Unilever Research Prize 2009

Copyright
2009 Unilever R&D Vlaardingen
P.O. Box 114
NL-3130 AC Vlaardingen
The Netherlands
Text and production coordination
Unilever R&D Vlaardingen,
Communication
Design and illustrations
Océ Creative Services,
Rotterdam
Printed by
Drukkerij DVU, Schiedam
The Ovum
De impressie van de ‘The Ovum’, het bij de Unilever Research
Prijs behorende kunstwerk, is vervaardigd door beeldend
kunstenares Elly Rosseel uit Soest. Elly hanteert hiervoor de
fusing techniek, waarbij zij door middel van het versmelten
van glas en polijsten tot haar creaties komt. De impressie
geeft een opengebroken ei weer. De ontwikkeling van het
nog niet ontsproten talent in het ei, dat
daarbuiten tot bloei kan komen. Met
de opening aan de bovenkant wordt
de open weg naar de toekomst
aangeduid, waarlangs de winnaar
zich nog verder zal ontplooien.
The Ovum, the sculpture
awarded to the winners
of the Unilever Research
Prize was designed by the artist
Elly Rosseel from Soest. Ms Rosseel
employs a fusion technique, using burnished glass
to bring her creations to life. The Ovum gives the impression of
a hatching bird’s egg, symbolising the birth and emergence of
new talent. The egg’s open lid and upward pathway gives an
impression of a future for the winner being rich with expanding
possibilities.
Unilever
Research
Prize 2009
A4-URP Programma 2009.indd 1-2 01-12-2009 17:43:09
Unilever Research Prize 2009 • Unilever R&D Vlaardingen

Introduction
In our centres researchers work daily on the
shaping of new innovations, which are crucial
for Unilever’s Growth Agenda. Moreover,
connections with the outer world, including
scientists from the academic institutes, are
crucial in identifying and exploring the potential
of new discoveries for our business.
Part of our relationship with the academic world
is the granting of the Unilever Research Prize.
The annual Prize Award is a tradition that is as
old as our R&D centre in Vlaardingen. This means
that the 2009 edition is the 53rd time that Dutch
universities have nominated Master of Science
graduates from a variety of disciplines relevant
for Unilever Research & Development.
The Research Prize also shows our appreciation
of the outstanding work of talented Master of
Science students. This year all of the 14 winners
are young academics who have conducted
important research in the fields of chemistry,
biotechnology, mechanical engineering, biology,
agricultural science and social sciences. Through
granting research prizes Unilever wishes to
stimulate these promising talents in their future
development.
The quality of the contributions again is
of a high standard. Unilever would like to
congratulate all of the winners and pay
compliments to the participating universities
for submitting these promising nominations.
Dr. John Verbakel
Director Unilever R&D
Vlaardingen
Meeting
everyday needs
Unilever is the world’s second-largest consumer
goods company. Our mission is to add vitality to life
by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene
and personal care with brands that help people feel
good, look good and get more out of life.
Our CEO Paul Polman recently restated his ambition
for innovation in Unilever: it will be the main driver
of future sales and profit growth. Over the last
couple of years, Unilever R&D has been transformed
to deliver more competitive advantage in line with
this ambition:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Geneviève Berger has been appointed Chief
R&D Officer, full member of Unilever’s Executive
board.
The 3 global R&D organisations (Foods R&D,
HPC R&D and Corporate Research) have been
integrated into One Unilever R&D.
Global research has been focused in 6 strategic
centres based in the Netherlands, the U.K., the
U.S., India and China.
Global product development has been focused in
13 centres around the world.
Regional, country and factory implementation
teams ensure full and fast roll-out to all markets.
One global R&D programme has been defined
across categories and regions – global research,
product development and regional / local
implementation deliver this programme in crossfunctional
teams.
Unilever now employs more than 6000
employees worldwide, including 1500 scientists,
with a total budget of more than 900 million
euros per year.
Explaining
URDV
Unilever Research &
Development Vlaardingen
For over fifty years Vlaardingen R&D
has contributed to the Unilever product
portfolio by continuously improving
existing products and launching new
ones. For example: Small & Mighty, double
concentrated liquid detergents; Sun
Green, environmentally friendly machine
dish wash tablets; Becel's Heart Age Tool,
an online tool that calculates how old/
young your heart is, compared to your
chronological age; Calve’s Extra Light
Mayonnaise with citrus fibre technology;
Lipton Linea Tea, with catechins; Becel Pro
Activ Bloodpressure margarine and fruit
shots with potassium – good for blood
pressure, and advancements in behindthe-scenes
work, like microbiological
safety; all researched and co-developed
by Vlaardingen-based scientists and
technologists.
