disclosure of the use of emerging technology, from a cross section of companies, in publicly...

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Draft Research Report Disclosure of the use of Emerging Technology, from a cross section of companies, in publically available corporate documentation. Prepared for Matter

June 2010 B.J. Miller

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Introduction

This report is a brief introduction into what some of the world’s leading companies have

reported with regards to their use and development of emerging technologies. The companies

used are as follows: BP, Shell, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, L’Oreal,

Boots, Nestle, Premier Foods, Astra Zeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

The companies chosen have been divided into pairs for comparison purposes.

Oil and Gas - BP and Shell

Food Retail – Tesco and Marks & Spencer

Chemical - Du Pont and BASF

Pharmaceutical – AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline

Cosmetics – Boots and L’Oreal

Food – Nestle and Premier Foods

Mixed – Proctor & Gamble and Unilever

By reading both the annual reports and in some cases sustainability reports it was intended to

reveal a surface level understanding of what these companies are reporting on emerging

technology and gain an insight into what they were not reporting. By not researching deeper

than these reports the intention was to ascertain what was available to the non-specialist in

emerging technology.

The information on the organisations was gathered by posing a short, standard set of questions

for each report.

The questions and rationale are given here:

Do they mention their own use of

emerging technology?

This question relates to the company’s own use of

emerging technology and the public

acknowledgement that they are using or developing

it. In the case of some companies, they may be using

it but not reporting on it. Depending upon the

industry and application this may be considered as

less than ideal.

Is their report particularly reader

friendly?

This question recognises that it is important for a

report to be accessible if a company is to

communicate and educate the reader on their uses

of emerging technology. If a company uses

information that is perhaps overly scientific or the

information they disclose is difficult to find within

the report, then it is unreasonable to expect the

reader to gain anything useful from reading the

report.

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Do they mention contentious issues

concerning safety or the

environment relevant to the

reported emerging technology?

This question directly addresses the environmental

and social issues relevant to the use of emerging

technologies. This research accepts that the impact

of emerging technology may be vast. Yet, it appears,

in many cases, unlike for example climate change, it

is not being mentioned publicly. The question tests

how the reporter addresses the issue – ‘it is

important for companies to accept that some of it’s

operations involving emerging technology could

have extreme impacts, and that the public need to

be educated on this’

Do they discuss how they have

made an effort to engage with their

customers, NGO’s and other

stakeholders?

By addressing this it may indicate how much time

has been invested in educating the public and other

stakeholders regarding their development and

employment of emerging technology. If none of the

companies are trying to do this it becomes difficult

to understand how the public are supposed to

understand or even know about the levels of

emerging technology being used in industry today?

Is the level of information provided

on emerging technology sufficient?

This question was posed in order to summarise at

an integrated level the other questions. That is to

say – does the information provide a coherent or a

patchy message. It is important to recognise what

might constitute a sufficient amount of information

on emerging technologies for a company to present

effectively.

The sources used to answer these questions are the various company’s 2009 annual reports and

,if they exist, their 2009 sustainability reports (see Sources). In some cases, is not a 2009

sustainability report available or, as in the case with Marks and Spencer, they have already

released a 2010 report. Within these reports a combination of close reading and the use of key

words to help find the information required was employed. The use of key words will only be

used if the information required was particularly difficult to find.

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The key words are as follows;

emerging technology,

bio technology,

synthetic chemistry,

synthetic biology,

GM (Genetically Modified)

Nanotechnology.

Once the information is collected each company is scored in a range of 1 to 5 against the

research questions. This is to differentiate between the companies and determine if it is

possible to see which companies are providing a useful amount of information and so indicating

good practice.

The score will be assessed as follows.

1/5 little or no mention of emerging technology

2/5 some mention of emerging technology but it is not necessarily shown clearly.

3/5 mention of emerging technology but perhaps in an extremely simplistic manner.

4/5 a good level of emerging technology talked about

5/5 all criteria met and expansive level of information provided. Not overly simplistic but

written with enough conviction that the reader can understand entirely what emerging

technology is being used.

