Life for chemicals companies on Planet Zog is easy. Regulations in outer space are weak, so you can carry on producing toxic chemicals without letting the public know about it.
This was the option chosen by Dupont de Nemours, the $33 billion US chemicals corporation, in 2022 when the company suddenly stopped publishing the list of chemicals it produces in the Unites States. This made it impossible to assess what kind of chemicals the company produces there.
DuPont did this quietly. ChemSec discovered it only by checking the US Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) database. The company gave no explanation, simply stating it was “confidential business information”. There was speculation, however, that it had to do with the rise in PFAS litigations.
DuPont’s decision to re-engage with ChemScore is a measure of its power
Consequently, ChemSec was obliged to give DuPont a zero score in our annual ranking of the world’s largest public chemical producers — ChemScore. This was unprecedented: no other ChemScore company has hidden its product portfolio like this before or since. Even DuPont’s competitors told us they thought this was an outrageous move.
For two years, DuPont orbited in the zero gravity / zero accountability conditions on Planet Zog. But earlier this year, the company landed back on Earth, returning to the real world.
In a statement on its website, it revealed it had “committed to be more transparent in disclosure of our substances”. And in May, the company reached out to ChemSec to say it was re-engaging once more with ChemScore and would welcome an opportunity to meet.
DuPont’s decision is a measure of the index’s power within the investor community and the industry itself. Toxicity is becoming a mainstream concern, and ChemScore meets a need for reliable data and insight.
What we now know about DuPont’s toxic chemical production
DuPont has responded to our request for more transparency about the company’s chemicals management, so it no longer received a zero in this year’s ChemScore, and moved up from bottom of the ranking to 46th place. But much is still unknown about DuPont’s production and use of hazardous chemicals:
To demonstrate a commitment to transparency, DuPont should disclose both the share of revenue and production volume of products that are, or contain, hazardous chemicals. This information should cover all operations, including subsidiaries, worldwide.
Saudi company SABIC provides a good example of how to do this, as it has disclosed its full chemicals portfolio, including production volumes and locations.
