2030 Goal:
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Reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions 30% including sourcing 60% of electricity from renewable energy, and deliver carbon neutral operations by 2050 or sooner
Beginning the transition to low-carbon industrial processes for our insulation product lines
Lowering emissions in our manufacturing plants by improving operational practices and transitioning to low-carbon energy sources
Procuring 20% renewable electricity and entering into a partnership with Schneider Electric to increase our renewable energy procurement via VPPA partnerships
Continuously improving our overall energy efficiency by investing in 99 Bold Energy Plan projects
We are using our expertise and our industry presence to develop innovative low-carbon and energy-efficient solutions that help industries decarbonize, and advocate for market-based approaches to consistent, predictable policies and regulations that foster climate innovation and investment. We’re also actively pursuing opportunities to reduce GHG emissions along the value chains of a wide range of our processes and products.
For example, we’ve joined the CEO Climate Dialogue, a collaboration between large companies and NGOs working together to advance effective climate legislation in the US. And we’re part of the Alliance to Save Energy as well as other organizations that advocate for clean mobility and renewable fuel.
Since the announcement of our goals we have been on a journey and have made robust progress toward our long-term objectives. In 2020, we defined the programs in our plan to reduce our absolute emissions by 30 percent over the next ten years and are on track to deliver the goal. We have focused on several large opportunities, like renewable energy, our Styrofoam® blowing agent conversion project, and the transition from coal to natural gas. These projects will be critical to enabling both business growth and our 2030 goals.
In 2020, we reduced our Scope 2 emissions by 11% compared to 2019.
A critical part of our emissions reduction strategy is to procure our electricity from more renewable sources. In 2020, we expanded our use of renewable electricity sources and credits to 20% of our total electricity. We now operate 27 sites that utilize 100% renewable electricity. Also in 2020, we engaged in a partnership with Schneider Electric to support our long-term renewable energy procurement strategy, including development of virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for electricity sourced from wind and solar energy.
In 2020, we began the phased launch of a new, reduced global warming potential (GWP) Styrofoam™ Brand Insulation. Beginning in 2021, the Styrofoam™ Brand Insulation family of products will include lower GWP options, advancing DuPont’s 2030 Sustainability Goals and complying with adopted and upcoming state and provincial hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) regulations throughout the United States and Canada. This multi-phased project will deliver GHG reductions in support of the Paris Climate Agreement along a timeline that is more aggressive than the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
Our Spruance site in Richmond, Virginia is our largest manufacturing location. In partnership with Veolia, we converted the fuel for the on-site cogeneration facility from coal to natural gas, in order to produce steam and electricity more efficiently with fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Combusting natural gas produces approximately half as many GHGs as coal combustion, which will reduce DuPont GHG emissions by more than 100,000 MTCO2e annually. The project was completed near the end of 2019, and in 2020 we started to realize the resource and environmental benefits.
Reducing our emissions in line with our 2030 goals will require a cultural shift, and a new operational philosophy.
DuPont W&P launched a business-wide Operations Transformation work management process to ensure that each site takes an integrated approach to achieving corporate and business climate goals. Every site will have a Site Sustainability Leader, who will be responsible for creating plans for their site that will aid in decoupling carbon emission from growth while taking into account the site’s future needs.
DuPont E&I mobilized a network of Site Energy Leaders responsible for identifying opportunities to reduce energy use and cut GHG emissions. They will set site-specific goals, provide training on energy reduction tools and leverage expertise across the business segment. E&I won a 2020 ACC Responsible Care® Energy Efficiency Award for their new site team energy management structure.
We continued our effort on energy efficiency projects through the Bold Energy Plan, a long-standing DuPont program that improves energy efficiency and reduces GHG emissions at our global facilities. In 2020, we completed 99 energy-saving projects with a savings potential of about 10,850 MTCO2e annually.