This information gathered is then used to compare between companies of a similar industry and

the overall set of companies in the research.

This is summarised in the charts and tables that follow. The different groupings are colour coded

to facilitate the comparison.

5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Do They Mention Their Own UseOf EmergingTechnology?

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Is Their Report Particularly Reader Friendly?

6

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Do They Mention Contentious Issues Concerning Safety and the Environment

8

Company

Do they Directly Do

they mention their

own use of emerging

technology?

Is what they are

reporting particularly

reader friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning safety, the

environment in terms of

their emerging

technology?

Do they discuss how they

have made an effort to

engage with their customers,

ngo’s and other

stakeholders?

Is the level of information

provided on emerging

technology sufficient?

BP +

There is a section on ‘r&t’

followed by a detailed section

on their ’10 flagship

technology programmes.’

+

I found that compared to

other reports, that BP’s

reporting of emerging

technology was extremely

reader friendly. As a lay

person I was quickly able to

gather what BP were

investing in and how the

technology was beneficial.

×

Despite mentioning the benefits

of this technology, there was little

on the really contentious issues

concerning some emerging

technologies. I did feel that the

level in which they appear to be

researching into these

technologies however does

suggest that they are at least

making an attempt to understand

the potential contentious issues.

+ +

If compared to Shell, and in fact

other companies, then what they

are reporting is sufficient. However

if we are to expect more

information from companies than

perhaps what BP has produce

should be seen as the bare

minimum.

Shell +

They do mention their own

use of emerging technologies,

however not in the same

detail as BP. It was more their

production of 3rd and 4th

generation biofuel than any

of their other projects which

on further investigation are

definitely being developed

×

I found Shell’s report in

general extremely difficult

to decipher as a lay person.

Unlike BP there did not

seem to be the same

attempt to make people

really aware of what they

were investing in and how

technology was going to be

put to use. I had to really

search through the report

to find anything on

emerging technologies at

all.

×

Although Shell discussed safety

and the environment, it was more

as a company as a whole. Their

sustainability report focused more

closely on how they were seeking

to better their own environmental

output

×

×

I felt that Shell were quite poor at

clearly bringing forward any

information on their use of

emerging technology. Reading this

directly after BP’s report I thought

it was amazing the level at which

the two companies differ in what

they report. All in all I felt much

more information could have been

provided.

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Company Do they mention their

own use of emerging

technology?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention

contentious issues



their emerging

technology?


made an effort to engage with

their customers, ngo’s and

stakeholders?


provided on emerging

technology sufficient?

BASF Discuss in depth their use of

emerging technologies. In

particular their ‘growth

clusters,’ that are designed to

address ‘key areas such as

markets for the future and

mega trends.’1

The five growth clusters are:

bio technology, white

biotechnology, changing raw

materials, energy management

and nano technology.

4/5

The report was relatively

reader friendly. The

information is brought

forward effectively and in

the kind of detail that is both

easy to read and interesting

3/5

They discuss in both their annual

reports and their sustainability

reports the importance of using

emerging technologies

responsibly

‘Our Code of Conduct

Nanotechnology.’ This is their

own way of monitoring the use

of nanotechnology within their

company.

NanoCare project funded by the

German Federal Ministry of

Research and Education is using

research institutes and

universities to discover uses and

potential difficulties with the

development of nanotechnology

4/5

Dialogue Forum Nano is their own way

to hear and discuss the concerns of

consumer organizations. An example of

BASF trying to engage with their

stakeholders and Ngo’s.

4/5

The level of information provided is

impressive but is still lacking in

some areas.

Compared to DuPont there is more

discussion into what Is being

achieved at the moment rather

than the future.

3/5

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DuPont DuPont’s report brings forward

in some detail the technologies

they intend to develop over the

next five years and how they

intend to maintain their

environmental and social safety

They mention the controversial

area of manipulating plant

genetics in a hope to create

‘food for the world.’2

Example of this is Pionneer ®

brand low lindenic soybeans.

