Dow Chemical Company Summary

Brief Description of Dow Chemical:

Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in approximately 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products.

In 2008, the company had annual sales of $57.5 billion and employed approximately 46,000 people worldwide. Dow has 150 manufacturing sites in 35 countries and produces approximately 3,300 products. On April 1, 2009, Dow acquired Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company with sales of $10 billion in 2008, 98 manufacturing sites in 30 countries and approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. Visit the Dow website for more information.

Dow Chemical and Climate Change:

Since 1990, Dow has reduced its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 percent, a more rapid reduction than required by Kyoto Protocol targets. Since 1994, Dow has saved 1,600 trillion BTU of energy through the company’s energy efficiency program. This savings is equivalent to the energy needed to generate the electricity used in all the residential houses in California for one year. Dow’s energy efficiency program has resulted in energy savings of $8.6 billion dollars. Additionally, these reductions prevented 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

Read the Dow Energy and Climate Change Vision Paper or visit the Dow Sustainability website to learn more about the company’s work on climate change.

Providing humanity with a sustainable energy supply while addressing climate change is the most urgent environmental issue our society faces.

Dow operates at the nexus between energy and all the manufacturing that occurs in the world today. Over 90% of the products made have some level of chemistry in them, so no one has more at stake in the solution or more of an ability to impact the overlapping issues of energy supply and climate change – than we do.

Dow will be implementing its solutions in the context of the wedge stabilization model developed by Professors Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala of Princeton University. We will hold ourselves accountable to apply our innovation and expertise in helping to solve the world’s GHG and energy challenges.

As a world leader in chemistry, Dow is uniquely positioned to continue to provide innovations that lead to energy alternatives, less carbon intensive raw material sources, and other solutions not yet imagined. In fact, our science and technology has been contributing solutions to the global climate change and energy challenges since 1990. Our science has led to the development of alternative energy sources such as biofuels, photovoltaics and wind. Our products contribute to reduced energy consumption.

Dow Chemical’s Climate Change Targets:

• Reduce energy intensity by 25 percent from 2005 to 2015.
• By 2015, reduce GHG intensity per pound of produced product by 2.5 percent annually (2005 baseline).
• By 2025, Dow has committed to stop the growth of absolute greenhouse gas emissions within the company (and absolute emissions will remain below the 1990 baseline).

CEO:

Andrew N. Liveris

Dow Resources:

Monitor Dow’s progress:  http://www.dow.com/commitments/pbreports/index.htm

Find Dow in the Carbon Disclosure Project:  http://www.cdproject.net/company-homepage.asp?id=1014