Innovation

Society today is increasingly facing issues that cannot be solved using past methods. We are enhancing our ability to generate innovation by improving our proprietary paint and coating technologies and actively engaging in collaborative partnerships.

Development policy and framework

R&D Strategy

The world is seeing the emergence of numerous problemsthat are difficult to solve by using methods of prioryears. To help solve these problems, we will use manypartnerships to further upgrade our ability to createinnovative ideas.

Our approach to achieving MSV

Our technology mission is to driveand sustain growth and market sharein Japan and globally as a leadingtechnology organization for coatingsand adjacent markets. Our innovationstrategy has three pillars: 1) build anadaptive organization; 2) develop coreenabling technology competency;and 3) expand into adjacent andemerging markets. These areinitiatives for Maximizing ShareholderValue (MSV) from a technologyperspective. We believe that ourtechnology organization’s culture ofbeing customer centric, sociallyresponsible and collaborative is thekey driver to success. Importantly,technology collaboration andintellectual property sharing amongour partner companies around theglobe are under the principle of ourAsset Assembler model, whichNippon Paint Group strategicallyemploys to manage the business ofpartner companies. The technologyteams of partner companies arehighly autonomous to effectivelyaddress the needs of their respectivemarkets and customers.
We started LSI (Leverage, Share &Integrate) activity aimed at drivingtechnology sharing and capabilityleveraging among partner companiesto facilitate technology exchangeplatforms and cross-PC projects.We have established adaptive ways toenhance global technologycollaborations for increasing theadded value of intellectual property.The technology teams in variousfields such as decorative paints orpaints for automotive have formed aglobal technical community to sharebest practices and leverage researchcapabilities in joint technologydevelopment projects, helpingaddress the needs of localconsumers in each country.

Roadmap

	2022	2023	〜2027
Sustainable Products	NIPSEA Group: Redefined sustainable products NIPSEA Group, Japan Group: Developed Sustainability Scoreboard DuluxGroup: Established sustainable products targets and developed roadmaps for ANZ^*1 businesses	Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of selected products can be calculated at each Partner Company DuluxGroup: Develop GHG emissions (Scope 3) reduction roadmap	Manage the performance of Sustainability Scoreboard of each partner company every quarter Promote creation of more innovative sustainable products DuluxGroup: Implement sustainable products and GHG emissions (Scope 3) roadmaps
Chemicals of Concern	Each Partner Company responded to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and REACH DuluxGroup developed position statements for 50% of high concern CoC Dunn-Edwards: Incoming Chemical Management / Selection per Chemicals of Concern	Consider the phase out plan of Chemicals of Concern in each partner company NIPSEA Group: Focus on 4 hazardous heavy metals^*2 DuluxGroup: Complete position statements for 75% of CoC and develop a structured program of CoC in Europe	Create sustainable products based on phase out plan
R&D	Developed Green Design Review	R&D activities for sustainable products from Partner Companies beyond Japan and NIPSEA Group, e.g. DuluxGroup, Dunn-Edwards, etc.	Drive innovation towards UN SDGs and carbon neutrality
Product Stewardship	DuluxGroup established packaging recycled content targets and developed roadmaps for ANZ businesses	Identify inquiry items Stakeholder questionnaire NIPSEA Group: Reinforce PS&RA^*3 team DuluxGroup: Implement Product Vision to help with formulation management & regulatory tracking	Implement inquiry management database Inquiry response training Training for customers and business partners DuluxGroup: Implement packaging roadmaps

*1 Australia and New Zealand Color science
*2 Lead, Chromate (Cr6+), Cadmium, and Mercury
*3 Product Stewardship & Regulatory Affairs

R&D framework and core technologies

Nippon Paint Group has 3,895 technical staff working worldwide, including 1,141 in Japan. They are the nucleus of our innovation power and core competitiveness for achieving sustainable business growth in the marketplace. We have technology teams at 52 R&D and technical centers to serve our customers and consumers worldwide, including our major R&D centers in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Shanghai in China, Singapore, Melbourne in Australia, Los Angeles and Cleveland in the US, and France in Europe. In 2022, R&D expenditures at Nippon Paint Group in Japan was over JPY28.1 bn and there were 169 patent applications. As of the end of 2022, the Group had more than 1,508 patents.
Nippon Paint Group has classified its core technologies involving paint and coatings and manages its intellectual property portfolio in 12 categories: polymer chemistry, color science, formulation, curing technology, dispersion technology, application technology, process technology, rheology, weathering and corrosion, measurement science, AI and sustainability.
technology field are working in core R&D teams in the R&D centers and collaborating with scientists from the global network of technical centers to support product development across the group. Nippon Paint Group possesses a broad open innovation network with universities and academic research institutions worldwide.
In 2020, Nippon Paint Group entered into a strategic research partnership with The University of Tokyo, resulting in the establishment of the University of Tokyo & Nippon Paint joint laboratory. The partnership aims to create innovative coating technologies in three fields, namely, infectious disease risk reduction, social cost and environment burden control, and contributions to smart society. In Singapore, NIPSEA Group has been collaborating with the research institutes of A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) for decades. Recently, NIPSEA Group has strategically joined hands with A*STAR to develop disruptive technologies in the fields of smart surface enabling autonomous driving and the use of artificial intelligence in coating research.
Moreover, in 2023, Nippon Paint Group joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Industrial Liaison Program (MIT-ILP), which is dedicated to creating and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships between MIT and companies worldwide.

R&D organization

Core technologies

Innovation initiatives and programs

The New Product Sales Index (NPSI) is one of the indicators for measuring technology output. At Nippon Paint, new products are categorized into several categories, ranging from products upgraded through improvements in stages and to newto- market products with disruptive innovations. NPSI is achieved with the joint efforts of technical teams with business and supply chain operation teams, where strong collaboration brings together our commitment to the MSV. In 2022, Japan Group and NIPSEA Group together have achieved NPSI of 20% and launched 12,000 new products.

2022 New Product Sales Index (NPSI) of Japan Group and NIPSEA Group (%)