Aug 26 2009
Passage of environmentally effective and economically sustainable climate legislation in the U.S. will bring business opportunity to DuPont.
"Passage of climate legislation will signal to the marketplace that demand for products that reduce reliance on fossil fuels will increase," said Linda Fisher, DuPont vice president and chief sustainability officer. "In some cases, new markets will emerge."
At DuPont, our portfolio of more than 35,000 products and new technologies includes real solutions to help address energy use and greenhouse gas reductions. Our portfolio includes offerings in energy efficiency solutions for the home, the automobile as well as energy efficiency gains that can be made in manufacturing operations. For example:
Alternative Energy
- DuPont provides more than 10 products that are critical to the manufacture of solar modules, and company scientists continue to enhance the efficiency of solar technology. DuPont expects company sales to this industry to triple by 2012 to $1 billion.
- DuPont is a leader in developing next generation biofuels. Cellulosic ethanol, through a joint venture with Danisco, has a low lifecycle greenhouse gas profile, with an initial focus on non-food feedstocks like switchgrass and corn cobs. Biobutanol, a high performance fuel, is under development with BP specifically to expand the performance of biofuels.
Next Generation Refrigerants
- DuPont provides a broad portfolio of refrigerants technologies, recently introducing an automobile air conditioning refrigerant that has 300 times lower global warming potential than current offerings.
Bio-Based Products
- DuPont creates other value-adding materials from renewably-sourced feedstocks, like Bio-PDO. Bio-PDO spawned an array of products that are displacing hydrocarbon-based materials, including DuPont Sorona polymers and fibers, which can be found in Mohawk's SmartStrand carpet; renewably-sourced airplane de-icing fluids and bio-based ingredients for cosmetics, packaging products and household cleaners.
Low Carbon Agriculture
- Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, provides farmers with seeds that are increasingly resistant to adverse weather conditions, pest resistant, fertilizer efficient and high yielding. With legislation, DuPont predicts an increase in demand for agricultural practices like no-till that help sequester carbon across hundreds of millions of acres. This will increase demand for seeds and related agricultural products that expand yield while enabling low-carbon growing practices. DuPont provides these products.
Energy-Efficient Buildings and Cars
- DuPont makes products that enable greater energy efficiency in building construction, such as Tyvek HomeWrap. Additionally, reducing vehicle weight and enhancing engine efficiency has the potential to provide significant reductions in greenhouse gases. DuPont provides a range of specialty plastics that contribute to "lightweighting" and reducing friction in moving parts, all while maintaining safety.
In 2006, DuPont committed to increase annual revenue by at least $2 billion from products that create energy efficiency and/or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2015. The company also committed to a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from company operations between 2004 and 2015, in addition to a 72% reduction that was achieved between 1990 and 2004.