The Ozone Threat: Managing With Uncertainty

This case discusses the issues facing the Dupont Company, the largest producer of the one billion pounds of fluorocarbons (valued at $450 million) manufactured in the United States in 1974. The company was facing a backlash for the harmful effects of its products, which was being charged with decreasing the ozone layer surrounding the earth which protects its residents from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.

Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are compounds made up of combinations of the elements chlorine, fluorine and carbon; aerosols, refrigerants and foams contain CFCs. When these CFCs enter the air, they rise up into the atmosphere to meet up with and destroy ozone molecules. First used in 1928, CFCs have since become more common as various other CFC compounds were created. Some of the better-known CFCs are the Freon compounds, which were used as cooling ingredients in refrigerators and air conditioners. (www.science.opposingviews.com).

Several scientific studies have confirmed that If CFCs continue proliferating in the upper atmosphere, it will lead to the eventual degradation of the ozone layer. However, there are also some credible reports which gives the opposing view that ozone depletion came as the result of sources other than CFCs.

As pointed out in the Journal of Business Ethics, “the real test of business ethics is how well it can handle issues in which the right course is not certain and in which there are no exact precedents.” Indeed, as the chairman of the Dupont board said, “why should they be prejudged…before any answers are found?”

Initially, Dupont was coming from an economic mindset; as the leading producer of CFC, it was in its best interest to protect a multimillion-dollar industry. Subsequently, when public opinion was turning, they utilized a political framework by actively blocking the passage of key legislation that would have limited the production of CFCs. Eventually when the scientific community were mostly unilateral in their condemnation of products using CFCs, Dupont used an ethical strategy by actively pursuing the signing of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to phase out production of ozone-depleting products.

Uncertainty is a part of the operating reality of any business. When the uncertainty of the ozone depletion of CFCs was becoming an issue, Dupont should be guided not only by its mission and vision, but also by the core values that the company espouses. They should have asked not only “What is our product?” but also “What does our company represent?”