A Roadmap for Responsible Innovation in Industries

Abstract

When it comes to innovation, companies need to think of the impact of their innovation on direct users, indirect stakeholders and even society at large. How can companies innovate responsibly? More specifically, how can companies align societal and ethical values with commercial interests as part of their innovation strategy? What does this mean for their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy?
The above questions are the focus of this ‘best practice paper’. We will describe a roadmap (strategic process) that companies can follow to integrate ‘Responsible (Research and) Innovation (RRI)’ into their CSR policies and business strategy. We will also highlight key performance indicators (KPIs) for monitoring these objectives. The expected outcome of adopting RRI is that companies may gain numerous benefits, among others:
• Strengthening links with consumers and end-users;
• Enhancing the company’s reputation (trust);
• Decreasing business risks and unintended consequences;
• Strengthening public trust in the safety of products;
• Adopting and environmentally profile;
• Medium-term competiveness.

This paper is fully based on the results of EU- Horizon 2020 project titled ‘PRISMA’ (promoting responsible innovation in industry) (see: https://www.rri-prisma.eu/). The overall goal of the PRISMA project was the development of an RRI roadmap to support industrial companies in integrating RRI into their research and innovation (R&I) strategies and activities by integrating technical, ethical, social, environmental and economic issues into R&I practices, by improving the ethical and social impacts of their outcomes.