DuPont today announced the addition of Dr. Jason Clay to its external Biotechnology Advisory Panel. Clay is vice president for the Center for Conservation Innovation at the World Wildlife Fund. He joins the ranks of five other distinguished panel members who bring important and diverse viewpoints to the broad area of biotechnology and its application in agriculture, food and bio-based materials.

“Jason Clay’s extensive work to identify and analyze better management practices to reduce the environmental and social impacts of agriculture will prove invaluable as we work toward achieving our expanded business sustainability commitments that address safety, environment, energy and climate change in the global marketplace,” said DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr. “His expertise and global perspectives, as well as those of our other panel members, are assets to our decision-making process as we bring new products to market.”

Clay has spent more than 20 years working with human rights and environmental organizations. In the 1980s, he was one of the inventors of “green marketing” and established a trading company that developed markets for rainforest products with nearly 200 companies in the United States and Europe.

More recently, he has been engaged in detailed examinations of the social and environmental impacts of commodity production. In 1999, he created the Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment Consortium to help address the environmental and social impacts of shrimp aquaculture. Clay was also founder and editor of the award-winning Cultural Survival Quarterly, the largest circulation anthropology and human rights publication in the world.

Established in 2000, the DuPont external Biotechnology Advisory Panel is an independent panel charged with providing counsel to guide DuPont’s actions, help create positions on important issues, as well as challenge the organization in the development, testing and commercialization of new products based on biotechnology.

In addition to Clay, the other panel members include:

• Dr. Marcelo Carvalho de Andrade, an accomplished advocate of sustainable community development and environmental preservation and restoration. He is the founding chairman of Pro-Natura, the first international nongovernmental organization headquartered in the southern hemisphere to specialize in sustainable development.

• Father Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., research associate professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Father FitzGerald is internationally known and sought after for his expertise in human genetic engineering, cloning and stem cell research.

• Chebet Maikut, president of the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), one of the largest farming organizations in Uganda. He has been a catalyst to improve agricultural practices, incomes and overall quality of life for farmers in Africa.

• Dr. V. Prakash, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is internationally known for his work in sustainable food and nutrition security. As a scientist in the area of biotechnology, Dr. Prakash has won a large number of awards and is a member of several international committees.

• Dr. Sven Thormahlen, vice president of the Research and Development Organization of the Danone Group, a world leading company in the field of dairy products, biscuits and mineral water. Thormahlen’s experience covers product research, product development, clinical studies and quality assurance.

The work of the advisory panel is facilitated by the Keystone Center, a non-profit organization based in Keystone, Colo., which includes a regular audit of DuPont's progress in the biotechnology arena. This public report is available at http://www.dupont.com/biotech. 

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.