GREEN100® Index 2021 (Edition 1)
World’s Top Companies Innovating for Our Green Future
The State of Quality Patents in GREENTECH
Key Findings
GREEN100® Organization Contribute
- 19.06% of the Green Patent Portfolio globally
- 49.20% of the High-Quality Green Patent Portfolio
GREEN100® Headquarters
- 39 organizations belong to USA
- 20 organizations belong to Japan
GREEN100® Average Geographical Spread
- Combined Average Geographical Spread of the GREEN100® Organizations is 3.86 which means that on average each patent filed by organizations included in the GREEN100® is published on average in 3.86 countries
- 53 organisations featured in GREEN100® Ranking have Average Geographical Spread greater than 5
- Abbvie, GlaxoSmithline and Xyleco are three companies with Average Geographical Spread of more than 20
Green Patent Origins & Impact
GREEN100® Patent Origins
- The first patent application filed by the GREEN100® Organizations is limited to total 48 countries only with top countries being Japan (30.25%), USA (24.05%) and Korea (14.9%)
- USA is the second most preferred research destination as per the GREEN100® Patent Portfolio and if just the High-Quality Green Patent Portfolio is considered, USA becomes the most prominent research destination
- China despite being the biggest research destination globally based purely on number of filings as per the Absolute Green Portfolio Size, shifts to 5th position when we consider GREEN100® Patent Portfolio. China further slips to 8th position if the High-quality Green Patent Portfolio is considered.
*The first filing countries (priority countries) of the GREEN100® Patent Portfolio have been considered to generate the above illustration. The illustration highlights percentage distribution of patent families among research countries.
GREEN100® Impact Areas
- When considering the industries impacted by GREEN100® Organizations, Energy and Power industry witnesses highest patenting activity.
- Transportation – Motor Vehicles and Parts is the next most targeted industry with 24.75% share
- ICT is ranked 4th most prominent industry area targeted by the GREEN100® Organizations. However, if High Quality Patent Portfolio of GREEN100® organizations is considered, ICT sector becomes top contributor with 23.76% share.
*The Y02+ and Y04S+ sub-classifications of GREEN100® Patent Portfolio have been studied to define the industry nomenclature and derive the above insights. The illustration highlights the percentage distribution of patent families among various industry areas.
Data Coverage
(Jan 2015 - Feb 2020)
- 2.70 million patents published
- Belonging to 814,919 patent families
- Owned by 252,799 entities
- Impacting 19 unique industries
Quality Vs Quantity
Quality Innovation for a Green Future
- Quality innovation in the domain of Green Technologies is imperative for creating a Green Future. For instance, 40 organizations which feature in the top 100 based on their Absolute Green Patent Portfolio size did not eventually find place in the GREEN100® Ranking as it considers Quality of patents along with Quantity.
- Companies like DEXCOM, DEKA and LUTRON TECHNOLOGY have less than 100 patents in their Green Patent Portfolio. However, the high percentage of Quality patents in their portfolio have resulted in them being ranked in the top 100.
Sector – Information & Communication Technology
- ICT is ranked 4th most prominent industry area targeted by the GREEN100® Organizations
- However, if High Quality Patent Portfolio of GREEN100® organizations is considered
- ICT sector becomes top contributor with 23.76% share
Sector – Life Sciences
- Companies like DEXCOM, DEKA have less than 100 patents in their Green Patent Portfolio
- However, the high percentage of Quality patents in their portfolio have resulted in them being ranked in the top 100
- GlaxoSmithKline is a company with Average Geographical Spread of more than 20
Sector – Engineering
- Transportation – Motor Vehicles and Parts is the next most targeted industry with 24.75% share with GREEN100® Impact areas
All the organizations with share in Green Patent Portfolio, have been evaluated using an assessment framework that relies on multiple parameters indicative of three key components using the Sagacious Patent Portfolio Quality Mix (SPPQM) Methodology. These components are,
Commitment to Green
Future
Assesses the commitment each organization is exhibiting for the Green future. The commitment is assessed based on investment they have made in research as depicted by their IP filings (Absolute Green Portfolio Size, Geographical Spread etc).
Current Impact on Green Future
Measures the current impact, they are likely to have created towards a Green future. This impact is adjudged broadly though the overall quality of their individual Green Patent Portfolio as well as number of industries/ players impacted through their patented research.
Potential of Crafting the Green Future
Determines if an organization is consistently contributing to the Green Future with a patent pipeline to lead the Green future. This is evaluated based on their Green Patent Pipeline, future potential to exclude as well as future applicability of their patented research.
Sagacious IP has been assisting its clients in determining strength and quality of large patent portfolios for many years. The Sagacious Patent Portfolio Quality Mix (SPPQM) methodology has been refined and strengthened over the years. On thousands of occasions, this methodology has been used by various mid and large size organizations in making strategic decisions such as portfolio pruning, benchmarking, licensing and/or acquisition etc. The SPPQM methodology offers flexibility to derive the outcome based on the nature of the project. For GREEN100™ Ranking, 15 distinct objective parameters have been considered to evaluate the patent portfolio’s quality. The methodology is also validated through focused deliberations with Industry experts particularly to define the scope of the research.
The process of Portfolio Quality Mix analysis involves following steps broadly:
- Scoping and selecting Green Patents
- Scoring Individual Patents
- Organization’s Green Granted Portfolio Quality Mix
- Projecting Organization’s Future Portfolio
- Final Scoring and Ranking of Organizations