The R&D facility in Vlaardingen employs
more than 1,050 people, of more than 40
nationalities, working in multidisciplinary
project teams with clear business targets.
Unilever R&D Vlaardingen is organised to
add to Unilever’s innovative capability across
three pillars:
•
Research: Delivering differentiated and
protected new product technology
for innovation. Vlaardingen hosts a
number of global research expertise
fields: Structured Materials and Process
Science; Nutrition and Health; Sensation,
Perception and Behaviour; Advanced
Measurement and Data Modelling.
•
•
Global Product Development:
Turning a discovery from research
(a new technology, ingredient or insight)
into a new product for global roll-out.
Vlaardingen hosts the global product
development centre for Structured
Emulsions and Laundry.
Regional development and
implementation: Bringing new
innovations to local markets and
constantly renewing existing products
for better value. Vlaardingen hosts
the regional development centres for
Structured Emulsions, Laundry and
Machine Dishwash.
Partnerships and sustainability
Unilever has a long and established interest
in developing and emerging markets, where
our products can have a major impact on
nutrition, hygiene and quality of life. We
work with organisations like UNICEF, the
World Food Programme and the World
Heart Federation to combat poor nutrition
in both the developing and the developed
world.
Climate change and water
scarcity are also some of the
big challenges facing the
world and our business
today. In September
2009 Unilever
introduced its Cleaner
Planet Plan, a worldwide
sustainability
programme with the
aim to save on water,
waste, CO2 emissions and
environmentally harmful
commodities. �
A4-URP Programma 2009.indd 3-4 01-12-2009 17:43:28

3)
The Story behind Sun Green Power
SUN’s
Efficacy
Unilever first introduced machine dish wash (MDW) detergents in the 1960’s under the Sun brand.
Since then Sun has grown to become an important player in this market during its history of continuous
innovation.
Dishwashers are a familiar feature of many homes nowadays. Consumers buy a dishwasher primarily for
convenience. They expect perfect cleaning results and, of course, their dishes should not be damaged
by the process.
Recently, awareness of the environmental impact of household activities including machine dishwashing
has increased. Machine manufacturers have designed models that use less water and energy. At the
same time, Unilever and other major detergent manufacturers have developed products capable of
excellent results at 50 degree Celsius wash cycles. In addition, they are encouraging the consumer to be
ecologically friendly under the ‘Save Energy and Water‘ campaign of the international Association for
Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance (AISE). When these guidelines are followed, machine dishwashing
can compare favourably with dishwashing by hand in terms of energy and water usage.
The next logical step in responding to the increasing consumer awareness is the development of a range
of detergents with reduced use of chemical and packaging materials, whilst retaining the excellent
results in low temperature wash cycles. Such an innovation also contributes to Unilever’s Vitality
strategic thrust – Less Environmental Impact
• The LCA assessment covers the majority of the life cycle from
cradle to grave. Commonly used, it is recognized as the fairest
way to evaluate te environmental profile of a product.
Raw material and energy consumption
Fabrication Steps Retail Consumer Use End of Life
Emissions to air, water and land
A key technical challenge in this
project was to find a replacement
for sodium tripolyphosphate
(STTP) which is a major ingredient
in current products. Whilst STTP
is a safe and highly effective water
softener, it makes a relatively
large contribution to the overall
environmental impact of the
formulation.
Around 30 alternative water
softeners were screened in this
project against criteria including
wash performance, human and
environmental safety, availability,
1)
goes Green
by Tim Price
cost and processing. A strong contender emerging from this exercise was Methylglycine diacetate,
sodium salt (MGDA). MGDA is a commercially available strong sequestrant and is considerably more
effective by weight than STTP.
In order to apply this material in dishwasher detergent tablets two technical problems had to be
solved. Firstly, MGDA used on its own can lead to unacceptable corrosion and fading of glass items.
This problem has been solved by the use of soluble Bismuth salts. Bismuth ions interact with the glass
surface and prevent the selective dissolution which leads to corrosion and fading 1).
The second problem in applying MGDA arises from the hygroscopicity of the powdered material.
This makes it very difficult to use in a tabletting process and the resultant tablets absorb water rapidly,
and disintegrate. A new process has been developed which produces granules containing hydrated
MGDA which are stable and can easily be processed into tablets
2).
The new formulations containing these technologies have been
shown to fully match the performance of traditional products and
allow very significant savings in chemicals (18%) and packaging
(20%) because of the improved weight effectiveness of MGDA.
A full Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA) has been carried out for
Sun Green Power. This shows a significant reduction in global
warming potential, eutrophication and energy use compared to
current market standards.
