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DuPont Corporation: Built on Values
Janet Millard
School of Business, Liberty University
Busi570 Ethical Leadership
Dr. Kimberly Anthony
September 27, 2020
Author Note
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Abstract
The DuPont corporation located in Wilmington, Delaware has a 200-year history of manufacture
of hazardous, but vital products. Beginning as a gunpowder manufacturer and then morphing
into one of the world’s most successful chemical research and development corporations,
DuPont has developed products that are useful in everyday life and products that protect our law
enforcement and military as well as our homes. These developments have been lucrative for the
corporation and the du Pont family, which has allowed the du Ponts and DuPont to be very
generous to their employees and the surrounding communities. This paper will give an overview
of the rich history of the du Pont family and the DuPont corporation. There are great successes in
research and development, but also a few safety failures that they have been able to overcome.
The company learned from its shortcomings and has become the greenest company in the United
States.
Keywords: DuPont, gunpowder, hazardous chemicals, chemical spills, generosity,
stewardship
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DuPont Corporation: Built on Values
Over the past several decades, the demise of companies like Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco
sent shock waves through the financial community. What caused the collapse of these national
and multinational organizations and what could have prevented this fall? It is important to look
at the entire organization from the top-level executives down through the ranks. The three
companies listed were involved in scandals brought on by unethical behaviors (Smith-Crowe et
al., 2015). The lack of a formal structure that promotes ethics and values can leave a company
vulnerable to bad practices and ethical scandals. Smith-Crowe et al. (2015) state that companies
that have been embroiled in ethical dilemmas will often replace their informal structure with a
formal ethical infrastructure. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 mandated formal systems
to ensure the ethical financial reporting and a requirement that all publicly held corporations
appoint a Chief Compliance Officer. The SOX Act’s purpose is hold publicly held companies
accountable, but all non-publicly held companies are not held to these same standards.
Unfortunately, this leaves most of the nation’s companies without federal mandates or
regulations. The success of an organization is dependent on a strong foundation built on moral
norms, ethics, and values (Mea & Sims, 2019).
The DuPont Corporation History
The DuPont corporation, founded by E.I. du Pont, has been part of the United States’
landscape since 1802 (Our History, n.d.). E.I. du Pont began his career in the manufacture of
gunpowder, at the age of 14, in France’s central powder agency. The first du Pont powder mill
opened on July 19, 1802 on along the Brandywine River in Delaware. E.I. has been credited with
the start of modern process safety when he ensured separation distances and blast zones when he
built his powder mills (Kerin, 2016). The company continued manufacturing gun powder until
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the early 1900’s. The DuPont company became very successful and it was during this time that
E.I du Pont displayed his values. He was always an advocate for positive change, supported
poverty relief, free public education and, assistance for the blind (Our History, n.d.). In the early
1900’s, the Du Pont company began to evolve away from the gun powder business. They had a
robust research department that enabled the company to enter the synthetic dyes and chemicals
that had been cut off from the United States due to the first World War. Throughout the 20th
century the company emerged as a leading chemical company and made many advances in the
manufacture of synthetic, fire retardant, and bullet proof materials.
In early 1920, DuPont released its first artificial silk known as rayon (Our History, n.d.).
Rayon led the way to further research and the invention of the first fiber made completely by
chemical, Nylon. Nylon was used in women’s lingerie, hose and eventually cordage for tires.
The research and development did not stop there with the development of paints, cellophane, and
plastics. In 1924, DuPont began manufacturing 35mm cinematic film. One of the most important
developments was that of freon. This refrigerant allowed for food refrigeration, air conditioning
and Teflon for non-stick cooking. In the 1970s, freon was found to be an ozone depleting agent.
In response to this finding, DuPont began an immediate phase out of the manufacture of freon
and began research to find replacement chemicals that would not affect the earth’s ozone.
One of the most important fiber invented is Kevlar, a fabric that is highly elastic with
high tensile strength (Smith-Crowe et al., 2015). This is the material that is found in bullet proof
vests for our law enforcement and military members. Research and improvements to the material
continues today. DuPont continues its tradition of research and development of new and
improved chemical, fabrics, paint, and plastics. The 200-year history of DuPont is a remarkable
example of ingenuity, research, and development.
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Dupont’s Corporate Values
From the inception of DuPont, E.I du Pont was always an advocate for positive change
and supported poverty relief, free public education, and assistance for the blind (Our Values,
n.d.). Values remain important in the DuPont corporation 200 years later, and they are prominent
in all aspects of the organization. Their five core values are safety and health, respect for people,
highest ethical behavior, and protecting the planet. These values are reflected in the
organization’s literature, departmental objectives, and daily operations.
