Organization: DuPont

Year: 2015

Description:
DuPont is one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Palm oil, soya, sugar and wood pulp are considered major commodities sourced for a variety of DuPont products and nearly half of Dupont’s main properties are related to agriculture. Globally, demand for these commodities is fueling deforestation.

Only about 20% of the world’s original forests remain undisturbed. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the leading international network of climate scientists, has concluded that global warming is “unequivocal” and that land use, mainly deforestation, is the second major source of human-caused CO2 emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that greenhouse gases threaten Americans’ health and welfare.

Climate change impacts from deforestation and poor forest management can be reduced through increased use of recycled materials, independent third party certification schemes, and monitoring of supply chains.

Key stakeholder groups now expect corporate action on forest conservation. CDP’s forest disclosure program, backed by 240 financial institutions managing over $15 trillion, asks corporations to report on how their activities and supply chains contribute to deforestation and how those impacts are being managed. Major companies, including Cargill, Wilmar International, Unilever, and over 20 other companies have announced comprehensive “no deforestation” commitments.

DuPont discloses some information on its purchases of certified palm oil, but provides no information on the impact on forests of its soya, wood pulp and sugar purchases. Even with its limited disclosure on palm oil, proponents believe that DuPont faces potential reputational and operational risks.

Meaningful indicators of how DuPont is managing deforestation risks would include:

• A company-wide policy on deforestation
• The percentage of purchases of palm oil, soya, sugar and wood pulp that are traceable to
suppliers verified by credible third parties as not engaged in deforestation, expansion into
peatlands or natural forests, with clear goals for each commodity
• Results of audits to ensure raw materials in its supply chain are traceable and verified as
not contributing to deforestation
• Identification of certification systems and programs that the company uses to ensure sustainable sourcing of each of these commodities.

RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board to prepare a public report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, by November 1, 2015, describing how DuPont is assessing the company’s supply chain impact on deforestation and the company’s plans to mitigate these risks.