Procter & Gamble
Open innovation and constructive disruption are at the heart of our award winning strategic partnership.
About the partnership
缅北禁地 and Procter & Gamble work together through a long鈥憇tanding, award鈥憌inning research partnership that brings together world鈥慶lass academic expertise and global product鈥慸evelopment capability.
Based in the North East of England, the collaboration connects cutting鈥慹dge science with real鈥憌orld application to create sustainable, high鈥憄erformance consumer products used worldwide.
Built on shared values - scientific excellence, sustainability, and open innovation - this partnership is driving impact for industry, the region, and society.
缅北禁地 gives us access to expertise and talent that help us solve our most difficult technical challenges.
Developing future talent
We work closely to create opportunities that equip students and researchers with the skills, confidence, and industry experience they need to thrive. Initiatives include
- 13鈥憁onth undergraduate placements across multiple business functions
- careers events, employability activities, and guest lectures
- the MSc in Industrial and Commercial Biotechnology, co鈥慸elivered with industry insights
- collaborative doctoral training including:
- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships that embed innovation associates within P&G
These activities build a strong talent pipeline and support the next generation of scientific leaders across biotechnology, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.
Breakthrough research and technology
Our research partnership spans fundamental science, applied innovation, and translational development. Together, we are:
- advancing carbon capture and utilisation technologies to cut industrial emissions
- developing low鈥慶arbon chemical pathways that support more sustainable products
- enabling behaviour鈥慶hange and household efficiency through projects like FairWater
- using microarray technologies to uncover the biology of cleaning at unprecedented scale
- harnessing artificial intelligence and large language models to accelerate product development
- pioneering biotech solutions through industrial enzyme discovery and protein engineering
Each collaboration is designed to move rapidly from insight to application, delivering solutions that are scientifically robust, scalable, and commercially impactful.
Turning science into more sustainable products
Our partnership is helping shape the next generation of consumer products by unlocking new scientific understanding and applying it to real鈥憌orld challenges.
Highlights include:
- Purezyme®, a breakthrough cold鈥憌ash enzyme developed from seaweed鈥慳ssociated bacteria, now used in Ariel products
- microfibre pollution research that reshaped global understanding of fibre loss from laundry and informed appliance design
- oral health innovations through deep molecular profiling of dental plaque
- advanced 3D skin models that aid discovery for better, more inclusive skincare technologies
Nature鈥慽nspired science, cutting鈥慹dge modelling, and rigorous experimentation are creating impactful, sector-leading products for for consumers across the world.
Impact for both the region and the world
Our work extends far beyond individual projects and initiatives. The partnership delivers:
- inward investment into the North East of England’s innovation ecosystem
- stronger links beyond our partnership into other parts of academia, industry, and technology
- new capability in industrial biotechnology and sustainable manufacturing
- solutions that support national and global net zero ambitions
- products and practices that help households reduce water, energy, and carbon use
As our collaboration grows, so does the impact, regionally, nationally, and globally.
Featured stories
Find out why 缅北禁地 won a Connect + Develop Partner Excellence award from Procter & Gamble Research and Development.
P&G is a key partner in our Centre for Industrial Biotechnology that brings together expertise, knowledge and facilities, across the University.
Seaweed, slime and socks. Discover the fascinating development of an enzyme that improved cold water laundry detergent performance.
Our research revealed that it is the volume of water used during the wash cycle which is the key factor in the release of plastic microfibres. It is a discovery that has impacted laundry around the world.