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GreenBiz 350 Podcast

Episode 191: DuPont melds innovation and tech, climate conundrum for shipping, steel

Featured this week: Alexa Dembek, the chief technology and sustainability officer for DuPont, and Ned Harvey, managing director at Rocky Mountain Institute.

Week in Review

Commentary on this week's featured stories starts at 5:35. 

Features

Transport, steel and the economics of climate change (21:30)

When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, some energy-intensive industries are particularly "hard to abate" such as shipping, trucking, aviation, steel and mining — the sectors responsible for gathering and transporting many resources relied on by the global economy. We spoke with Ned Harvey, managing director of the industry program at Rocky Mountain Institute, on the new push within these sectors to address climate change.

How DuPont is blending sustainability with innovation (31:05)

Very few people don't know the DuPont name, but the "new DuPont" has a very different mission from the original company founded as a gunpowder mill more than 200 years ago. We chat with the company's chief technology and sustainability officer, Alexa Dembek, about why the executive leadership decided to align its technology innovation and sustainability initiatives under one team. Plus, why the company has connected its new mission closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

*Music in this episode by Lee Rosevere: "Trying Anything Once," "Wandering," "Arcade Montage" and "Here's The Thing"

What's new at GreenBiz?

Building a climate-resilient future. Join us for an interactive discussion about how to better anticipate, prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This session at 1 p.m. EST Oct. 1 will offer a deep dive on the collaboration between AT&T and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, which will enable the massive telecommunications company to visualize how rising sea levels, wildfires and shifting flood plains might affect its business operations now — and 30 years into the future. Register for the free webcast.

Pick up the pace toward a zero-carbon future. Many organizations are prioritizing carbon emissions reductions — through energy efficiency, renewables procurement and other measures — but only 15 percent are on the track to meet their goals. Join us on our next interactive webcast at 1 p.m. EST Oct. 15 for ways to accelerate progress from new data disclosure strategies to accessing supply chain risks to ideas for aligning climate action roadmaps to material business issues. 

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