Consumers’ reactions to Sun Green Power have been positive and
independent tests by consumer organisations have confirmed
that the product delivers fully on performance, unlike the existing
eco brands available.
Sun will continue to innovate in sustainable machine dish wash
products in line with the recently announced ‘Cleaner Planet
plan’, Unilever’s way of helping consumers to continue achieving
outstanding results with products that enable them to reduce the
impact of laundry on the environment. �
Less water
Minimising water used in irrigation of raw
materials, amount of water in the
formulation, and the amount of water
recommended per consumer use.
Less waste
Create less packaging wast through
new materials
Incentivising reuse/recycle/recovery
Minimising our packaging wast and product
leftovers, through design/new formats
Less greenhouse gases
Accross the total product lifecycle
Increase the use of
sustainable resources
Notes:
1. PATENT: EP1721962
2. PATENT: EP2009/053781
A4-URP Programma 2009.indd 5-6 01-12-2009 17:43:35
2)

Sustainability:
Sustainability is often incorporated into business as an effort to mitigate the impacts; on health,
environment, communities and so on. This is a valuable process. But also limiting. The approach
takes the present reality as a baseline and tries to reduce its negative impact. You can also see
sustainability as an opportunity, an expanded space. There are new business concepts to be
invented, new needs to be met.
One way of describing the expanded space is to look at the way that marketing meets needs. The
concept of needs is also central to that of sustainability. Here is a quote from one of the original
definitions, from the UN’s Bruntland Commission report, Our Common Future:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key
concepts:
• the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding
priority should be given; and
•
An Innovation
Opportunity
By John Grant
the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the
environment's ability to meet present and future needs."
Unilever is very familiar as an organisation with the concept of meeting such needs. The company
was founded by Lord Leverhume with a strong focus on both creating a model society (Port Sunlight
and its amenities were in some ways an anticipation of the welfare state) and also a pioneering
interest in the role of soap, hygiene and cleanliness in improving health
of the poor; a legacy which Unilever continues today in its promotion
PEOPLE of hygiene in India with the Lifebuoy brand. Unilever was always also
an innovative company when it came to its products, the original
Sunlight soap having superior properties in use due to its formulation
using mostly vegetable oils such as palm oil rather than tallow
(animal fats).
The concept of sustainability is sometimes summarized as one of
meeting the needs of people, planet and profit. This gives us
a handle on how the space is expanded today. For the past
one hundred years marketing has concentrated primarily
on the people-profit line; meeting people’s needs at a
profit. Adding planet creates an expanded space for
innovation, represented by a triangle.
PLANET PROFIT
It is often the case that new innovations come to light by
considering a simple coincidence of these three needs:
a win:win:win. One that emerged in the course of my
innovation work with a mobile phone operator was the idea of
3 or 4 year phone contracts. This is an advantage for the planet
since fewer handsets being produced would lessen the impact on
both resource depletion and waste. It would allow the engineers
to concentrate efforts on a device that was built to last – with
better specification within a much better total cost of ownership.
For profit, and remember here we are discussing a mobile operator
and not a handset manufacturer, such a contract would have huge
benefits too; most of their costs are due to ‘churn’ (customers
coming up for renewal at frequent intervals) and associated
marketing costs. The cost of bundling a free handset with every
contract was itself not insignificant. Overall my client calculated
that they could afford with a longterm contract to charge 1/2 to
2/3 of the current call rates, and would still make more profit.
An attractive business model. The catch is how to make this
appealing to people? If you talk to young people (for instance in
focus groups) they will tell you that effectively mobile phones are
the “new trainers” – a key signifier of being cool and with it. The
current success of the iPhone is a case in point (although it has
substantial functional benefits too – many previous trendy phones
were based more on a cool “format” or even a colour). So you
would have to make this the “Toyota Prius” of phones. Something
which a significant segment of ethical consumers could brandish
when people showed off the latest model and say “No thanks I am
sticking with my green phone!” That’s a demonstration of working
in the expanded space.
In my presentation to the Unilever R&D day I will discuss a
number of examples where “win:win:win” thinking has created
breakthrough innovations.
In many ways this line of thinking is where business strategy and
innovation had already got to: for instance management guru Gary
Hamel’s idea of “business concept engineering” and his claim that
successful businesses should have a “cause” not just a strategy.
But we have also in the last decade greatly expanded our
evaluation of the responsibility of business. Prahalad’s latest
book “The New Age of Innovation” touches on a key driver of
expansive thinking which is the age of networks, leading to open
innovation. �
A4-URP Programma 2009.indd 7-8 01-12-2009 17:43:37