3M Company, Air Products, Dow Chemical Company, and DuPont all made the list this year. And it’s worth noting that 3M, Dow Chemical, and DuPont have each been on the 100 Global Innovators list as long as Thomson Reuters has complied its list.
To be listed
Thomson Reuters uses multi-pronged criteria to create the list each year. The firm considers not only the volume of patent applications a company makes but also the number of patents granted to gauge the success of innovation. It also takes the global marketability of each idea into account. And finally, the firm assess the impact of each innovation by measuring the number times it’s cited.
Cash and social change
The media and information firm takes great pride in the fact that its criteria for innovation turns out a list of the globally top performing companies, based on revenue.
“We can definitely say that those organizations, appearing on the top 100 list, outperformed other organizations in terms of revenue, in terms of profit,…and also in terms of job creation,” states Bob Stembridge, senior IP analyst for Thompson Reuters, in a video about the list’s patent-focused methodology.
“And we've seen that regularly over the last five years. So to be on the top 100 global innovators list is to be a successful wealth creator and job creator,” he adds.
Hometown proud
The list resonates on a global corporate level as well as on a local patriotic level. For instance, Dow company headquarters are in Midland, Michigan, and the area’s local paper ran an item celebrating the chemical manufacturer’s achievement.
“Dow has clinched a spot the last five years on the list, which translates into strong financial performances and reinforces the benefits of increased investment in research and development, and patent protection,” reported the paper yesterday.
The fact that all this innovation translates in to dollars matters to stakeholders at every level. “In 2014, the Top 100 Global Innovators generated more than $429 trillion in revenue and invested more than $20 trillion in research and development,” the Midland Daily News points out.