Research into the use of soy

proteins in food and beverages.

They also discuss their use of

nanotechnology. This is being

used in the development of

communications.

Partnership with BP in the

development of next

generation Biofuels.

They claim to be developing

environmentally acceptable

herbicides that work by

inhibiting a key enzyme weeds

need to grow. Leave little

residue and degrade quickly in

plants.

4/5

DuPont take a different

approach to other

companies as their

sustainability report is more

a list of goals for the next

five years.

They do not have a

sustainability report for the

current moment in time but

there list of goals (‘2015

Sustainability Goals’)

It is only eight pages long but

despite its conciseness, it

addresses where they feel

they are effecting the

environment and how they

intend to address this. It

effectively does in eight

pages what some reports

take many pages to discuss.

2/5

Partnership with Environmental

Defence to develop a framework

for responsible development,

production, use and disposal of

nano-scale materials critical to

next generation communication

devices.

DuPont Safety Resources is a

world renowned consultancy

company.

2/5

1/5 Despite showing in some detail

what DuPont are hoping to have

developed by 2015 there is only

real discussion on how they hope

to develop new technology, not the

effects it may have on the

environment.

This is particularly important with

their discussion on the

development of certain herbicides

and the manipulation of plant

genetics.

However what they do report is

substantial in that they discuss in

detail the development of

innovative emerging technologies.

3/5

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Company Do They Mention Their

Own Use of Emerging

Technology

Is Their Report

Particularly Reader

Friendly?

Do They Mention

Contentious issues



their emerging

technology?

Do They Discuss how they have

attempted to engage with their

customers, ngo’s and other

stake holders?


given on emerging

technologies sufficient?

Marks &

Spencer

Marks & Spencer’s 2010 ‘How

We Do Business’ report is a

concise, well structured report

highlighting their commitments

to the environment. However,

there is very little mentioned

on the use of emerging

technology or the potential

harm that using this

technology could have on the

environment if used in

agriculture.

All that is mentioned is their

aim to make all their food

pesticide free by 2012 and

there commitment not to use

GM products.

2/5

Their ‘How We Do Business’

report is very reader friendly.

They state clearly what it is

they aim to address in their

opening section.

2/5

The report focuses strongly on

the environment and how they

aim to reduce their own carbon

footprint and benefit the

environment in other ways.

There is, however, no mention of

how they intend to lower the

potential environmental cost of

using emerging technologies,

particularly nanofood.

This goes hand in hand with

safety for customers as

regulations surrounding the use

of nanofood are limited,the

potentials consumer dangers are

not addressed.

1/5

1/5 Compared Tesco’s, Marks &

Spencer’s annual report and

sustainability report are lacking in

some key details.

Their use of nanofood is not

addressed in the report, although it

is one of the more controversial

areas of the food industry at the

moment.

The report is missing some key

details however, compared to

Tesco’s it reads in a very similar

way and addresses mostly the

same things showing that despite

missing out information on their

use of emerging technologies,

there is a trend as other food

companies are also missing out this

information in their reports

2/5

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Company Do They Mention Their Own

Use of Emerging Technology

Is Their Report Particularly

Reader Friendly?

Do They Mention Contentious

issues concerning safety, the

environment in terms of their


Do They Discuss how they have

attempted to engage with their

customers, ngo’s and other stake

holders?

Is the level of information given on

emerging technologies sufficient?

Tesco Tesco’s sustainability report is

extremely similar to Marks &

Spencer’s as it is a similar

length and it highlights the

same issues. In particular

environmental issues and how

Tesco as a company hope to

address these issues.

The only key area of difference

in the reports is Tesco’s use of

Biofuel in their petrol stations.

An area Marks & Spencer do

not have market.

Like Marks & Spencer they do

mention their strict policy on

the use of GM crops in their

own products in the UK.

However they do state that in

some of their non-own brand

products GM foods may be

used.

