DuPont Sustainability Report: Letter From Our Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer, Alexa Dembek

Right now, we’re living in the most interconnected world we’ve ever known. Each one of us is linked in some way—by society, culture, opportunity or need; there’s an endless list of possibilities. These connections are incredibly powerful tools that spark innovation and transformation. At DuPont, our deep understanding of science and technology and close collaboration with customers enables us to create sustainable solutions that have the potential to change the world. Through a profound connection to purpose, empowering the world with the essential innovations to thrive, we’re inspired to take on some of the world’s most pressing challenges and create a lasting impact for this generation and many more to follow.

Our 2030 Sustainability Goals have been a focal point of our company since 2019 and are embedded in everything we do. It’s evidenced in this year’s sustainability report, which tells a story of collaborative networks and progress across our nine goals, with significant impact in three areas—innovation, climate, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Highlights from the report include:

• Connecting with our customers: To accelerate speed and impact, we aligned our sustainability actions with areas of greatest importance to our customers through a needsbased assessment, creating a more focused and direct link to solving sustainability challenges across the value chains in the industries and end-markets we serve. For example, mobile device antennas made with DuPont’s Pyralux® polyimide laminate solutions tackle the dual challenges of delivering high signal fidelity at high frequencies while significantly improving manufacturing yields, reducing industrial waste and lowering cost to make 5G phones more affordable.
• Connecting with our communities: Despite the challenges of COVID-19, employees at our operating sites around the world continue to be active in communities where they live and work, including more than 450 charitable projects in 2021 contributing to impacting more than 3.5 million lives since 2020. 
• Connecting with industry partners: We partner with organizations around the world in support of global sustainability initiatives. In 2021, we joined RE100, a global initiative that brings together 320 of the world’s leading businesses committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity in their global operations by 2050. We’re also continuing our work as a member of the CEO Climate Dialogue, a collaboration between large companies and NGOs working together to advance effective climate legislation in the United States.
• Connecting with suppliers: We’ve long been committed to supplier diversity as an essential business strategy and seek out opportunities for small businesses, minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, disabled-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, among others. In 2021, we spent approximately $395 million with 2,200 small and diverse suppliers in the US.
• Connecting to our future: We offer employees the ability to contribute meaningfully, through challenging experiences, flexible work practices and an open environment of mutual respect. We understand that our future is predicated on what we do now to foster an inclusive culture, and our leadership team is deeply involved in championing our employee resource groups, expanding their global participation, and identifying intersections. Our future also relies on attracting diverse and underrepresented talent. Throughout the year, we enhanced our existing relationships with historically black colleges and universities, minority serving institutions, and STEM and diversity organizations. Our DE&I commitment is intertwined at the most fundamental level with our Core Values and talent management philosophy.

I’m incredibly proud of our team for their accomplishments and grateful for the insights and partnership from multiple stakeholders around the world. While our report is a look back in time, we know the world is constantly changing and to be successful, we have to learn even faster. We’re looking beyond today and well into the emerging needs of the future to identify gaps and opportunities. That’s why our report includes new additions like the climate Scope 3 emissions narrative and data as well the TCFD Index on climate risk assessment and preparedness. We’ve conducted external performance assessments, revised our Enterprise Risk Management strategy, enhanced our governance practices, directed materiality assessments, and engaged our stakeholders for powerful insights. All of this information and more directs our 2022 priorities for swift and precise action, now. 

While we’re proud of all we accomplished last year, we recognize there’s much more we need to do. Commitment runs deep within our company, starting at the very heart of why we exist, our purpose. I encourage you to read the report to learn more about our contributions and I invite you to connect with us to discover what we can do together. I speak for all of us at DuPont when I say we’re excited, energized and incredibly honored to be part of this work. 

Alexa Dembek
Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer

Read the full report here.