WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As a responsible
partner in addressing concerns about the health and environmental
impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), DuPont today
announced a set of comprehensive commitments related to its use of
these substances. The commitments represent both new and
strengthened positions on sustainability and environmental and
chemical stewardship.
PFAS are a group of chemicals that includes perfluorooctanoic
acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), GenX, and other
chemicals, and have been used by many manufacturers to produce a
broad range of industrial and consumer products and firefighting
foams as early as the 1940s.
DuPont does not make PFOA, PFOS or GenX. Further, DuPont never
manufactured or sold firefighting foam. While its use of other PFAS
is a fraction of a percent of the total PFAS used globally, the
company is actively pursuing alternatives where possible in its
manufacturing processes.
"As a science-based company, DuPont is constantly learning from
the past to innovate for the future – in our policies and protocols
as well as our products," said Alexa
Dembek, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer,
DuPont. "These commitments help ensure our actions align with our
expectations for ourselves and the expectations of the communities
we serve."
Safety, health and protecting the planet are core values at
DuPont. Living our core values is our commitment to our employees,
customers and the communities in which we operate. As such,
the company commits to the following:
- We will eliminate the use of long-chain PFAS in recently
integrated operations by the end of 2019.
- We will eliminate the purchase and use of all firefighting
foams made with PFAS at our sites by the end of 2021.
- We will continue to remediate our sites that have a PFAS
footprint.
- We support U.S. EPA and global regulatory efforts to develop
science-based guidelines for PFAS and commit to meeting these
requirements in our global operations.
- Beginning in 2020, we expect to provide free access to our
product stewardship software, grant royalty-free licenses to others
that want to pursue PFAS remediation using our PFAS water treatment
resin technologies, and fund grants to universities and other
research institutes for new, innovative PFAS remediation
technologies.
- Also beginning in 2020, we expect to add external experts to
supplement our existing review processes for the use and handling
of substances of concern.
- Finally, we will share our progress toward meeting these
commitments.
"These commitments are designed to strengthen our current
chemicals management and stewardship practices so that the new
DuPont's manufacturing and supply chain choices match our
commitments to sustainability, our customers and the communities in
which we operate," said Dembek.
DuPont works with customers and industry leaders in safety,
healthcare, nutrition, electronics, mobility and construction to
deliver game-changing, innovative solutions to address some of the
biggest challenges facing the world.
View the full commitments.
For more information, please visit us at
https://www.dupont.com/pfas.html, and follow us on Twitter
@DuPont_news.
About DuPont
DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation
leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions
that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees
apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their
best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets
including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health
and wellness, food and worker safety. More information can be found
at www.dupont.com/.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking
Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws,
including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected
future business and financial performance and financial condition,
and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend,"
"plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "will," "would," "target," and
similar expressions and variations or negatives of these words.
On April 1, 2019, the company
completed the separation of its materials science business into a
separate and independent public company by way of a pro rata
dividend-in-kind of all the then outstanding stock of Dow
Inc. (the "Dow Distribution"). The company completed the
separation of its agriculture business into a separate and
independent public company on June 1,
2019, by way of a pro rata dividend-in-kind of all the then
outstanding stock of Corteva, Inc. (the "Corteva
Distribution").
Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying
degrees, uncertain and subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions, many of which that are beyond DuPont's control, that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future results. Some of the
important factors that could cause DuPont's actual results to
differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to: (i) ability and costs
to achieve all the expected benefits from the Dow Distribution and
the Corteva Distribution (together, the "Distributions"); (ii)
restrictions under intellectual property cross license agreements
entered into in connection with the Distributions; (iii)
non-compete restrictions agreed in connection with the
Distributions; (iv) the incurrence of significant costs in
connection with the Distributions, including costs to service debt
incurred by the Company to establish the relative credit profiles
of Corteva, Dow and DuPont and increased costs related to supply,
service and other arrangements that, prior to the Dow Distribution,
were between entities under the common control of DuPont; (v) risks
related to indemnification of certain legacy liabilities of E. I.
du Pont de Nemours and Company ("Historical EID") in connection
with the Corteva Distribution; (vi) potential liability arising
from fraudulent conveyance and similar laws in connection with the
Distributions; (vii) failure to effectively manage acquisitions,
divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio
changes, including meeting conditions under the Letter Agreement
entered in connection with the Corteva Distribution, related to the
transfer of certain levels of assets and businesses; (viii)
uncertainty as to the long-term value of DuPont common stock; (ix)
potential inability or reduced access to the capital markets or
increased cost of borrowings, including as a result of a credit
rating downgrade and (x) other risks to DuPont's business,
operations and results of operations including from: failure to
develop and market new products and optimally manage product life
cycles; ability, cost and impact on business operations, including
the supply chain, of responding to changes in market acceptance,
rules, regulations and policies and failure to respond to such
changes; outcome of significant litigation, environmental matters
and other commitments and contingencies; failure to appropriately
manage process safety and product stewardship issues; global
economic and capital market conditions, including the continued
availability of capital and financing, as well as inflation,
interest and currency exchange rates; changes in political
conditions, including tariffs, trade disputes and retaliatory
actions; impairment of goodwill or intangible assets; the
availability of and fluctuations in the cost of energy and raw
materials; business or supply disruption, including in connection
with the Distributions; security threats, such as acts of sabotage,
terrorism or war, natural disasters and weather events and patterns
which could result in a significant operational event for DuPont,
adversely impact demand or production; ability to discover, develop
and protect new technologies and to protect and enforce DuPont's
intellectual property rights; unpredictability and severity of
catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of
terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as
management's response to any of the aforementioned factors. These
risks are and will be more fully discussed in DuPont's current,
quarterly and annual reports and other filings made with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, in each case, as may be amended
from time to time in future filings with the SEC. While the list of
factors presented here is considered representative, no such list
should be considered a complete statement of all potential risks
and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant
additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking
statements. Consequences of material differences in results as
compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements
could include, among other things, business disruption, operational
problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and
similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on
DuPont's consolidated financial condition, results of operations,
credit rating or liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they
are made. DuPont assumes no obligation to publicly provide
revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should
circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities
and other applicable laws. A detailed discussion of some of
the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and
events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is
included in the section titled "Risk Factors" (Part II, Item 1A) of
DuPont's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 6, 2019 as may be modified by DuPont's
subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on
Form 8-K.
DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks
and service marks denoted with ™, ℠ or ® are
owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise
noted.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dupont-announces-new-and-sustained-commitments-related-to-pfas-chemicals-300908072.html
SOURCE DuPont