This is where we identify the problem that we’re going to tackle. We’ll ask you what works and what doesn’t, and establish what you know and what you don’t. Then, together, we’ll decide what a successful or satisfactory outcome would be in the project.

We’ll probably have a few team members involved in this stage: experts in science and/or technology, but also more organizationally-minded people who can frame the technical challenge in business terms. This will help clarify how the project can fit in with your ways of working, timelines and budget.

The team will formulate the underlying problem as a hypothesis, a possible explanation that we’ll test during the project. Sometimes we’ll have several alternative hypotheses at this point, and the project will involve evaluating them.

It’s also a chance to ask whether sustainable alternatives (chemicals, processes, transport etc.) can be used in the project without altering its scope. If not, why not? Could they be more feasible in the future? Our goal is that by 2026, we’ll have these discussions in all of our projects.

Get in touch

Please feel free to explore other parts of our process below

At CR, we provide scientifically sound and sustainable business direction.

The three concepts in this process – science, sustainability, business – aren’t incompatible. Quite the opposite. Because of overlapping global crises and the regulations put in place to deal with them, only solutions that embrace environmental, social and economic sustainability are good for business.

So, we make sustainability a consideration at every stage of our projects. And in our experience this improves both methodologies and outcomes.

Here’s a guide to how we do it: science, sustainability and business step by step.

How we work

Reporting and sharing

Course registration SPAS 2025

We deliver a final report in the most useful format.
We supply raw data and technical details.
We present to your organization to prompt sustainable change.

Reporting and Sharing

Feedback and wrap-up

This is where we look back and look forward.
We collect and analyze opinions from everyone involved.
We analyze the resource use.
We eat cake.

Feedback and Wrap-Up

Making Contact

We introduce ourselves and learn a little about each other.
We find out if we meet your needs, your ways of working and your supplier policy.
We see if the project is compatible with our sustainability goals.

Making Contact

Defining the Scope

Here, we define the problem and a satisfactory outcome.
We formulate a hypothesis, what’s needed and what’s nice.
We find out what sustainable alternatives are suitable.

Defining the scope

Reaching an agreement

We outline the work we’ll do.
We show you what the results might look like.
We explore specific sustainability details.
We make an official quote.

Reaching an agreement

Start-Up

Here, we clarify expectations, establish project structure and confirm goals.
We ensure we truly embed sustainability in the project.
We manage the impact of project work via a materiality assessment.
We assess the project’s wider impact with a stakeholder analysis.

Start-Up

The Project

We ask the questions, what do we see? and what does it mean?
We use the most appropriate instruments and methods.
We observe opportunities to be more sustainable, now and in the future.
We keep you involved in decision-making.

The Project

Result Discussion

Here, we assess the data as a whole and in context.
We discuss what the results mean: to you and the planet.
We elaborate on our findings.
We identify sustainability risks and opportunities.

Result Discussion
Back to start: How We Work