Areas of Operation: Research and Development (R&D)
Through innovation and development, this department both generates and uses new knowledge about introducing new products to the market. This gives it a key role in the development and innovation of products and production processes. As part of a risk assessment, research and development has a special responsibility towards products, production processes and research. An example would be field testing new plant types.
Fields of action
Fields of action in can be identified and set by analysing where a company’s activities have a either direct or indirect influence on biodiversity. The spatial relation to biological diversity is intuitively connected to the sites and facilities field of action. Corporate activities influence biodiversity in other ways though as well.
Sites and Facilities
Approaches:
Research buildings Outdoor research areas
Goals:
Avoidance of protests in outdoor research areas
Product Design
Approaches:
Product optimization through research
Goals:
Development of raw material / product lifecycle to reduce procurement costs
Personnel
Approaches:
Code of ethics for R & D workers
Goals:
Liability reduction in research activities
Supply chains, commodities and materials
Approaches:
Material optimisation
Goals:
Substitution of previous raw materials through ecologically sustainable materials in order to acquire new customers New fishing methods to reduce bycatch so that catch quota are not exhausted
Additional information about Supply chains, commodities and materials
Production and manufacturing processes
Approaches:
Production optimization through research
Goals:
Develop new production methods through research cooperation partnerships with external stakeholders such as NGOs
Additional information about Production and manufacturing processes
Transport and Logistics
Approaches:
Development of new transport and packaging systems
Goals:
More efficient cooling systems
Best Practice Examples: HiPP GmbH & Co. KG – CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle
An example of a sustainability indicator is a company’s CO2 footprint, which HiPP has introduced for its baby food product, “Pure Early Carrots”. They used the following indicators in their calculation: raw material production, the availability of adjuvants and packaging, energy consumption in production, transport, the use by the customers as well as disposal or recycling of waste. This forms the basis for carrying out a CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle.
