In 1989, Edgar Woolard began his tenure as CEO of the chemical giant DuPont by calling for a new “corporate environmentalism.” In the future, he predicted, the business world simply would have to be green. He promised that DuPont would undertake a number of eco initiatives, from dramatically reducing production of hazardous wastes to making environmental performance a part of the managerial compensation formula. In the years since, DuPont has won acclaim as a leader in environmental management, including an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But critics argue that DuPont still falls far short of being green. Like many corporations, DuPont has improved in some ways while continuing to do poorly in other areas. DuPont’s history can teach us a lot about the limits of corporate efforts to become more environmentally sustainable.

Please join the Humanities Institute for this brown bag lunch session with Adam Rome, Professor of History. Coffee and cookies will be served.

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