For DuPont, a U.S.-headquartered multinational with a 200-year history, consistently being at the forefront of innovation in the advanced materials production industry is no small feat. The company has brought its innovative spirit and ability to continuously adapt and reinvent itself to all of its business endeavors, seeking solutions to solve the world’s most challenging problems and help people live healthier, safer lives.
“For all of humanity’s most pressing challenges, you need innovation,” says Dennis Chen, President of DuPont Taiwan and Global Business Director for DuPont Electronics & Industrial’s Advanced Packaging Technologies business. “That innovation is not only about us as a company; it’s also about what our customers need and how we work with them to deliver appropriate and timely solutions.”
But, he says, “we also strive to ensure that those solutions incorporate sustainable concepts such as green production, renewable energy, and waste reduction.”
To that end, DuPont has developed and implemented a comprehensive strategy for reducing its environmental impact while continuing to advance as an industry leader. In 2019, the company issued its 2030 Sustainability Goals, which include integrating circular economy concepts into its business operations, incorporating green chemistry and other sustainable practices into its production processes, and sourcing 60% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, among several others.
“These goals are aligned with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and provide a clear path and roadmap for our business and manufacturing sites.” notes Dennis Chen. “We will make sure that these goals are relevant to all of the locations where we operate.”
In Taiwan, where DuPont has had a presence for over 50 years, one need not look through corporate reports to see the company’s sustainability efforts in action. DuPont Taiwan’s Electronics & Industrial Semiconductor Technologies site (Hsinchu Site II), which was erected in 2005 at the Hsinchu Science Park’s Zhunan campus, is the very model of a green building. Its design allows for the recycling and reuse of condensation from its air conditioning system, while solar panel coverings in the parking lot provide a localized source of renewable energy and special waterproof roof coating helps lower the indoor temperature, decreasing air conditioning use. Outside the building, the ground is paved with JW Eco Pavement, a technology developed in Taiwan that helps prevent flooding through optimal water drainage, reduces CO2 levels and pollution, and lowers surface temperatures.
Cliff Chen, the site’s leader, says that it was the first facility in the Hsinchu Science Park to receive a green building certificate from the Taiwan government. He notes that the site engages in continuous improvement projects using a “Lean Six Sigma” methodology, which entails refining processes to improve safety outcomes, enhance product quality, increase product yield, reduce waste, and conserve energy.
The approach has been enormously successful and has enabled the Hsinchu Site II to decrease its overall energy consumption by an accumulated 23% over a ten-year period. In December 2020, DuPont was awarded the Silver Energy Benchmarking Award by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Cliff Chen says that this was just one of several awards and recognitions conferred on the company by the Taiwan government; others have included the National Enterprise Environmental Protection Award and National Green Chemistry Award presented by the Environmental Protection Administration, as well as awards for safety and DuPont’s contributions to the circular economy.
Beyond its environmental efforts, DuPont Taiwan has launched a series of initiatives to give back to society, particular in the communities surrounding its facilities. Recent activities have included science camps organized at rural primary schools in Taoyuan and Miaoli Counties, beach and local village cleanups, and employee fundraising activities for local charities.
Despite being at the forefront of integrating innovative sustainable practices into its operations, DuPont’s leaders remain humble, emphasizing that they wish to continue learning from their peers and engaging in knowledge sharing. To that end, DuPont Taiwan has asked its summer interns this year to assist with putting together a study of the sustainability policies of its customers. “The purpose of this special summer internship is to educate and make sustainability concepts top of mind with the younger generations for the betterment of society,” says the project’s coordinator, Hawk Tu.
As for the future, Dennis Chen doesn’t see the company’s work slowing down anytime soon, even with the challenges posed by the global pandemic. “I would say that COVID-19 provided an opportunity to test the organization’s resilience and our ability to protect our employees, ensure business continuity, and continue working toward our sustainability goals,” he says.
