Managing Our Impact
Due to the nature of our business, our energy consumption and GHG emissions derive from two main sources:
- ~1% of total GHG emissions stem from our business operations, which involve the use of combustible energy, including natural gas, diesel, propane, and fuel oil (Scope 1 emissions) and purchased electricity (Scope 2 emissions)
- ~99% of total GHG emissions are from downstream and upstream activities in our value chain, such as use of sold products, purchased goods and services, end of life treatment of sold products, transportation and distribution, investments, employee commuting, capital goods, business travel, and fuel-and-energy related activities. See the table below for each category of Dover’s Scope 3 emissions profile
Operational and financial representatives from Dover's operating companies and corporate leaders work closely with the Sustainability Steering Committee to coordinate energy and greenhouse gas reductions across facilities worldwide. The Sustainability Steering Committee provides oversight for the implementation of Dover’s energy and greenhouse gas initiatives, monitors energy performance, and supports energy efficiency and carbon reduction efforts at Dover’s operating companies.
At the operating company level, GHG Champions work with the Dover corporate center to plan, execute, and measure operational emissions reduction efforts. GHG Champions submit information to the Dover corporate center about new or ongoing energy saving projects, including expected energy savings, cost, and payback period.
Our efforts to date have achieved a 12% reduction in Scope 1 emissions and a 15% reduction in Scope 2 emissions from our base year. As a result, our combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions have decreased by 14%, bringing us nearly halfway to our 2030 goal. Many of these reductions are driven by lower stationary combustion, particularly natural gas usage. This positive trend reflects the efforts of our operating companies to pursue energy efficiency and decarbonization. Building on this progress, we are currently working closely with the GHG Champions to refine our decarbonization roadmap designed to meet Dover's Science Based Targets (SBT) in a cost-effective manner. Our roadmap, modeled out to 2030, outlines the expected carbon savings and financial investments of 15 decarbonization levers, allowing us to create a pathway to achieve our Scope 1 and 2 reduction goals.
The Dover corporate center also facilitates focus groups with GHG Champions and other key leaders at operating companies to discuss emission reduction opportunities across our operations and products. These meetings encourage operating companies to share best practices throughout the enterprise in support of Dover’s corporate-wide emissions reduction targets.
While Dover’s Scope 3 emissions show a decrease of approximately 11% compared to the base year, this reduction is largely attributable to the divestiture of one of our largest operating companies, which had significant emissions associated with the Use of Sold Products category. We plan to re-baseline our 2019 Scope 3 emissions inventory to reflect the structural and methodological changes that have occurred. We are also beginning to see our teams’ sustainable innovations come to market, exemplified by our hydrogen-related products from our clean energy operating companies. These efforts are in line with global technological advancements, showcasing our commitment to advancing our products in the energy sector. Operating companies are continuing on their journey to integrate sustainability into the product development process through product emission working groups. Read more about our sustainable product innovations and product emission working groups on the Innovation for Sustainable Products webpage.
Dover employees also leverage an internal sustainability website that includes tools and resources to learn about sustainability, understand Dover’s sustainability vision and strategy, and identify opportunities to support Dover’s sustainability efforts. The website includes information on our sustainability reporting and policies, external resources and training, and acronyms and key terms. In addition, GHG Champions and other leaders can use the internal sustainability website to access tools that Dover uses to track operational emissions reduction initiatives and foster collaboration between our operating companies.