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. To identify opportunities for developing new products, 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
In 2021, four of Dover's largest operating companies by emissions participated in workshops to formally integrate sustainability into the product development stage-gate process. This group meets quarterly to discuss product use phase emission reduction initiatives and the integration of R&D checkpoints focusing on opportunities to reduce product energy usage into new product development to set a path towards achieving Dover's 2030 Scope 3 science-based target. As part of these quarterly meetings, operating companies learn from best practices in new product development innovation from industry and other operating companies. We are proud to report that our Scope 3, Category 11: Use of Sold Products emissions decreased by 9% from 2019 to 2021. For more information on Dover’s progress toward our science-based target, see our Energy and Emissions webpage.
In 2021, R&D spend, including qualifying engineering costs, represented 2.0% of our annual revenue, consistent for the past several years and up since 2015, when it averaged 1.7% of annual revenue. We have increased our R&D spend since 2015 partly in response to customer needs for more efficient, safer, and sustainable products. Ultimately, we view R&D as critical to maintaining the long-term growth and competitiveness of our offerings in the marketplace in a world with an ever-increasing demand for more sustainable solutions