Croda Singapore expand pastillation capacity to align with beauty MNC carbon goal

The British company said the new facility would enable it to meet the growing global demand for pastille-format alkoxylates and esters.

This format is growing in popularity as it is lighter to transport than liquids, making it more sustainable. At the same time, they are easier and safer to handle than powder.

“At Croda, we stand for manufacturing innovative and sustainable ingredients that are tailored to our customer needs. Our current investment to expand our pastillation capacity at site allows us to fulfil growing demand for pastilles, which are easier and safer to handle at our customers' plants,”​ said Babu Alagappan, managing director of Croda.

In a collective drive towards sustainability, major beauty multinationals are placing a primary emphasis on diminishing their carbon footprint as a central objective.

French beauty giant L’Oréal, for instance, is aiming to align its greenhouse gas emissions with the +1.5°C scenario. The company's objective is to achieve a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per finished product compared to 2016, encompassing scopes one, two, and three along the entire value chain.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia​, Alagappan emphasised that the capacity to develop more sustainable products is pivotal as beauty majors push to decrease their scope three emissions.

“If our products are sustainable, their scope three emissions start getting lower. This is the big thing now in the personal care space. We’ve talked about L’Oréal, Unilever, and P&G. Reducing carbon footprint is the key goal of all our customers so by making sure our products are very sustainable it immediately reduces that scope.”​

Scope three emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with an organisation's activities, originating from sources outside its direct control, but indirectly affects its entire value chain.

Croda unveiled its new pastillator at its Seraya site on Jurong Island on November 22 with a ceremony that was attended by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, Her Excellency Ms. Kara Owen CMG, representatives from the Economic Development Board (EDB), as well as industry partners.

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From Singapore to the world

This latest facility is Croda Singapore’s fourth pastillator on the island and features state-of-the-art technology, it claims.

“This investment incorporates numerous state-of-the-art technology that is presently accessible to us. We have incorporated, for example, AI cameras to ensure automatic label detection, photoelectric sensors to ensure safe operations, load cells to ensure accurate ratio for blends, among other features,”​ said Alagappan.

Croda Group CEO Steve Foots underscored the significance of expanding its facilities in Singapore.

“[Croda’s] romance with Singapore goes back to 1989… We see this as a continuation of this commitment to Singapore, but also this commitment to Asia as well,”​ he said.

“Singapore is one of our main sites in Croda. We have 11 multipurpose sites around the world, and this is one of the strategic assets of the group. For all intents and purposes, we want to invest a lot more into the site. We're actually starting to see this site as, as a bedrock not just to build our Asian business, but to build our European business, and even our North American business.”​

He concluded: “You will find that it supports some of the many brands in the world. So, when you’re buying your next shampoo and conditioner, there may be some ingredients from there that go in there. We’re supporting some of the biggest brands in the world.”​