Gain Invaluable Insights
into Sustainable
Technologies

Conduct objective patent analyses against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using LexisNexis® PatentSight+®.

Get actionable insights into how sustainably focused you and your competitors are using the objective and forward-looking measurement of patents

Identify growth opportunities in emerging markets

Gain competitive advantages in future-oriented technologies

Support strategic decision making for sustainable investments

Increase stakeholder engagement and funding

The unprecedented mapping of patents to the SDGs in
PatentSight+® business intelligence

Unveiling the Top Contributors to Global Sustainability Agenda 2030

Patents unlock the secrets of sustainable innovation! Discover the SDGs that have the strongest patent portfolios working towards achieving them. Find out which countries are developing competitive portfolios in this space with the most robust technologies in sustainable technology in our latest IP analytics report.

The business of sustainability: why it matters

Facing a global pandemic and increasingly consequential natural disasters, there is growing pressure on organizations to take urgent action on sustainability, making it a priority focus for leaders and innovators.

5 Advantages of Mapping Patents to the Sustainable Development Goals

How the mapping was conducted

A group of LexisNexis patent search experts objectively mapped technology areas with active patenting activity to the SDGs and their 231 unique indicators. 

The searches and search topics used for the mapping are based on the targets, indicators and metadata of each SDG.  To gain an even better understanding of the patents to SDG mapping, we supply fact sheets with the direct linkage created for each SDG and their respective sub-targets.

13

SDGs mapped to the global patent system

100

Pre-defined sustainable technology fields

>100

Templates to analyze sustainable technologies

Use Cases for SDG Patent Mapping

Understand involvement and identify gaps in sustainable technology development

  • Discover the share and the value of sustainable technologies in your patent portfolio.
  • Identify growth areas in sustainability for your business.

Distribution of SDG-related patent portfolios

LexisNexis® PatentSight® SDG chart.

Objectively measure and evaluate progress toward SDGs

  • Measure the performance of investments in sustainable technologies, and compare to non SDG related patents.
  • Track progress of investments in sustainable R&D and technology over time.
  • Learn which sustainable technologies make an impact and which are less relevant.

Patent portfolio development over time

LexisNexis® PatentSight® Bubble Area.

Develop a strategy for sustainable technology investment

  • Get an overview of the competitive landscape in sustainable technology fields.
  • Identify trends, gaps and whitespaces in the sustainable technology landscape.
  • Find partners and licensing opportunities to support and accelerate your sustainability efforts.

Quality vs. quantity comparison of players in SDG 13 “Climate Action”

LexisNexis® PatentSight® SDG chart.

Understand which UN SDGs companies invest in

  • Identify interrelations between research and development strategies.
  • Explore areas of potential research and development besides the core technology of companies in focus.
  • Analyze whether competitors have research activities in similar technology fields.

SDG research and development focus of companies

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How a Global Science and Tech Company Assists Their Sustainability Strategy With IP

For Merck, KGaA a company that believes in science as a force for good, the ability to accurately assess its social and environmental impact is important. Find out how Merck leverages PatentSight+ to communicate their commitment to sustainability.

Quality vs. quantity comparison of players in SDG 13 “Climate Action”

Promote sustainable efforts.

Use PatentSight+ SDG analyses to promote sustainable efforts

Enable stakeholders to easily assess, compare, and track the development of sustainable technologies.

How Patents Can Bring Transparency to Sustainability
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On-Demand Webinar:

How to Track and Measure Sustainable Innovation and Investments

PatentSight+ SDG Mapping FAQs

Why did LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions pick the SDGs for our mapping and not ESG fields?

ESG (Environment – Social – Governance) fields are not clearly defined categories and have no globally unanimous definition, so any mapping of patentable technologies would be vague and arguable. The SDGs, however, are well known and based on 169 defined targets, 231 detailed indicators and accompanying metadata.

All in all, this allows us to distinctly map patentable, novel and innovative technologies to the wording of the United Nations and gives us a solid foundation and ratification on why and how we did the patent mapping.

How did LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions map patents to the SDGs?

