How Dover Innovates for Sustainable Products
The product management and research and development (R&D) teams at our operating companies lead innovation and product development, including with respect to sustainability. Product management and R&D teams regularly engage with our customers to assess ways we can help them achieve their business and sustainability objectives. These efforts are complemented with internal analysis of potential opportunities and unmet market needs.
Sustainability considerations are increasingly being embedded into the new product development processes across Dover’s operating companies. This means that factors such as environmental impact, resource efficiency, and long-term product stewardship are thoughtfully evaluated from the earliest stages of innovation. These efforts are particularly impactful in reducing Scope 3 emissions—those associated with product use—and enhancing customer engagement by aligning with their own decarbonization strategies.
Our Scope 3, Category 11: Use of Sold Products emissions show a decrease of approximately 11% from 2019 to 2024. Note that in 2025, these findings have come as a result of this year’s comprehensive calculation of our Scope 3 Category 11 emissions, allowing for our inventory to become more complete and data-driven. The 2024 Category 11 number also reflects recent dispositions, which have not yet been removed from our 2019 baseline. We plan to re-baseline our emissions inventory to improve overall accuracy by better demonstrating the impact of all acquisitions and dispositions since 2019. We are also beginning to see our team's sustainable innovation come to market, exemplified by our hydrogen-related products from our clean energy operating companies. For more information on Dover’s progress toward our science-based target, see our Energy and Emissions webpage.
In 2024, R&D spend, including qualifying engineering costs, represented 1.9% of our annual revenue. Dover has maintained relatively consistent investment in R&D for the past several years. Ultimately, we view R&D as critical to maintaining the long-term growth and competitiveness of our product offerings in the marketplace as the global demand for more sustainable solutions continues to increase.