Products & Innovation
Science and technology are at the heart of everything we do, driving innovations that enable us to contribute to a sustainable future and to tackle global challenges.
Ensuring sustainable progress
We are committed to creating solutions that positively impact people and the environment. To this end, we are determined to make discoveries that change the landscape of entire industries and drive technological as well as scientific innovation to solve the most critical issues of today and tomorrow.
We believe it is our duty to not only conserve resources when developing our own products, but also to help our customers increase their own sustainability performance. Research and development (R&D) play an essential role and are critical elements that determine the sustainability impact of our products, from their initial conception to market launch. To achieve resource efficiency, we intend to create a closed-loop system.
We fuel transformative technologies and innovation through internal incubation, partnerships and strategic investments as well as collaboration with academia. In addition, we continually seek to foster and encourage open innovation.
Sustainability innovation and R&D
For more than 350 years, we have been pushing the boundaries of possibility. And we intend to continue doing so in the future, to drive the change to more sustainable products and improve the lives of millions. This is why we monitor new technological trends and consider the role they could play in tackling current global challenges.
The following presents several of our promising projects for the world of tomorrow.
Sustainable products
Climate change and the increasing scarcity of natural resources are among the greatest challenges of our time. With our products, we want to help overcome these challenges. In doing so, we are also helping our customers to reduce the negative impacts of their activities and to achieve their own sustainability goals. After all, we know that we can approach these major challenges only together.
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Less energy, more power
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are the future of display technology. They combine brilliant colors and high contrasts with low power consumption.Learn more -
SMASH Packaging
With our sustainable packaging strategy for Life Science products, we are reducing our ecological footprint.Learn more -
Green solvents
Learn moreThe demand for semiconductors for millions of everyday products comes at considerable environmental cost.
Partnerships to drive sustainable innovation
In order to solve humanity's most pressing challenges through science, we need to join forces. This is why we are inviting scientists from all over the world to participate in our open innovation program, offering research grants in the area of sustainability and collaborating with strategic partners such as the Technical University (TU) of Darmstadt, Germany.
Pioneering together with TU Darmstadt
At our headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, we are working together intensively with the Technical University (TU) of Darmstadt. With our four focus areas for joint research projects, sustainability is at the heart of this collaboration:
- Circular economy
- Digital sustainability
- Responsible handling of raw materials and new alternatives
- Innovative processes and procedures inspired by biology
Together we have set up the Sustainability Hub, a joint research platform that is open to all our business sectors and all departments of the TU Darmstadt. Moreover, our company provides additional funding for national and international academic collaboration partners who are joining forces.
Towards a circular economy
In a circular economy, the existing raw materials and materials are used and re-used for as long as possible. Considering the resource scarcity facing our planet, this approach is crucial because it conserves non-renewable raw materials. We are seeking ways to close the loop across our entire value chain. Our strategy is not to simply re-use waste material as thoroughly as possible, but instead to prevent waste wherever and whenever we can. We apply this approach from the very start of the process, including procurement and product design.
We see the circular economy primarily as an opportunity for us to promote sustainable development. In our Life Science business sector, for instance, our solvent Cyrene™ provides a safe, green alternative to conventional petroleum-based substances. And in our Electronics business sector, our RonaFlair portfolio offers environmentally compatible functional fillers for skincare products – an alternative that is free of microplastics.
Still curious?
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Smart and green
Our products are helping tackle global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity.Explore more -
Measuring sustainability
Successful sustainability management requires tools that can quantitatively measure sustainability, a critical element in guiding our sustainability practices.Explore more -
Our impact
The United Nations defined 17 global goals for sustainable development. We too are doing our part to support.Explore more