They also state that due to the

mass usage of GM crops in the

US, they have no choice but to

use GM products in their own

brand foods.

2/5

Like Marks & Spencer they

address the key areas in their

opening section. They focus

strongly on the environment

and how they are trying to

cut down their Carbon

footprint.

The reader has to search

really hard to find any

information at all relating to

emerging technologies which

is the negative aspect of this

report.

2/5

This is again extremely similar to

what is being reported by Marks

& Spencer in terms of how they

are trying to cut down on their

own environmental impact.

However, while they discuss their

strict no GM food policy, they

openly state that they use it in

some products in the US. They

fail to expand on how much and

what effect this has on local

environments.

There is also the potential issue

of the non own brand products

they sell using GM products.

There is no discussion on how

many products or the effects

these products may have had.

No discussion on Nanofoods

which, like M&S is certainly

required

2/5

Like other companies, the only

reporting of any engagement with

customers, stakeholders and Ngo’s is

when they are discussing their carbon

footprint and how they intend to lower

it for the good of the environment.

There is no mention of emerging

technology within this however.

In terms of emerging technology,

the amount of information supplied

is not really sufficient.

Tesco are good at addressing their

own environmental impacts and

how they aim to lower them but at

the same time do not discuss how

the use of emerging technologies

such as GM crops and nanofoods

are being used and the effects this

potentially could have on the

environment.

2/5

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own use of emerging

technologies?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention

contentious issues

concerning safety and the


their use of emerging

technology?


attempted to engage with


stakeholders in terms of

emerging technologies?


given on emerging


Proctor

and

Gamble

In terms of their products,

there is some mention of their

use of emerging technologies

as a way to aid the

environment.

This can be seen through their

operations and through their

products.

In particular in the product

Ariel non-bio. Catalytic

detergency designed from

scratch by P&G.

They also discuss briefly eco-

designed buildings aimed at

lower emissions.

1/5

I found the report to be

relatively reader friendly

considering it is only 18

pages long, for what it was

attempting to report.

If the reader is looking for

anything on emerging

technologies however, then

the report is missing some

detail so it is extremely

difficult to really find any

evidence of them using it.

1/5

A lot of what they claim to be

developing is designed towards

environmental aspects. The

example being their

development of Ariel non-bio

which allows washing at lower

temperatures.

This is the only real mention of

emerging technologies in

reference to environment

1/5

They discuss the importance of the

stakeholders and customers opinions

when it comes to their products.

What is clear however is that what the

stakeholders and customers are most

concerned about is that which is the

most publicised. The environment.

Therefore any development they make

from customer views is based around

what the customer is aware of.

1/5

I do not believe that the level of

information here is particularly

sufficient.

Any information on emerging

technologies which is brought

forward is extremely lacking in any

detail, and is almost put in the

report consequently rather than

deliberately.

There is a lack of information

relating to what they are

researching, investing and using in

terms of emerging technologies.

1/5

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own use of emerging

technologies?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention

contentious issues

concerning safety and the



technology?




stakeholders in terms of

emerging technologies?


given on emerging


Unilever To aid malnutrition Unilever

have used food fortification

methods to add needed

nutrients to products they sell

in areas where mal nutrition is

high.

New packaging has been

developed of 100%

environmentally friendly

materials.

Pyrolysis is being used in

developing countries. This is

using sachet waste in fuel. By

doing this it recovers 60% of

the embedded energy.

2/5

The report was quite reader

friendly. Everything it sets

out to address it does in a

relatively good level of

detail.

What was a problem, like

Proctor and Gamble, was the

lack of actual evidence

displaying their use of

emerging technology.

1/5

The only contentious issue they

discuss is how they intend to

research their effect on

biodiversity.

1/5

They only really discuss their

engagement with ngo’s and customers

in terms of the environmental issues

like deforestation.

Tesco and Unilever are part of an

intiative to create an industry wide set

of sustainable packaging principles as

part of the consumer goods forum.

