Dow Chemical reduced production-related waste by more than 17% between 2005 through 2010, company says; recent U.S. EPA report showed that 97% of Dow's waste in 2010 was managed through treatment, recycling and energy recovery

Alison Gallant

MIDLAND, Michigan , January 9, 2012 (press release) – The Dow Chemical Company’s use of regulator-preferred waste management practices at its manufacturing facilities in the United States was reflected today in a report issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The report showed that 97% of Dow’s TRI waste in 2010 was managed through treatment, recycling, and energy recovery – all of which are part of the EPA's preferred approach to materials management.

Dow’s ranking on the report’s list of waste-generating companies reflects the relative size, scale, and complexity of Dow’s operations compared to other chemical producers. With more than 250 production units at 55 manufacturing sites and over 25,000 employees across the country, Dow is the largest chemical manufacturer in the United States.

“Dow is committed to managing waste from our facilities in a responsible manner,” said David E. Kepler, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer, “We utilize the best available technology to ensure our waste management practices are in accordance with the EPA’s preferred methods.”

The utilization of waste management best practices is one of many reasons Dow is an established industry leader in environment, health, and safety (EH&S):

Eliminating Waste at the Source

Between 2005 and 2010, Dow reduced total production-related waste over 17 percent, even after a significant company expansion with the purchase of Rohm and Haas in 2009.
This achievement is attributed to concerted, worldwide efforts to eliminate waste at the source.
More than 20 years ago, Dow initiated “Waste Reduction Always Pays” (W.R.A.P.) – a worldwide program to focus employee efforts on waste reduction.

Workplace Safety

Dow continues to implement its worldwide “Drive to Zero” safety campaign, with the goal of significantly reducing and/or eliminating EH&S incidents at all Dow facilities.
The injury/illness rate for Dow workers is 20 times lower than the national U.S. manufacturing injury/illness rate reported for 2008 – in fact, it is 20 times safer to work at Dow than the average U.S. grocery store.
The Company’s prestigious record was acknowledged in 2010 when it became the first chemical company to earn the prestigious Robert W. Campbell award from the National Safety Council for leadership in EH&S.

Sustainability & Environmental Protection

Dow continues to make significant progress toward achieving its 2015 Sustainability Goals – a decade-long commitment to strengthening relationships within the communities in which Dow operates, continuing to improve our product stewardship and innovation to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, and minimizing our global footprint.
As of third quarter 2011, Dow reduced Loss of Primary Containment incidents by 70 percent compared to 2005 baseline performance levels.
Since 1994, Dow has saved over 1,800 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy through operational efficiency and conservation efforts – this is equal to the amount of electricity consumed at all homes in California over a 20-month period.
Dow's portfolio of insulation products, which includes STYROFOAM™ brand residential and commercial construction insulation, avert more than six times the Company's own CO2 emissions from operations on an annual basis.
In January 2011, Dow and The Nature Conservancy announced a breakthrough 5-year collaboration to determine the value of ecosystems services to Dow’s operations, with models and findings to be shared publicly for the benefit of the science community and other companies.
Dow's sustainability leadership has resulted in a number of third-party recognitions, including “Advanced”-level reporting status with the United Nations Global Compact, a "2010 Leaders of Change" award from the United Nations Office for Partnerships and The Foundation for Social Change, and an unprecedented seventh U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award.
Dow was also recently named to the Dow Jones Sustainable World Index for the 11th time.
Dow earned an “A+” for the fourth year in a row from the Global Reporting Initiative for its annual Sustainability Report.

Product Transparency

Dow leads the industry in product transparency with over 300 Product Safety Assessments publicly available today
The Company’s goal is to post safety assessments for all of the Company’s products by 2015.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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