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If
you're interested in environmentally-friendly building materials,
please read this "Environmental Case for Corian®".
While some of the standards identified originate from North
America, the statements about DuPont and Corian® are applicable
globally. |
Corian®
and Sustainable Growth:
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The Environment Case for Corian®
Solid Surfaces |
DuPont™
Corian® solid surfaces come in more than 100 colors –
but ultimately, all the colors of Corian® can be considered
"green" and are striving to be even greener. That's
because DuPont Corian® shares and supports the DuPont
corporate environmental philosophy: to conduct our business
with respect and care for the environment. As a leader in
pursuing the mission of sustainable growth through nuts-and-bolts
business practices, we are committed to creating shareholder
and societal value while reducing our environmental footprint
throughout the value chain.
What makes a product
or company "green?" There are as many answers to
this question as there are people asking it. Traditionally,
a "green" product has been categorized as one that
saves energy, reduces pollution or is made from recycled materials.
But in recent years, companies and environmentalists alike
are taking a more holistic view – questioning the sustainability
of a product and the company that makes it. This broader view
takes into consideration not only the physical attributes
or recycled content of a product, but also its larger lifecycle
impact on the environment, society and the economy.
At DuPont, we're
proud to be on the journey of sustainable growth and are committed
to continuous improvement in further reducing our impact on
the environment.
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Our
Company – DuPont's Commitment to Sustainable Growth |
As
our company celebrates its 200th anniversary, we hold as fundamental
a culture that embraces: core values of safety, health and
environmental excellence; the highest standards of ethics
and integrity in the conduct of our business; and the fair
and respectful treatment of all people.
With a focus on
continuously improving our environmental practices, DuPont
has developed a series of initiatives that will help build
successful businesses without compromising future generations,
including:
Drive toward a
goal of zero waste generation at the source, and zero emissions.
Conserve energy and resources, including coal, oil, natural
gas, water and minerals.
Reduce waste or recycle materials to minimize the need for
treatment or disposal.
Continue to reduce packaging waste.
Efficiently manage land to enhance habitats for wildlife.
Extract, make, use, handle, package, transport and dispose
of materials safely and in an environmentally responsible
manner, in compliance with local regulations.
Further improve processes, practices and products to reduce
their risk and impact throughout the product life cycle.
Develop new products and processes to increase margins of
safety for humans and the environment.
Work with suppliers, distributors and customers who share
similar environmental goals.
DuPont's Environmental Successes
Greenhouse gas emissions from our global operations are now
down 63 percent (on a Kyoto basis) since 1990.
Global emissions
of air toxics and carcinogens are now 76 percent and 87 percent,
respectively, below our 1987 baseline levels.
Total energy consumption
now stands at 101 percent of 1990 levels, essentially offsetting
a 35 percent increase in production over this period.
Global hazardous
waste generation is 37 percent below our 1990 levels.
2010 Goals
Meet 10 percent of our global energy needs through renewable
resources
Achieve 25 percent
of revenues from non-depletable resources
Keep total energy
use flat
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Our
Product – What Makes Corian® "Green"? |
There
are few products like Corian®. While we are striving for
even less impact on the environment, the true color of Corian®
comes through in a number of environmentally friendly ways.
The following criteria are some of those important ways Corian®
can be evaluated. Corian® is...
Durable and Renewable
Corian® lasts a long time and can easily be repaired and
renewed, thus minimizing the desire or need to replace and
dispose of it. It also can be removed, recut and either reinstalled
as a new design or reworked into new products.
Because Corian® is reworkable, it generates up to one-third
less waste than stone in the fabrication process.
Chemically Inert & Environmentally Responsible
Because it doesn't react readily with other chemicals or elements,
Corian® has low impact on both indoor and outdoor environments,
including ground, vegetation and water resources.
Corian® meets the most restrictive "food zone"
standards for all types of food set by the NSF under the NSF/ANSI
STANDARD 51 - "Food Equipment Materials", meaning
that Corian® has been certified for use in commercial
food preparation. The use of Corian® for food contact
surfaces also complies with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act and all applicable food additive regulations.
The non-porous nature of Corian® means it will not support
the growth of mold, mildew or bacteria – making Corian®
the material of choice for healthcare, food service and "healthy
home" building.
Non-toxic
At room temperature, Corian® is non-toxic, with virtually
no "off-gassing" of volatile organic compounds.
In a fire situation, Corian® is clean-burning and produces
an insignificant amount of smoke.
The joint adhesives and sealants used in Corian® applications
have extremely low VOC emissions during the curing process,
falling well below standards set by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and California’s South Coast and Bay
Area Air Quality Management Districts.
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Our
Processes – Reducing Our Environmental Footprint |
We
continue to improve processes in order to minimize the impact
of business operations on the environment through:
Responsible choices
in raw materials
Pigments used to manufacture Corian® are FDA listed and
selected from materials free of heavy metals, toxic or carcinogenic
ingredients.
We encourage our suppliers to adopt manufacturing processes
that are safe and environmentally responsible.
Responsible choices in manufacturing processes
Improved processes and technologies are reducing waste generation
during the manufacturing process.
Scrap and off-spec Corian® is being used as raw material
for new product applications.
We're making our processes cleaner too. From 1991 to 2001,
we reduced hazardous waste generation by 63 percent and, from
1987 to 2001, we reduced emissions of cleaning solvents by
98 percent.
Responsible choices in packaging
Our policy on packaging waste is, in order of preference:
to minimize use, reuse if possible, recycle where practical
or incinerate with energy recovery. Approximately 30 percent
of the shipment platforms for Corian® sheet are collected
from fabricators and returned for reuse or recycling, and
we are working toward achieving a 50 percent return rate.
In 2002, DuPont received a Governor's Award for Pollution
Prevention from Governor George Pataki for "outstanding
efforts in protecting New York's natural resources."
DuPont's Yerkes facility – where most Corian® is
produced – implemented a Six Sigma-based program to
improve manufacturing processes and reduce the number of defective
products. Our efforts resulted in an annual reduction of 867,000
pounds of manufacturing waste that formerly went to a landfill
and cost savings of more than $2 million.
We received a
similar award in 1995 for achieving a 98 percent reduction
in the amount of methylene chloride (a cleaning solvent) used
at our Yerkes facility over a five-year period.
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Our
Commitment
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As
DuPont and Corian® continue on the journey of sustainable
growth, we will strive to further reduce our impact on the
environment while delivering exceptional aesthetics, performance
and service you've come to expect.
Click here to
download The Environmental Case for Corian® as an Adobe
Acrobat PDF document
For more information on DuPont's "sustainable growth"
initiatives, please visit www.dupont.com.
For more information on Corian®, please visit www.corian.com.
DuPont™ and Corian® are a trademark and registered
trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Only DuPont
makes Corian.
"Although
protecting the environment should be a core value of every
business - and for many companies, that's the first place
to start - companies will make the biggest contributions to
sustainability by doing what they do best: making markets
work globally while also protecting the environment. If one
is looking for a new definition of corporate social responsibility,
sustainable growth is it, and it is directly related to business
self-interest."
Charles E. Holliday,
DuPont President & CEO
Harvard Business Review
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