Like Proctor and Gamble it is clear that

what they are discussing is as a result of

what is being most publicised.

3/5

The level of information produced

by Unilever is not particularly

sufficient.

Like Proctor and Gamble there is

not really a section dedicated to

emerging technologies, rather if

any is mentioned it is mixed in with

other information on

environmental issues.

2/5

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own use of emerging

technology?

Is the report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning the

environment and safety in

terms of their use of





stakeholders in terms of their

use of emerging technology?


given on emerging


L’Oreal L’Oreal provide

substantial information

concerning their own

use of emerging

technology however

there was no up to date

sustainability report so

all information has been

taken from their 2008

report.

Pg17 of their report

brings forward their on

going research into

reconstructed skin, with

their high technology

department in Japan and

their two laboratories in

France focused on

ecotoxicity.

They use bio plastics

(plastics derived from

renewable sources) in

their packaging and are

funding the bio plastics

chair in the Ecole des

L’Oreal’s report is

extremely reader

friendly. It brings

forward precisely the

right amount of

information

concerning their use of

emerging technologies

without confusing the

reader with to much

scientific information.

Their section on

Research and

Development

highlights clearly how

they are developing

and using

nanotechnology.

With this also it

becomes clear what

safety measures have

been put in place and

how they have pre-

empted any potential

safety concerns to the

With their use of

nanotechnology they

stress how they intend to

maintain safety when

using them.

They are a founding

member of the ‘Internal

Council on

Nanotechnology’ (ICON),

as well as the ‘European

NanoInteract Programme’

(OCED recognised)

Being part of these

organisations and the

research they have

collected on

nanotechnology has

meant they have safely

been able to test

nanomaterials in

conditions similar to the

natural environment.

Other contentious issues

surround the ingredients

They state in their report that

they have an open dialogue

with their stakeholders and

their customers.

They claim to be training

suppliers in terms of

reconstructed tissues with their

six stage safety plan.

Working group for the last

three years that openly discuss

potential toxicological risks.

In terms of nanotechnology

l’oreal directed more than 70

missions to inform public

authorities world wide of their

us of nanotechnologies in their

cosmetics.

They are also a committed

partner alongside ISO and

AFNOR, dedicated to drafting

international norms and

standards for what actually is

nano-products in different

The level of information

supplied by L’Oreal on their

use of emerging technology

is more than sufficient.

If we are to compare what

they report to other

companies it becomes clear

that L’Oreal have invested

more time and effort into

addressing their own use of

emerging technology and

the potential concerns that

people may have on the use

of it.

It is important to recognise

however, that as an

industry, cosmetics are

more likely to use bio-

chemistry and

nanotechnology in their

products so in some ways it

is not surprising that the

information L’Oreal provide

far surpasses anything

presented by the other

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Mines in Paris for the

next 5 years.

Pg 41: Research and

Development. Bringing

together of cellular and

molecular biology

including gene map

science through non-

invasive technology.

Research using stem

cells: removing stem cell

of the epidermis to test

the effect of sun and

time on skin.

Nanotechnology:

Mention their use of

nanotechnology.

Titanium Dioxide

Nanopigments used in

their sun creams.

Green Chemistry-use of

more natural resources

in the making of

cosmetics

Strict policy on the use

of GM ingredients. Non

used in their products

5/5

environment through

strict safety codes

3/5

that go into some of their

products. In particular the

more volatile gases in

aerosols.

On top of this there is also

there commitment to the

protection of aquatic

ecosystems through their

safety measures. They

accept that the chemicals

they use could potentially

affect the biodiversity of

these ecosystems.

4/5

industrial sectors.

3/5

companies.

If we are to set a benchmark

by which all companies

should be reporting their

uses of emerging technology

and the potential

consequences of using this

technology, then L’Oreal

would certainly be it.

5/5

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own use of emerging

technology?

