Protecting society and improving lives

Gender balance and diversity and inclusion

We continue to measure progress against our target of achieving gender balance across our leadership roles by 2030. We are pleased to report that the number of women in leadership positions has increased by 5.7 percentage points since the 2019 baseline figure, with 38.2% of leadership roles now filled by women. The appointment of a new female CFO, Louisa Burdett, on 1 January 2023 moves the gender balance of the Board in 2023 to 55% female representation and our Executive Committee to 33%.

During 2022 we also saw a 48% net increase in the number of female process operators (excluding leavers as part of the PTIC divestment) and participation in our prestigious senior leadership programmes has been gender balanced, important steps in helping us to achieve our 2030 target. We continue to monitor balanced shortlists and, in 2023, will automate the collection of this data, allowing us to identify issues as they arise.

Broadening to diversity & inclusion (D&I)

We continue to progress against our D&I roadmap, published in 2021, identifying actions in key areas to ensure we become a more diverse and inclusive organisation: diversity data gathering; improving D&I awareness; developing our D&I brand; measuring and setting KPIs; and alignment to reward and recognition.

Following on from our Global Diversity Representation Survey, we have established region-specific objectives to address targeted issues. For example, our South Asia region established three sub-groups to address issues of communication and awareness, nurturing a D&I culture and reviewing recruitment. Our programme to build D&I awareness across Croda includes running masterclasses from thought leaders in the field, including a series of sessions on Cultural Awareness with a focus on Asia that was delivered to senior leaders. Our regional teams have also established new D&I subcommittees and affiliation groups to complement our Global D&I Committee. These have been instrumental in advising regional management on a range of topics to help deliver real change in our employee experience.

Promoting healthy lives and wellbeing

Protecting against threats to global human health

Protection from potentially developing skin cancer

Increasing our positive impact

Supporting our local communities

We are committed to engaging with and supporting our local communities, and in 2022 our employees donated 5,336 hours through our 1% Club, including 31% on STEM educational activities, including:

• Supporting SDG 2, Zero Hunger, our Atlas Point employees in North America helped to serve 315 families and distribute 16,500 kg of food.
• Croda Brazil employees in Campinas helped residents of a nursing home by cleaning and painting planters and planting a range of vegetables, many of which were
  donated by Incotec Brazil.

Beyond our 1% Club, our Fragrances business, Iberchem, expanded its Roots Programme ‘Bridging the Digital Divide’. Initially launched in Thailand, the project now reaches Spain, Mexico, France and China. In donating hundreds of computer workstations, the project enables thousands of students around the world to access information, knowledge and education. 2022 saw Croda South Africa start sponsorship of seven children through school, improving their livelihoods and future prospects.

In the spirit of UN secretary-general António Guterres’ call for action at the International Day for Biological Diversity in May 2022, and aligned with our aspiration to become Net Nature Positive by 2030, Croda employees engaged in diverse initiatives reconnecting people and nature. These included environmental cleaning and forest restoration in local communities (at locations in India, Netherlands, Turkey and Colombia), and maintaining beehives in five of our European sites, helping nature preservation and biodiversity and contributing to the local ecological balance.

Sustainably improving one million lives by 2030: Croda Foundation

Following its initial funding and approval as a charity in 2021, 2022 has been an impactful action year for Croda Foundation, the independent philanthropic organisation set up by Croda International Plc. The Foundation aims to improve lives across three priority areas: improve access to healthcare; reduce hunger and poverty and improve livelihoods; and restore forests and ecosystems.

To date, the Foundation has sustainably improved the lives of at least 300,000 people through the projects underway, against its 2030 target of one million.
During 2022, the Foundation have more than tripled the number of live projects to 21, from six in 2021, benefitting more than 14 million people across 19 countries, and committing £2.8m of the grants provided by Croda during the year. Croda Foundation has approved several milestones to be achieved by the end of 2026:

• 450,000 people have increased income and skills to better support their livelihoods
• 600,000 people have access to healthcare and clean drinking water provision that they didn't previously have
• 7,000 hectares of forests protected or ecosystems restored
• 30,000 trees planted

Croda Foundation’s adjusted mission now aligns further with the UN SDGs. The Foundation ensures that projects supporting the UN SDGs are charitable under English law and further the Foundation’s charitable purposes.