Sustainable growth-”the creation of shareholder and societal values while reducing environmental impacts along entire value chains-”is not a choice but a requirement for successful businesses in the 21st century and for a sustainable future for all of us. Innovation and technology are critical ingredients to moving business increasingly away from the use of fossil fuels, to creating more consumer value in products using less depletable raw materials and energy, and to reaching the huge and growing populations at the middle and base of the economic pyramid. The transformation of DuPont from a volume-driven chemicals company to a value-driven science company over the past decade illustrates the types of transformation that will be needed across all of industry. R&D management must take ownership and provide leadership for the orders-of-magnitude changes that are needed, yet most have not been engaged in the sustainability discussion-”so far.
