Page 284 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

260 Cha pte r T h i r tee n

Another award-winning technology is The Sentricon™ System,
which eliminates termite colonies while replacing the need for wide-
spread applications of pesticides. Traditionally, homeowners have com-
bated termites through fumigation and the use of chemical barriers.
With The Sentricon System approach, pest control companies use mon-
itoring stations to detect the presence of termites, and then insert bait
laced with a slow-acting termite growth inhibitor. The amount of pes-
ticide required to eliminate termite infestations is as little as one ten
thousandth of the amount used in traditional fumigation processes [5].

DuPont: Realizing Sustainable Growth
DuPont, with revenues of $30 billion, employs about 60,000 people in
70 countries around the world. Founded in 1802 as an explosives man-
ufacturer, the company eventually became one of the world’s largest
producers of chemicals and materials. DuPont has established a repu-
tation as an industry leader in the practice of sustainability and has
continually transformed itself to address a changing business envi-
ronment. In the 1970s and 1980s the company’s focus was on safety
and environmental compliance, and so diligently did it pursue these
practices that its EH&S programs were emulated by many other
companies. In the 1990s, DuPont was among the first companies to
embrace a broader view of sustainability and established voluntary
“stretch” goals, such as zero incidents and zero wastes. Again, these
practices influenced broad adoption of sustainability goals among
global industry leaders. DuPont was the first to articulate a value
proposition around eco-efficiency—increasing shareholder value added
while decreasing raw material and energy inputs and reducing emis-
sions. DuPont coined the term “sustainable growth” to assert the com-
patibility of sustainability with business prosperity [6].
Today, DuPont views itself as a science company, using biotechnol-
ogy, chemistry, and other scientific disciplines to develop sustainable
products that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
The company is in a third phase of sustainable growth, characterized
by a holistic approach that is fully integrated into its business models
and has become a market-driven business priority throughout the
value chain. As evidence of DuPont’s commitment to cutting depen-
dence on fossil fuels, the company that invented nylon, the miracle
substance of the twentieth century, divested its nylon division in 2003.
The company’s new 2015 Sustainability Goals go beyond traditional
footprint reductions to link business growth directly to the develop-
ment of safer and environmentally improved products. The goals are
divided into two categories:
1. Market-Facing Goals
• Double the investment in R&D programs with direct, quanti-
fiable environmental benefits for our customers and consum-
ers along our value chains.