Innovating boldly for people and planet

Technology sits at the heart of our approach to innovation: we are building automated technology into our innovation centres. Our UK Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) has the highest concentration of robots doing material chemistry work in the world. It delivers data ten times faster than traditional methods. We run virtual tests and scenarios to optimise products before the lab stage, thereby innovating sooner and cutting time to market - in one year we can perform 12,000 rapid product tests.

Shanghai, China is home to our Artificial Intelligence Hub where we use insights from real time data to prototype innovations and test them via e-commerce in just a matter of days. Fast, efficient, effective innovating.

Making superior products that are kind to the planet and to society, including packaging, ingredients and meat alternatives. Research and development is powering our move away from petro-chemicals, stopping plastic pollution and fixing the broken food system, in collaboration with our partners.

Our goal is to make a Clean Future. One of the ways we will do this is by replacing 100% of the carbon derived from fossil fuels in our Home Care products with renewable or recycled carbon.

Innovation in biology unlocks significant benefits and will be a driver in achieving our climate and nature goals. We are a world leader in the microbiome space and have more than 100 patents in this area alone. We are exploring its influence on all aspects of health and wellbeing. We are also deepening our understanding of the skin and innovating accordingly. One example of this is a new pro-lipids technology that helps the skin to repair its barrier from the inside out.

As poor hygiene and sanitation continues to cause untold damage to people around the world, we are developing safe, effective products that kill viruses and bacteria, thereby reducing preventable illnesses.