Is the report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning the










given on emerging


Boots June 2008-got grant

from ‘The Technology

Strategy Board’ to

develop processes that

could enable algae to be

grown utilising co2

emissions from the

energy centre in

Nottingham-algae used

as an alternative starting

point for petro-

chemicals sources of

ingredients that are

currently used in their

products

Eco-vans for distribution

using stop/start

technology.

Little else is mentioned

in terms of Emerging

Technology in their

report.

1/5

1/5 Boots discuss their own

impact on the

environment and how

they intend they have

been implementing

measures to lower things

such as their carbon

footprint

However they do not

mention how their use of

emerging technology and

their use of chemicals in

their cosmetics could

affect the environment.

1/5

There was very little

information on their

engagement with any ngo’sor

customers relating to emerging

technology.

Like most reports though, there

was some discussion relating to

their relationship with some

ngo’s and customers relating to

their products and their carbon

footprint.

1/5

There is a massive

difference between Boots

report and L’Oreal’s.

Simply, there is just not the

same level of detail from

Boots than there is from

L’Oreal.

Boots may not be in the

exact same industry as

L’Oreal but nevertheless

they sell their own

cosmetics as well as

medicines and food.

With this in mind it is

perhaps fair to suggest that

s their use of emerging

technology covers more

areas than just cosmetics’,

they should be reporting


technology for at least one

of the area’s.

2/5

18


own use of Emerging

Technology?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning the










given on emerging


Nestle micronutrients…to help

mal-nutrition….products

enriched with things

such as iodine are being

distributed in areas that

need it.

Packaging-bioplastics.

Strategic partner of the

Ecole de Mines in Paris

There is a large section

focused closely on their

investment into

renewable energy. This

includes initiatives such

as their landfill gas

project in Solon, Ohio,

USA. Methane gas is

collected and used as an

energy source

This is an example of the

type of project Nestle

are investing into.

2/5

The report they have is

a ‘Creating Shared

Value Report.’

The report is relatively

reader friendly and has

clearly been designed

to be easily read by

anyone.

However, this simple

format often means

that Nestle do not go

into enough

description on the

initiatives they are

investing into.

This can be construed

as sparing the reader

the real knitty gritty

aspects of their

operations. However,

this often means they

state that they have

done something but

not described how.

2/5

Nestle are extremely

focused on addressing

how they intend to lower

their current

environmental impact.

There is very little mention

on how their use of

emerging technology

could potentially affect

the environment or cause

safety hazards.

This is perhaps due to the

fact most of their

emerging technology is

focused on being

renewable and

sustainable.

2/5

Any information focused on

engaging with customers is

focused strongly on discovering

what products people want

from Nestle, rather than what

their potential concerns with

the developing of these

products.

This is perhaps due to the

format of the report as it is far

more socially based than any of

the other companies’ reports.

2/5

Their ‘Creating Shared Value

Report,’ is perhaps different

to a regular sustainability

report in that it does not

address the same aspects

that other companies do in

their sustainability reports.

It is more focused on their

core values as a company

which they state as ‘water,

nutrition and rural

development.’

Their Research and

development department is

focused more closely on

how to create more

sustainable crops in areas

such as Africa through

stricter policy rather than

any real use of emerging

tech.

The example they give being

their new R&D facility in

Abidjan in the Cote D’Ivoire

which is focused on the

quality of locally sourced

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products such as cocoa and

coffee and then adapting

these products to West

African Tastes.

There is no doubt that

Nestle, like other food

companies, are using

emerging technology such

as nanofoods, but they are

not reporting it. The title of

this report perhaps does not

necessitate this, but this

suggests a further question,

if not in this report, then

where are they going to

report their uses of


3/5

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own use of Emerging

Technology?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning the










given on emerging


Premier

Foods

Due to the shortness of

this report, there was no

real discussion about


technology.

What was discussed

briefly was their effect

on the environment and

how they hoped to cut

down their carbon

footprint.

1/5

Premier foods did not

have a sustainability

report, so all the

information had to be

supplied by their 2009

Annual Report.

The section focused on

corporate social

responsibility was only

four pages long and

was slightly limited.