The protocol to establish the link between the SDGs and the patent data (inventions) is based on the framework provided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Agenda provides 231 unique indicators for the 17 goals. These are global in nature and are universally applicable and complemented by indicators at the regional and national levels (developed by Member States). The indicators that are supposed to be used for tracking the progress towards the attainment of the SDGs can be mapped to advancements in science and technology as expressed through patentable inventions.

The criteria for patents are defined by territorial laws though the science in the patents is universal. This is in total alignment with the SDG framework where the global perspective is supposed to be implemented at the national level.

The technology areas with active patenting activity that can be explicitly mapped to the SDG targets and indicators are included. A discrete mapping procedure is followed. Each of the technology fields is defined to retrieve patents that disclose inventions specific to those technology areas and is clarified by the UN SDG metadata.

The Global SDG Indicators Database maintained and regularly updated by the Statistics Division makes data on the global SDG indicators available to all users and includes both country-level data and regional and global aggregates. As of March 2021, it includes data for 166 of the 231 indicators and more than 1.2 million data records. An accompanying metadata repository provides the metadata for the indicators that have internationally established methodology and standards.

Access to the country-level data and the metadata ensures full transparency with respect to the data and methodologies used for global reporting. The Database and metadata repository are maintained by the Statistics Division while the data and metadata are provided by international agencies and entities, also referred to as custodian agencies in accordance with their mandates. The combination of related keywords with different technology classifications available for patents viz. IPC (International Patent Classification), CPC (Cooperative Patent Classification) and F-term classification is used to define each technology/search topic.

Who set up the fields?

All SDG-related searches were defined, created and mapped by a group of LexisNexis patent search experts. In an iterative approach, all underlying searches were reviewed and modified according to their results in regard to SDG compliance before finally being implemented into the PatentSight+ analytics tool.

Is there documentation for each field?

Yes. Every search will be individually defined and made available to download in the product. The search fields will be explained in a description, by keywords, and key CPCs. Moreover, the mapping between search fields and the U.N. targets and indicators will be shared.

What is the update interval?

The subsequent searches that define the SDGs, based on the current targets and indicators defined by the U.N., are executed with our weekly data updates. The searches themselves will be adjusted if changes are introduced to the entire SDG framework.

Are the UN Sustainable Development Goals included in my subscription?

Analyses based on the SDGs are available to all customers of PatentSight+ Enterprise. Reviewer and Reader accounts will also be able to incorporate the new SDG fields in their daily work.

There is a clear business case for aligning business models with the SDGs

The SDGs reflect future policy direction

Governments may introduce regulatory measures to achieve the SDGs by 2030. By aligning their business models with the SDGs, companies stay ahead of the curve and avoid costly penalties like higher taxation.

The SDGs can serve as a road map to identify future business opportunities

Pursuing the SDGs can help companies unlock new market opportunities.

The SDGs reflect stakeholder expectations

Companies that align their priorities with the SDGs can strengthen the engagement of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.  

Unlock the true value of your portfolio

Learn how to profit from quality patent analysis.

We would love to get to know you and show you some invaluable insights into the IP landscape:

  • Understand involvement and identify gaps in sustainable technology development
  • Objectively measure and evaluate progress toward SDGs
  • Develop a strategy for sustainable technology investment
  • Understand which UN SDGs other companies invest in

Submit the form, and we’ll be in touch.

Objectively Measure Organizational and Corporate Sustainability

Objectively measure organizational and corporate sustainability: a mapping of global patents to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Can Patents Bring Awareness to Sustainable Business and Technology?

See how patents aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals can serve as a measurement for advancing sustainable business practices.

SDGs vs ESGs: What is the Better Measure of Sustainability?

UN Sustainable Development Goals versus Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings—which is the the best measure of sustainability?

5 Advantages of Mapping Patents to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 

Mapping patents to the UN Sustainable Development Goals allows businesses to objectively measure progress, and much more.

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Application Drafting

Write high-quality patents with precision using LexisNexis PatentOptimizer®. Create consistent, accurate, and more informed office action responses that reduce human error, manually intensive activities and overall costs.

Patent Prosecution

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Brand Protection

Protect your brand and safeguard your customers from global, systemic IP infringement with LexisNexis® Brand Protection powered by Appdetex. Efficiently identify and investigate high-value targets, no matter where and how they are operating.