of service
- Need for agile operations
- Increased use of data science and robotics to shorten product development life cycles.
What do we do to help?
- We have local sales and research and development teams who work closely with small start-ups on niche ingredient development
- Our flexible operating assets and supply chains enable the production and delivery of small batch sizes to meet changing customer demands
- Our investment in Cutitronics, which enables us to utilise the latest digital technology in premium skincare
- Appointment of a Chief Digital Officer to grow our digital strategy and creation of our Digital Centre of Excellence to implement our approach
- Creation of a Process Informatics Group to analyse and optimise plant performance
- Investment in our Centre of Innovation for Formulation Science at the Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool, to build a data centric approach to innovation.