Challenge:  Water scarcity is expected to displace 700 million people worldwide by 2030. To manage the water needs of today while securing water for the future, new technologies and new forms of collaboration will be needed.

 

Goal: Implement holistic water strategies across all facilities, prioritizing manufacturing plants and communities in high-risk watersheds. Enable millions of people access to clean water through leadership in advancing water technology and enacting strategic partnerships.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Roadmap to 2030

To begin working on our ten-year ambition, we will first:

01

Develop an enterprise-wide Water Stewardship Strategy prioritizing sites in water-stressed regions

02

Explore collaborations and partnerships to protect watersheds and provide greater access to clean water 

03

Leverage our leadership in water technologies to improve access to clean water

 
 
 

At DuPont, we’re taking action now to be part of the solution—by innovating to design water solutions that will help our customers maximize water usage, minimize discharges and protect water supplies, and by strategically improving water stewardship at DuPont’s own manufacturing plants and other sites.

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who

25M

DuPont water technologies process 25 million gallons of water every minute around the world 

 
 
 

To further expand our capabilities in this area, we announced several strategic acquisitions in 2019, including: ultrafiltration and membrane businesses Memcor and Inge; closed-circuit reverse osmosis company Desalitech; and OxyMem, which develops and produces Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) technology for treating and purifying municipal and industrial wastewater. With these additions to our portfolio and reach, DuPont is better positioned than ever to achieve our vision for a water-optimized world. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Managing water at our sites



We withdraw and purchase water from various local sources and entities for the purposes of conducting business. Some of that water is treated and returned to a local waterbody, some is rendered in our manufacturing processes, or used for other purposes such as employee health and hygiene. In 2019, we began to examine our new global footprint to understand where and how DuPont de Nemours operations interact with local watersheds.

To better understand the water risks and impacts at our sites, we used the World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Modeling Tool to identify operational locations facing “high” to “extremely high” baseline water stress currently or by 2030. To gain further insights, in 2020 we will use WWF’s Water Risk Tool to model water stress for all DuPont sites around the world. The WWF tool will help us assess water risks using an expanded set of parameters, such as reputation and regulatory risk, that may affect business continuity in the future.

To help ensure we meet our 2030 Sustainability Goals, we will implement the Alliance for Water Stewardship International Water Stewardship Standard (the AWS Standard) for sites where we’ve determined that there could be significant water risks. The AWS Standard framework helps companies and other major water users to understand their water use and impacts, and to work collaboratively and transparently for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable water management at the scale of a local catchment.

At DuPont, implementing the AWS Standard will support our efforts to:

  • Understand water dependencies and impacts
  • Mitigate operational and supply chain water risks
  • Ensure responsible water procedures are in place at our sites
  • Build relationships with local water-related stakeholders
  • Address challenges shared with others in the catchment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
More Goals
Delivering Solutions for Global Challenges

Align 100% of our innovation portfolio to meaningfully advance the UN SDGs and create value for our customers

Delivering Solutions for Global Challenges
See Goal
Enabling a Circular Economy

Integrate circular economy principles into our business models considering lifecycle impacts in the markets we serve.

Enabling a Circular Economy
See Goal
Innovating Safer By Design

Design 100% of our products and processes using sustainability criteria including the principles of green chemistry.

Innovating Safer By Design
See Goal
Acting on Climate

Reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions 30%, including sourcing 60% of electricity from renewable energy by 2030, and deliver carbon neutral operations by 2050.

Acting on Climate
See Goal
Accelerating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Become one of the world’s most inclusive companies, with diversity well ahead of industry benchmarks.

Accelerating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
See Goal
Cultivating Well-Being and Fulfillment

Create a workplace where employees report high levels of well-being and fulfillment.

Cultivating Well-Being and Fulfillment
See Goal
Building Thriving Communities

Improve over 100 million lives through targeted social impact programs.

Building Thriving Communities
See Goal
 
 
 
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