7.15.2008 - 02:30pm ET

(CSRwire) Sao Paulo - July 15, 2008 - Today, