I
nnovation underpins the
continued success of
global-leading multinational
Procter & Gamble (P&G). By
strengthening its portfolio of consumer
products and the processes behind
them, scientific breakthroughs sharpen
the company’s competitive edge,
create jobs and ultimately drive growth
and market share. But they simply
could not be achieved without a solid
platform of world-class research. P&G
commits R&D resources in the UK that
are at levels significantly higher than
the UK’s proportion of P&G’s global
business, reflecting what it sees as the
UK’s unique research climate where
pioneering projects and high-calibre
expertise generate insights that benefit
both the business and the wider
economy.
Since 2006, P&G’s Strategic
Partnership with Engineering &
Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) has helped it to access crucial
expertise in academia and catalysed
new upstream work dovetailing with
its own nearer-market research. With
Innovate UK helping innovations
negotiate the ‘valley of death’ between
the laboratory and the marketplace,
real- world solutions to tough industrial
problems and outstanding career
opportunities for some of the UK’s
brightest scientists are the welcome
result.
The UK’s strong position needs to be
constantly reinforced through ever
smarter investment in priority themes
and research tools to partner with
business, as other regions learn from
and try to emulate UK success.
•
P&G has 16 sites across the UK
and Ireland
•
P&G serves approximately 4.8
billion people around the world
with its brands including Always,
Ariel, Ambi Pur, Braun, Duracell,
Fairy, Febreze, Gillette, Head &
Shoulders, Iams, Lenor, Olay,
Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II
and Wella