Croda wins ICIS Surfactants Award for Sustainability

Croda International Plc celebrates winning the ICIS Surfactants Award for Sustainability for its pioneering bio-ethylene oxide plant.
Croda, a manufacturer of high-performance ingredients and technologies, has been chosen to build a bio-ethylene oxide plant at its Atlas Point site in the United States. This plant will enable the manufacture of 100% ethoxylates of biosourced origin, and will be the first of its kind in the USA. Called "ECO", the surfactants produced by this plant will be 100% of renewable and biosourced origin, and will have a lower carbon footprint than petrochemical-derived ingredients, while maintaining identical performance.
The ceremony, held at the ICIS World Surfactants Conference, recognizes excellence and innovation in the surfactants industry. The Sustainability Award targets the contributions of a product, process or supply chain. Surfactants, and more specifically ethoxylates, are used in a whole range of different markets, from cosmetics and detergents to lubricants and plant protection, all of which are meeting growing consumer demand for products with a higher biobased content while maintaining their efficacy. This new ECO range replaces the use of petrochemical-derived ethylene oxide with a corn-derived bio-ethanol derivative.
Terry Thistlethwaite, Vice President Sustainability at Croda commented: "This award highlights yet another example of our commitment to offering our customers the ability to meet growing consumer demand for more environmentally sustainable, bio-based products. Sustainability is an integral part of our business, and this new plant is a demonstration of our commitment to investing in innovative and sustainable solutions.