It was reader friendly

but lacking in detail.

1/5

From their report, it

appeared that there was

no mention of the

environmental impact of

any of their emerging

technology.

1/5

There is some discussion of

their engagement with ngo’s

and customers but only in

terms of what they are doing

involving the environment.

1/5

Due to Premier Foods not

having a social responsibility

report, what was available

was limited. Their annual

report touches on the

environment but does not

go into a lot of detail.

1/5

21


own use of Emerging

Technology?

Is their report

particularly reader

friendly?

Do they mention any

contentious issues

concerning the










given on emerging


GSK They mention their use

of Stem Cell research: In

2008 they signed a five

year collaboration with

Harvard University

including $25 million

investment into research

at Harvard and other

surrounding hospitals.

The research is focused

on neuroscience, cancer,

heart disease and liver

disease.

They also mention their

use of cloning

technologies.

This technology to

replicate cells and

molecules for research.

There are also investing

heavily in genetic

research.

They are also using

transgenic animals.

GSK’s report is

extremely detailed and

they have a section

entitled emerging

technology.

As the emerging

technology they are

investing in is quite

controversial they have

reported there uses in

detail but have also

maintained an

appropriate level of

simplicity when

describing emerging

technology when other

companies have not.

4/5

They are a founding

member of ‘Stem Cells for

Safer Medicine.’

Investment for this is

coming from the

Department of Health,

Department for

Innovation, The Scottish

government, the Medical

Research Council

They also discuss their

position on their use of

cloning. They state that it

is not being used for

cloning animals or an

entire human.

With their genetic

research they state clearly

that they understand the

concerns of using such

technology. They aim to

clam these worries by

being completely

transparent in all they do

and all of their scientific

research involving

Their R&D department

prioritises research into new

medicines based on their socio-

economic and public health

benefits rather than on

commercial returns.

Their R&D department invests

heavily in creating medicines

for the developing world.

With this in mind, they

communicate with ngo’s and

other stakeholders by:

a)Establishing an open lab

focused on neglected tropical

diseases. b)Launch of new

collaborations to further share

intellectual properties to

accelerate the development of

new medicines for neglected

tropical diseases.

They also state that their

engagement with investors also

covers ethical issues

surrounding their clinical trials

and their use of controversial

emerging technology such as

Their use of emerging

technology is well

documented in their

Corporate Social

Responsibility report.

Not only do they report a lot

of information on what

emerging technology they

are using, they also report

where the technology is

being directed towards and

the social and

environmental implications

of using such technology.

The social and

environmental implications

of emerging technologies is

something that most

companies do not report on

so they are unique.

Compared to AstraZeneca

there is a clear difference in

the level of detail into what

they are investing into in

terms of Emerging

22

4/5 genetics.

They discuss their use of

animals in their research

and claim they are trying

to cut down their use of

them by replacing existing

research programmes

involving animals with non

animal alternatives.

3/5

stem cells.

4/5

Technology.

What they report, compared

to other companies is

sufficient. It is relatively

extensive and they supply a

large level of information

which is condensed

effectively.

4/5

AZ Stem cell research-

potential of stem cells to

differentiate into human

cells such as hepatocytes

(liver cells) and cardiac

myocytes (heart muscle

cells)

Possibility of treating

diseases by modulation

of stem cells within

target organs –

regenerative medicine.

Crestor Jupiter and

Brilinta Plato trials-

landmark clinical trials

With their investment in

emerging markets such

as Asia and brazil they

focus more on what is

needed rather than

creating anything new.

It becomes clear when

reading AstraZeneca’s

report that their

research is based on

demand rather than

potential innovation.

They are not simply

researching something,

unless there is a world

wide demand for it.

The example is stem

cells…with the

unlimited possibilities

of stem cell research,

they are looking into

regenerative medicine

based around the

heart, liver and other

areas such as diabetes.

2/5

Presence of trace amounts

of pharmaceuticals in the

environment

Trials on animals-they are

used but only when non-

animal trials are

unavailable.

