DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O Holliday, Jr called on the United States to improve its global competitiveness by setting specific goals and then driving to achieve them in definite timeframes.
Holliday spoke this week at the Detroit Economic Club in the US. Holliday called on the US government to consider a Manhattan-style project for the 21st century that would deliver both a reduced dependence on oil and a cleaner energy future.
He referred to it as the “Detroit Project,” a national programme to develop a new, energy-efficient vehicle. The new vehicle would be designed with the highest safety and environmentally responsible standards in mind with a goal of delivering vehicle designs that achieve 75 miles per gallon.
Funding for the program could come from a US savings bonds program to stimulate US personal savings and provide financing for US infrastructure investments like the Detroit Project. This savings bond program is an initiative suggested by the US Council on Competitiveness.
"The Detroit Project would redeploy the best, most dedicated people to a project that would deliver in less than two years a critical factor in the successful rejuvenation of the US economy," Holliday said. "DuPont would be interested in participating in a project like this and we know other companies would join as well."
“The new reality is characterised by increased demand for natural resources while availability is decreasing,” Holliday said. “Growth in demand for consumer durables, coupled with infrastructure needs in large, formerly constrained economies, is having an impact on both natural resources and food. The cost of everything that comes out of the ground has increased.
“As industries shift to address the new reality, innovative, science-based products that provide the solutions must lead the way. Speed, agility and transformative science are needed today as never before.
Success during this time is ultimately going to come down to two very key concepts: sustainability and competitiveness. Without sustainability, it will be hard for a business to remain competitive in the new reality.
He said, “if all of us with a stake in the auto industry join forces in a compelling way, we believe we can create a car of the future that could positively impact two things we care about today: the environment and the economy.”