Safety and Health
“We’re committed to protecting the safety and health of our employees, out contractors,
out customers, and the people in the communities where we operate.” (Our Values, n.d.). The
company was built with a core value of safety and managing the hazards of the business (Kerin,
2016). E.I. had once stated that to ensure safety, you must understand the hazards. The
manufacture of gunpowder was extremely hazardous, and the company sought to mitigate this by
building its plants in rural areas with distance between buildings. The employees could have no
pockets to ensure no matches, or metal was brought into the mill. Metal buttons were also
forbidden in the mill. Even with these precautions there were 288 explosions between 1804 and
1921. The worst accident in the DuPont history occurred in 1818 resulting in 34 deaths. Each
incident had a rigorous investigation that resulted in plant redesigns that further decreased the
chance another incident. In 1911, DuPont held a corporate management meeting three points
were discussed: operations safety, product quality, and cost (Our Values, n.d.). The result was
the creation of Safety Commissions that were created to created prevention measures. They
developed formal rules, policies, and procedures to mitigate and report all incidents and injuries.
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When DuPont acquired existing companies, they would find high injury rates. After applying
their principles, the following years would show an extreme decrease in the injury rate.
Respect for People
Human dignity is a value as old as creation. In Genesis, God made man in his own image
and likeness and therefore all men should be treated with human dignity (Alejo Jose et al., 2016).
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) describes human dignity as a basic condition of humanity and
that with this dignity all human beings are equal. Secular person’s may not prescribe to the
Biblical teachings, but if you examine the United Nations Universal Declaration you will find
that both speak to treating all humans equally and with dignity (Alejo Jose et al., 2016).
E.I. du Pont believed in the dignity of humans and this was shown in his support of his
workers and in his community. The care for fellow humans did not end with E.I. (Nagengast,
2014) T. Coleman du Pont built the du Pont highway that links Wilmington and Sussex county
more than 100-years ago. Pierre S. du Pont was the financier of school construction throughout
the state, 86 schools for black children and 26 for white children. Alfred I. du Pont cared for
needy elderly Delaware residents by creating a pension plan that he self-funded. Alfred’s
philanthropy was integral to the creation of the Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in
Wilmington, Delaware.
The generosity of the du Pont family and their descendants lives on today. Current
projects that are beneficiaries of the du Pont funding include the United Way of Delaware, the
Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, and Wilmington Hospital expansion projects. The bulk of the
investments go towards science initiatives that concentrate on global issues such as hunger,
energy and protection of people and the environment (Nagengast, 2014). Future projects for the
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company are also concentrating on solutions to feed the population through agriculture, health,
and nutrition.
Highest Ethical Behavior & Protecting the Planet
While the DuPont literature lists these two values separately, information gleaned from
the literature review indicates that they would be most effective considered together. The du Pont
family and the DuPont corporation have always had the highest regard for the employees and the
community. Throughout their 200-years of industry, decisions were made with the company,
employees, and the community in mind. When any accidents or incidents would occur, they were
not ignored or hidden. They were thoroughly investigated and each time it was found that a
different design of a plant would better protect from injury and damage, they company made the
changes.
DuPont worked tirelessly to ensure the health and wellbeing of their employees and the
surrounding communities in the 19th Century. However, DuPont had a terrible environmental
record during 20th century and was listed as one of the nation’s worst polluters (Rome, 2019).
DuPont has been the target of multiple lawsuits that involve the contamination of water sources
caused by leaks. In 1989, the DuPont committed to making sustainability a priority and by 2005,
Dupont was named the greenest company in the United States. This turn-around
Biblical Value
Generosity
“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”
Proverbs 22:9 (NIV).
Generosity is a value that is found throughout the Bible and is visible in both Christian
and secular society. The Bible encourages kindness and generosity with others and generosity
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will be returned to us by God. This is seen in Proverbs 11:24, (NIV) “One gives freely, yet grows
all the richer, another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” When this verse is
considered, it is can be inferred that generosity reaps reward, while greed is returned with denial.
A company, especially a large corporation is inherently part of the local community. The
community supplies the corporation with workers. Those workers have families and they
purchase necessities from stores, visit doctors and medical facilities and attend religious services
all in the community the company is located. This network of suppliers and consumers make up
the economy of the community. This economy allows the corporation to grow and thrive.
Companies in the modern, secular community can be consumed with making a profit and
lose sight of the needs of their employees, the company, and needs of the community. When this
happens, everyone loses. Unhappy employees will look for other employment, families move,
the local businesses suffer and the economic outlook for the community drops. Conversely, the
corporation that invests in their employees, the company and the community will continue to
thrive and leave a legacy. Generosity does not need to be monetary. One can be generous with
money, but also time, kindness, and stewardship. When God placed man in the Garden of Eden,
he instructed him to cultivate the land. God entrusted the care of His creation to Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve were not good stewards of the Garden and took advantage of God’s generosity.
