Sustainability Seconds: People Positive by 2030

Croda and Avanti are dedicated to making a positive impact on the planet and those inhabiting it. Through science and innovation, we will continue to increase our positive impact through the year 2030 and beyond. We have already looked at some of our goals for being Climate and Land Positive by 2030, and now we turn our attention to being People Positive by 2030.

How will we directly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in society?

Through development of new technology and their applications we will help support and promote healthy lives and wellbeing. This goal is directly related to UN SDG 3.3 - by 2030, end of the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases, and UN SDG 3.4 – by 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and wellbeing.

We aren’t only interested in helping people through development and use of our technological innovations, we are also interested in creating a greater gender balance as well as using our Croda Foundation to improve lives in relevant communities. Achieving gender balance is directly related to UN SDG 5.5 – ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

Improving lives throughout relevant communities through the Croda Foundation is directly related to all the UN SDGs. The Croda Foundation aims to create STEM educational opportunities and provide basic necessities through the use and application of our ingredients. Our aim is to improve one million lives in relevant communities.

How are we doing so far?

Related to these goals are actionable targets. We have set four key targets related to being People Positive by 2030. Here is a list of these targets and our progress towards completing them as of 2021:

• By 2030, we will contribute to the successful development and commercialization of 25% of WHO-listed pipeline vaccines. In 2021, we developed a deeper understanding of the projects in which our technologies are being used to develop WHO-listed pipeline vaccines. Also, Croda technology is at various stages of evaluation in 15 out of the 24 pipeline vaccines across 79 projects (compared to 32 projects in 2020).
• By 2030, we will protect at least 60 million people annually from potentially developing skin cancer from harmful UV rays, through the use of our sun care ingredients. In 2021, our first novel sunscreen ingredients were launched from the Entekno partnership and 55 million people were protected annually through the use of Croda sun protection ingredients.
• By 2030, we will achieve gender balance across leadership roles in our organization. As of 2021, 36% of leadership roles were occupied by women (compared to 31% in 2020). We also incorporated a gender balance target in the long-term incentive plan for the most senior leaders, and the Croda main Board is now gender balanced with the appointment of two new female non-executive directors.
• We will establish and fund a Croda Foundation to help improve one million lives in relevant communities. In 2021, the first three projects were approved for funding by the Croda Foundation Board of Trustees. A 2m additional restricted grant was provided by Croda to the Foundation to be invested in improving health infrastructure in regions with the greatest need. And a Charity of the Year competition was launched with the British Heart Foundation becoming the first recipient of the £25,000 prize.

It is easy to see that we are well on our way towards achieving the lofty goals that were set for the year 2030. By 2030, we will be Climate, Land and People Positive.