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3
3
STRATEGIC DRIVERS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
3. Sustainable differentiation through innovation and R&D
59
SAINT-GOBAIN
- REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2016
innovation and R&D
Sustainable differentiation through
3.
INNOVATION AS A PILLAR OF THE GROUP’S STRATEGY
3.1
Research and Innovation are integral to Saint-Gobain’s
sectors.
strategy, with a desire to increase its share of sales of high
value-added products and solutions in the most buoyant
innovation and design of Saint-Gobain’s solutions in relation
to its customers to the creation of tools and services. It
This priority applies to all stages of the value chain, from
customer needs, as well as an R&D strategy that puts
researchers in direct contact with customers, to provide
specifically includes an ambitious marketing strategy aimed
at better understanding, anticipating and formulating
tailored solutions
Differentiation is one of the critical drivers of this strategy.
leading role in the move to a circular economy.
competitiveness and by optimizing the environmental
performance of the factories. R&D also plays an active and
manufacturing processes, both by strengthening the Group’s
At the same time, R&D contributes to improving industrial
performance and operational excellence. In 2016, the Group
invested €438 million in research and development, and
investments, in order to maintain and expand its leadership
positions in its Activities and to maintain a high level of
3,700 employees worked on nearly 900 research projects,
resulting in applications for 390 new patents.
efforts in the next few years, in particular with regard to
The Group’s measures to further develop its culture of
Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters) has ranked
Saint-Gobain among the 100 most innovative organizations in
innovation are continuing to bear fruit. For the sixth
consecutive year, the Top 100 Global Innovators of Clarivate
the world. In 2016, the Group was also one of the 100 top
applicants at the European Patents Office. It will continue its
Research and development costs booked
(in EUR million)
2014
395
2015
434
2016
438
Group
Strategic and cross-functional R&D
3.1.1
programs, driving growth for the
innovations, are contributing to reducing the Group’s
environmental impact right along the value chain.
solutions to improve construction and everyday life is integral
to the Group’s strategy. It is a major responsibility and source
Inventing innovative and high-performance products and
of motivation for the Saint-Gobain teams who, through their
appropriate time.
a continuous flow of innovations, for market launch at the
production, respect for health and the environment. This
organizational structure means that Saint-Gobain can ensure
appropriate resources and looking a long way upstream at
considerations relating to markets, industrial property,
operation allows it to conduct research and development
activities with the greatest possible efficiency, assigning the
Saint-Gobain’s research and development teams operate on
the basis of individually managed projects. This method of
Saint-Gobain’s current markets.
The main task of R&D is active and proactive support for the
both processes and products or systems, thus strengthening
the competitiveness of its Activities and serving
Group’s numerous Activities through targeted research
projects, yielding developments and innovations involving
major changes in techniques and markets. These strategic
common to the Group’s various Activities and to improve its
ability to develop key technologies. For each of these
cross-functional programs, linked directly to the focus areas
for the marketing teams, allow Saint-Gobain to organize skills
the industrialization stage.
programs, research projects are at various stages of maturity;
some of them are still maturing, while others are already at
strategic, cross-functional R&D programs, by anticipating
Its second task is to prepare the Group’s future through
the cross-functional Green Chemistry program, resulted in the
development of a new biosourced binder for glass
continue in 2017 with a large-scale industrial and commercial
roll-out by Isover France.
wool-based products. This development came to fruition in
2014 with the launch of the Isover 4+ product in Italy. This will
As an example, joint efforts by research teams from the
Insulation Activity and Saint-Gobain Research, supported by
marketing and production data analysis; and the HRDC
Research Center based in Herzogenrath, Germany, is
have been strengthened to support the Activities with digital
developing skills to support the manufacturing Activities as
they move to Industry 4.0.
helped to develop several sales support applications for
Building Glass Europe and Weber. The data science teams
To support the Activities in their digital transformation, the
virtual and augmented reality research teams have this year