New Delhi, 4 February, 2010
Sustainability Is A Business Imperative
Global Challenges Require Dramatic New Approaches, DuPont Leader Says at India World CEO Forum

Industry has a unique opportunity today to engage, innovate and deliver sustainable solutions to the growing global marketplace, said DuPont Executive Vice President Mark P. Vergnano at the World CEO Forum of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2010 in India.

“Embracing sustainable approaches in the face of exhaustible, non-renewable resources and relentless population growth is an imperative for companies and communities around the world,” Vergnano said.

Highlighting DuPont’s approach to sustainable growth, Vergnano said, “First, we strive to understand the major market trends that will have a significant impact on the world in the long term; second, we translate those trends into a business vision by identifying business opportunities that are inherent in addressing the challenges; and third, we adapt and make the changes necessary to align the work of our company with that vision.”

DuPont has identified four “megatrends” at the intersection of global needs and the company’s science-based solutions and innovation pipeline.  According to Vergnano, the megatrends are expected to make a significant impact on the global political and economic agenda and they represent areas where DuPont can provide solution-driven leadership.  The megatrends are: increasing food productivity, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, protecting lives and the environment, and capitalizing on growth in emerging markets.

“Nearly 80 percent of the company’s annual $1.4 billion R&D investment is aimed at megatrend-targeted innovations,” Vergnano added.

DuPont – one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals 20 years ago – has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

DuPont India is a subsidiary of the American parent. DuPont relationship with India began more than 200 years ago when it received its first shipment of raw materials from India to produce black powder for explosives in 1802. Today, DuPont India markets a wide range of products in varied market segments. With over 1500 employees and six production facilities in three locations, DuPont India has been growing at double-digit rate annually in the last five years.
                                 
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