This resulted in the expulsion from the Garden and a life of hardship.
Generosity in Business
Corporate philanthropy is generosity in the form of offering corporate resources below
market prices (Block et al., 2015). Benefits of financial corporate philanthropy (FCP) is
documented to result in better stakeholder relationships, improved corporate reputation,
increased employee attitude and well-being, and stronger community ties. Corporate generosity
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can be found in employee benefits, allowing employees to volunteer time for certain community
causes, and donations to community projects.
Dupont’s Generosity
In each of Dupont’s core values discussed, the biblical value of generosity can be found.
The Dupont company history shows a long-standing commitment to helping the community be
better place. Dupont is well known for its philanthropic activities and support of community in
Delaware and in the other communities in which they have holdings. This generosity has been
seen throughout the 200-year history of the company. The evidence of corporate generosity
begins in the early 1800’s when E.I. du Pont was very active in his community. He supported the
poor, the blind, and was a proponent of free public education (Our History, n.d.). This
community involvement extended into the workplace. As stated previously, the gun powder
manufacturing was very hazardous, and the company took precautions to mitigate injury, loss of
life, and property damage. This was done in part by purchasing rural land that would not affect
the surrounding community in the event of an accident. The buildings were also placed a
distance from each other to ensure that there would not be a chain reaction in the event of an
explosion. As a show of respect to the employees, anytime a new machine or plant opened, one
of the owner’s or a family member was the first to start the operation. This was to protect the
employees and only one of the du Ponts would be placed at risk.
During the past century, the Dupont family and the corporation have remained active in
the community. A. I. du Pont is responsible for the Nemours/A. I du Pont Children’s Hospital in
Wilmington, Delaware and the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Florida. They are also
responsible for road infrastructure projects and the building of schools for both black and white
children. Eleven direct descendants of E.I. du Pont have been executives of the company through
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the mid-20th century. There are still many descendants in the Wilmington area that serve on
boards of various organizations and non-profits (Our History, n.d.).
Decision Making with Generosity
Dupont’s generosity can be found in the organization’s commitment to being good
stewards of the environment. Following a dismal 20th century marked with chemical spills and
lawsuits resulting from those spills, Dupont committed to becoming socially responsible and
instituted changes in their practices (Nagengast, 2014). The results from this commitment were
extraordinary and rewarded with being named the United States’ greenest company in 2004.
There have been no further incidents or new lawsuits filed against the company since that time.
The commitment to being a good steward of the planet is one of the earliest wishes of God when
he commanded Adam and Eve to cultivate the earth and care for all the creatures on the earth, in
the sea, and in the air (Genesis 1:27-29, NIV).
Lessons Learned
Dupont began as a gunpowder manufacturer, an extremely hazardous industry. Dupont
held the communities they belonged to and their employees in high regard. In the first century,
there were accidents, but relatively low fatalities. However, in the 2nd century of business, they
grew and branched out into multiple geographic areas and began manufacturer many more
products, some equally as hazardous as gunpowder manufacturing. There were multiple cases of
chemical leaks that poisoned the ground water of the very communities they were a part. It is not
clear why these leaks occurred, but the handling of the cases was initially lacking in empathy and
compassion towards the victims. Dupont did reverse course in the 1980’s-1990’s with admirable
success.
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Summary
The Dupont company has had a 200-year history of doing business. During this time, the
company went through multiple changes in product type beginning with gunpowder and then
morphing into the chemical industry. The research and development departments in Dupont are
responsible for many of the synthetic fabrics on the market, Teflon, Tyvek and most importantly
Kevlar. These inventions have changed life for many people across the globe. The company also
had many setbacks during this time. Multiple explosions during the manufacture of gunpowder
occurred, thankfully with low loss of human life. The company learned from each incident and
continually improved their processes. The movement into chemicals resulted into several
incidents that resulted in harm to the surrounding communities and the residents. Dupont has
made changes to processes and is now known as the greenest company in the United States.
Dupont has exhibited generosity throughout their long history. From donations to the
needy, funding schools, the arts, and infrastructure to the endowments to two large children’s
hospitals, Dupont has given generously to those they live with. There was a time that Dupont
was one of the nation’s worst polluter and is now one of the greenest companies. Dupont has
learned from its mistakes and at times failed to uphold their duty to their employees and
surrounding communities, but it is clear that as a family and a company the legacy of E.I. du
Pont has touched the lives of people across the globe and shows no sign of slowing down.
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