Believing it can do well by doing good, DuPont Co 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 US$800 million, DuPont chief executive Charles Holliday Jr said.
The company also plans to increase annual revenue from products that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by US$2 billion, and to double annual revenue from non-depletable resources such as biofuels to at least US$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.
"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 fibers 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 percent since 1990, by at least another 15 percent from 2004. The company will also reduce water consumption by at least 30 percent over the next 10 years in areas deemed by the UN 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 percent since 1990.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft