Sustainability in Lubricants Development

Organizations aiming for climate neutrality increasingly rely on Research and Development (R&D) to drive sustainable innovation across the full product lifecycle. This presentation introduces a structured framework to help R&D teams integrate environmental considerations into formulation design, material selection, production processes, and use‑phase performance. The approach is built on multi‑criteria assessment covering renewable and recycled raw materials, hazard reduction, product carbon footprint, biodegradability, recyclability, energy efficiency, and manufacturing improvements. Each criterion can be evaluated against reference formulations or industry standards, enabling transparent comparison and encouraging incremental progress. Importantly, any improvement in any criterion is considered a meaningful sustainability contribution, fostering broad engagement across R&D teams. Examples illustrate how changes in chemistry, process efficiency, or material sourcing can reduce environmental impact without compromising performance. The framework also introduces KPIs for monitoring sustainability contributions within R&D portfolios, supporting alignment with corporate climate and resource‑efficiency goals.