A Case Study of How DuPont Reduced Its Environment Footprint: The Role of Organizational Change in Sustainability

This dissertation examines the actions, decisions, interactions, and operations undertaken by DuPont from 1989 to 2008 that enabled it to transform into a sustainable organization. Specifically, this dissertation examines the role of organizational change in sustainability exhibited by DuPont during its change process. The researcher in this single case study uses novel theoretical lenses in order to gain insight into the role of organizational change in sustainability, including sustainability theory, organizational change theory, and organizational diagnosis theory. From 1990 to 2008, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 72% and changed its product composition from 100% chemical based to 70% chemical based (and 30% biological matter based). Two major findings of this research study were determining some of the conditions in which business strategy and sustainability support one another and the criticality of social responsibility.