Sep 28 2007
Speaking at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition's annual forum here today, Linda J. Fisher, DuPont Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, described DuPont's focus on business opportunities that help customers respond to growing global demand for renewable energy and materials.
Fisher said that sustainable packaging is becoming increasingly important, driven by evolving consumer awareness, demand from brand owners and retailers and recognition of climate change issues.
"Sustainable packaging is a growing and important focus area for DuPont and is part of the company's overall commitment to create shareholder and societal value while providing direct, quantifiable environmental benefits for our customers and consumers along our value chains," she said.
At the conference, DuPont announced that innovations in sustainable packaging will now be a key evaluation criteria in its long-running DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation, now in its 20th year.
"In support of DuPont's corporate sustainability commitment, the awards will now recognize sustainability achievements in areas such as responsible sourcing, clean production and effective recovery that at the same time continue to meet important performance requirements such as improved freshness, convenience and shelf appeal," said William F. Weber, global DuPont director for packaging.
DuPont -- one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals 18 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, such as sustainable packaging materials, for key global markets.