Chemical company DuPont to focus on green technology, sustainable resources

Associated Press, Randall Chase
Published October 9, 2006

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Believing it can do well by doing good, DuPont Co. (NYSE:DD) on Tuesday said it will focus over the next decade on developing environmentally friendly products, using renewable resources and meeting new pollution reduction goals. The Wilmington-based chemical company said it expects to derive additional revenue of US$6 billion or more by 2015 from its new sustainable growth strategy. A key component of the expanded sustainability effort is doubling the funding for research and development of "environmentally smart" technologies and products to $800 million, said DuPont chief executive Charles Holliday Jr. The company also plans to increase annual revenue from products that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by $2 billion, and to double annual revenue from non-depletable resources such as biofuels to at least $8 billion by 2015. A fourth marketplace goal is to introduce at least 1,000 new safety products or services by 2015, Holliday told representatives of the business, environmental and scientific communities at a gathering in Washington, D.C. "What we're talking about today is very much going where the growth is," he said. "We see sustainable growth as the biggest market opportunity on the horizon for the next two or three decades." The tools DuPont will use to meet its marketing goals include genetically modified seeds to boost yields of crops used for biofuels, synthetic fibres made with biological components instead of petrochemicals, refrigerants with lower global warming potential, and automotive finishes with fewer volatile organic compounds. At the same time, DuPont will work to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions, already down more than 70 per cent since 1990, by at least another 15 per cent from 2004. The company also will reduce water consumption by at least 30 per cent over the next 10 years in areas deemed by the United Nations to have scarce or stressed fresh water supplies. "We're going to look at conservation; we're going to look at re-use," said Linda Fisher, DuPont's chief sustainability officer. DuPont also plans to develop a corporate fleet of fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, and to further reduce its emissions of air carcinogens, already down by more than 90 per cent since 1990. "All these goals we think are good for the shareholder, not just the right thing for the environment," Holliday said. DuPont shares closed down 46 cents at $44.98 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Calls to several industry analysts seeking comment on DuPont's announcement were not returned, but the head of an environmental group that has been critical of DuPont said the company has the scientific wherewithal to meet its goals. "I think if there's any company out there that's likely to put some markers down and try to meet them, I think DuPont's likely to do it," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group. "I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they're trying to do something significant here."