Croda’s Gouda site has won the Dutch Chemical Industry Association (Vereniging Nederlandse Chemische Industrie) Responsible Care Award for its innovative new glycerine fermentation project.

Croda, who make ingredients and technologies that are relied on by industries and consumers everywhere, were nominated for their glycerine fermentation project, (www.quarterback4life.nl) which was formally opened on the 1 June. This investment will see the site reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by around 25%, due to the partial replacement of natural gas with bio-gas, created from crude glycerine or ‘sweetwater’, a by-product of the major processes on the site.

This prestigious award is presented every year by the Dutch Chemical Association for inspiring and innovative projects within the Dutch chemical industry. Nominated projects must demonstrate substantial improvement on safety, health, environment or sustainable performances within the core values of the VNCI Responsible Care programme.

Terry Thistlethwaite, Vice President of Sustainability at Croda said: “We are immensely proud that this innovative project has been recognised in this way. Our team at Gouda have worked hard to ensure that our plans for reducing local and global environmental impact from the site and its supply chain have been realised. The reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions due to the project will have a big contribution to our global decarbonisation programme.”

Chairman of the judging panel for the awards, Gert-Jan de Geus said: "Croda is working hard to show leadership in Responsible Care. The project is a good example in which long term thinking has resulted in a project with a longer payback period, but with the support from corporate management and sustainability the result is an excellent Responsible Care project.”