3/5

Unlike GSK, AstraZeneca did not

bring forward the same level of

information regarding their

engagement outside the

company.

The only case where they

seemed to want to do this was

when they were discussing how

they had engaged with the

medical needs of the customer.

2/5

AstraZeneca’s report is very

detailed and has a lot of

information. What is

perhaps the main problem

however is that they are too

complex with some of their

descriptions of their

products.

They do have a lot of

information and compared

to many of the other

companies and considering

the environment in which

they function, there is not a

massive amount to report

on as what they are

developing is focused so

directly on set areas.

3/5

23

‘Meeting Patient needs

lies at the heart of what

we do.’ Example-H1N1

influenze…swine flu

vaccine.’

3/5

24

Conclusion

1) What companies are disclosing: For the most part each company registers at least one mention of an

emerging technology relevant to the organisation. However, in many cases the emerging technology

discussed is not necessarily identified as an emerging technology, rather it is being discussed in

passing, or as a comment about something different. There are some cases however where a company

has divulged large amounts of information into what they are investing in. This may describe what

they hope, through research and development, to achieve with emerging technologies. The best

examples of this can be seen with BP and BASF as they both discuss in detail their ventures, the

emerging technology market, and also how the use of this technology is being monitored in order to

address problems both socially and environmentally. These are the best example of what should,

arguably, be being presented by companies.

2) What companies are failing to disclose: With many companies it was clear that they did not think or

see the need to disclose their use of emerging technology. Most notable were the food companies.

Marks & Spencer, Tesco, and Nestle all failed to address their regular use of nanotechnology in their

regular products. Although mentioning their strict policy against the use of GM foods, they do not go

into any other detail other than merely mentioning it. They are not alone however as despite some

companies mentioning emerging technology, this is as far as they go. An example of this is DuPont,

they mention in some detail what they are developing; yet fail to really discuss what effects this

technology could have on the environment.

3) What should be seen as good practice? The reports reviewed varied considerably in detail. The one

which really stands out was L’Oreal’s 2008 Social Corporate Sustainability report. Other reports did not

really bring forward the same level of information and report in a way which was both reader friendly

and also at an acceptable level of complexity. On the other end of the scale there are the reports

published by Boots and Proctor & Gamble. These sustainability reports mentioned little or nothing

with regards to emerging technology. There may be the case that due to their industry, there is not the

same need to present, for general readership, the same amount of information as the use does not

have the same potential environmental and social implications. This raises the further question, what

should really be considered good practice between differing industries? For example, if Tesco’s report

is lacking information, can it really be compared to the likes of L’Oreal where Nano technology appears

to be a larger part of their product composition?

25

SOURCES

M&S: How we do business CSR 2010....

http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/publications/2010/How_We_Do_Business_Report_2010

Tesco: Tesco CSR Report 2009... http://www.investis.com/plc/storage/tesco_cr_09.pdf

Basf: Basf annual integrated report 2009...

http://bericht.basf.com/2009/en/servicepages/downloads/files/BASF_Report_2009.pdf?cat=b

Proctor&Gamble: 2008 sustainability report...

http://www.pg.com/en_US/downloads/sustainability/reports/PG_2009_Sustainability_Overview.pdf

Nestle:2009 csv report...

http://www2.nestle.com/Common/NestleDocuments/Documents/Reports/CSV%20reports/Global%20report%

202009/Global_report_2009_GB.pdf

L’oreal: 2009 sustainable development report... http://www.sustainabledevelopment.loreal.com/

Dupont: 2015 sustainability goals...

http://www2.dupont.com/Sustainability/en_US/assets/downloads/FINAL_BROCHURE_9.28.06.pdf

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09/index.html

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http://annualreport2009.premierfoods.co.uk/Doc/pdf/Annual_Report_2009.pdf

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http://sustainabilityreport.shell.com/2009/servicepages/downloads/files/all_shell_sr09.pdf

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