GLOBE-Net, February 9, 2012 - Linda J. Fisher is Vice President of Safety, Health, and Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer at DuPont.  It's her responsibility to advance DuPont's progress in achieving sustainable growth through its health and environmental programs, the company's global product stewardship, and in its regulatory affairs.  

That is a very tall order, but as part of a new breed of 'Chief Sustainability Officers' in the business community, she comes well equipped in terms of experience and education. 

Linda joined DuPont in 2004 after serving in a number of key leadership positions in government and industry, including a term as Deputy Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She held various positions in the EPA including Assistant Administrator - Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances; Assistant Administrator - Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation; and Chief of Staff to the EPA Administrator.  

Fisher, an attorney, was also Vice President of Government Affairs for Monsanto and was "Of Counsel" with the law firm Latham & Watkins. At DuPont, she serves as liaison to the Environmental Policy Committee of the DuPont Board of Directors, a reflection of the importance the company places on Sustainability.

At GLOBE 2012, Linda will be speaking in a special session on Driving the Corporate Sustainability Agenda. GLOBE-Net put a number of questions to Linda about her role as Chief Sustainability Officer and about the importance that DuPont places on its sustainability mission.

GLOBE-Net          What does 'sustainability' mean for your company?

LF:      Population is estimated to increase to 9 billion by 2050 and as incomes increase, people will be seeking a higher quality of life in terms of nutrition, housing, transportation, etc.  

As a society, we are facing unprecedented challenges to feed the world, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and keep people and the environment safe in a sustainable way. To be successful, we need truly transformational change.  

While reducing our own footprint is important, striving to provide more sustainable solutions is the most important contribution that DuPont can make - using our science and innovation to understand the needs, work collaboratively with others, and develop solutions that meet the economic, social, and environmental expectations of our customers and society overall. In 2011, we devoted roughly 85% of our research and development towards innovations related to food, energy, and protection.

GLOBE-Net        What motivates you personally to embrace sustainability?

LF:Twelve years of work in the US EPA as a regulator gave me a great sense of the value and the limitations of regulatory frameworks. Regulations are great for preventing pollution but can't operate at the international level and don't drive the innovations needed to create more sustainable solutions for the world's major challenges. The private sector is critical for delivering the innovations that can provide solutions that meet societal needs in completely different ways.

While I am proud to work for a company that has been proactive in voluntarily reducing its footprint, what I am really motivated by is the opportunities that I see as DuPont focuses on delivering more new products and services that can help society take a step change in solving global challenges.

GLOBE-Net         Does your company set specific performance targets with respect to its sustainability initiatives? If so, what metrics do you consider? (e.g. carbon, energy, water, waste, etc.)

 LF:      Our mission of sustainable growth can be traced back to decisions and commitments we began making decades ago. In the 1970s and 1980s, our focus was on internal safety and meeting environmental regulations. In the late 1980s and 1990s we added voluntary footprint reductions, going beyond regulatory requirements.

Our goals included commitments to reduce energy, greenhouse gas emissions, as well as air carcinogens and air toxins. In the decade 2000s, we began thinking a lot more about our products and how they can help our customers reduce their impacts and in 2006, we put in place commitments that started to drive more action relative to activities in the market. We started looking up and down the value chain and added market-facing goals to help define how sustainability would help our businesses grow.

These goals address all stages of product development, from R&D efforts through marketing and sales. They also mark a turning point in our corporate thinking. Establishing goals that relied on our ability to help our customers do better for the environment and their consumers meant sustainability had to be embedded in the way we do business. Now, the business of sustainability at DuPont was truly going to be business as usual.

GLOBE-Net         The event theme for GLOBE 2012 is "Building a Sustainable Economy for the 21st Century" - what is the most significant transformation underway that will ensure that your organization is part of that economy?

LF:      Now we see ourselves working on the third phase of sustainable growth, characterized by a holistic approach that is fully integrated into our business models. Sustainability is broadened to include human safety as well as environmental protection, and it becomes our market-driven business priority throughout the value chain. The transition to products that meet the definition of "sustainable" will happen over time. But the pace will quicken as the synergistic effects of market demand, societal expectations, and product innovation create collaborations up and down the value chain.

We believe the global companies that succeed in responding successfully and sustainably to 21st century challenges will be those that master the art of collaboration. We are building alliances with customers, companies, governments, NGOs, visionaries, thought leaders, and others around the world in an effort to address needs sustainably at the local level. We've adopted a new model that we call "inclusive innovation" - solving problems by designing solutions in cooperation with those who will benefit directly from the product. We welcome others to join us in this endeavor as we uncover unmet needs and respond to them. Our objective is to improve the lives of people everywhere, and together, we can accomplish what no one can do alone.

GLOBE-Net         How do you motivate your colleagues and staff to be engaged in your corporate sustainability initiatives?

LF:      The exciting aspect of focusing our sustainability work on creating new solutions versus just reducing our footprint is our employees, who are truly excited about being part of a company that is helping to solve the world's biggest challenges. I am continually energized by the new ideas and energy that people have to overcome barriers and find new solutions.

A recent example of this is a new product that we partnered on. Verlasso™ is a brand and trademark of AquaChile, which formed a collaboration with DuPont that will join the collective innovation and aquaculture expertise of the companies to identify how to raise fish sustainably to provide nutritious protein for a growing population. The new harmonious approach to salmon farming by Verlasso™ brings one of the healthiest and most delicious choices to the marketplace, providing a high-quality and sustainable salmon that balances the needs for nutrition and the needs of the environment. Verlasso™ salmon is low in fat and high in protein and Omega-3s.

The most significant innovation for Verlasso™ is its use of 75% fewer feeder fish to produce healthy salmon rich in Omega-3s. In traditional salmon farms, salmon get their Omega-3s from fish oils provided by wild-caught feeder fish, which puts a significant strain on our oceans. Typically, it takes four or more pounds of feeder fish to raise one pound of salmon---what's known as the "fish in, fish out" ratio. Verlasso™ drops the "fish in" number from four down to one.

So bottom line, we have a healthier product that significantly reduces the impact of aquaculture on the global fisheries and we have group of employees that are truly excited to be part of this work and are now looking for new ways to use our science to deliver solutions that make a difference. A win-win-win.