"Exploring the Global Sustainable Innovation Landscape: The Top 100 Companies and Beyond" reveals the companies championing innovation to solve critical sustainability challenges

Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, and Toyota Motor lead new LexisNexis ranking of business contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

NEW YORK, July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional, the leading provider of intelligent patent analytics, recognizes the businesses driving environmental and social progress in "Exploring the Global Sustainable Innovation Landscape: The Top 100 Companies and Beyond." This first-of-its-kind report ranks companies according to the potential of their patent portfolios to advance innovation toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As 80 percent of technical information is published only in patents, the report leverages the LexisNexis^® PatentSight^® analytics platform to objectively map global patent data to targets and progress indicators for the SDGs. Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota Motor, Qualcomm, and LG Chem are named the world's top corporate owners of patents that address the SDGs, while the United States leads among countries in the number of patent holders, followed by Japan, China, and Germany.

The rising trajectory and value of sustainable innovation

By mapping SDG indicators to patent data, LexisNexis has developed a new, transparent framework for evaluating the potential for innovation to accelerate sustainable impact.

"In the face of crises and an ever-evolving pandemic, our greatest hope lies in the power of innovation," said Marco Richter, Head of Global Customer Success, LexisNexis^® Intellectual Property Solutions. "As more businesses heed the call to develop new solutions, we need objective methods for evaluating these contributions and identifying those making the most progress. Exploring the Global Sustainable Innovation Landscape showcases the power of patent analytics to monitor and promote progress on some of the landmark challenges of our time."

"With the release of Global Leaders in Sustainable Innovation report, LexisNexis introduces a new standard of excellence for responsible and sustainable business. Philips' high ranking in the report is a reflection of our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being. As a responsible leader in health technology, we have defined a clear purpose that guides everything we do to improve people's health and well-being through meaningful innovation. By objectively mapping patents to the SDGs and ranking SDG-related corporate patent portfolios by strength, the Global Leaders in Sustainable Innovation report identifies companies like ours that are building a healthier, prosperous, and more sustainable world." said Marnix van Ginneken, Chief ESG and Legal Officer at Royal Philips.

Frontrunners race toward a digital and decarbonized global economy

The report features new insights into the innovation profile of the strongest performers, as well as the regional and market dynamics.

Leaders in sustainable innovation:

• The Top 3 sustainable leaders by the absolute strength of their SDG-related patent portfolios are Samsung (1^st overall), Johnson & Johnson (2), and Toyota Motor (3).

SDG innovation targets:

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, is the leading focus among the Top 100, led by companies headquartered in Asia, including Samsung (1), Toyota Motor (3), and LG Chem (5).
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, follows, with Johnson & Johnson (2), Roche (9), and Samsung (1) leading the pack.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, the strongest Top 100 company patents cover electric and hybrid vehicles, energy efficiency, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, with top contributions from Toyota Motor (3), State Grid (8), and General Electric (7).

Regional patterns:

• While the U.S. ranks higher than any other country with 33 patent owners in the Top 100, Asia is the best-represented region with 44 companies in the Top 100.
• The U.S. dominates Pharmaceuticals representation in the Top 100, while Japan's strong showing could be due to initiatives like the Japan SDGs Awards and SDG Future Cities.

Industry focus areas:

• Two industries are tied for most patent owners in the Top 100—Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals and Materials—followed by the Automotive, Information Technologies, Electronics, and Engineering industries.
• Electronics industry portfolios from companies like Samsung (1), LG Electronics (13), and Apple (17) stand out as the top performer in SDG-related patent quality, showing the significance of semiconductors for addressing climate change and digital transformation.
• Chemicals and Materials industry developments indicate that the transition to electric vehicles is driving progress among top performers like LG Chem (5).
• In the Automotive industry Japan's Toyota Motor (3) has the industry's largest SDG-related patent portfolio, while U.S.-based Ford (12) and General Motors (23) perform well on patent quality.

Patents and the SDGs: an objective window into environmental and social progress

With 169 SDG targets recognized by the UN and 231 progress indicators, the Goals are more precise and universally accepted than other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks. The patent system empowers companies to place bets on new solutions, recognizing that breakthrough innovations can rapidly advance progress toward the Goals. Taken together, SDG indicators and patent data provide a uniquely data-based perspective on the future of environmentally responsible, inclusive innovation.

To understand how patents map to the SDGs, which SDGs the Top 100 companies are contributing toward, and how corporations and governmental bodies alike can leverage patent analytics to accelerate sustainable innovation, visit www.lexisnexisip.com/sustainable-innovation-report.

Media Contacts

Jessica Morel 
LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions
j.morel@lexisnexis.com
+1 267-965-1334

Katie Helander
Account Manager, The Bulleit Group
lexisnexisip@bulleitgroup.com

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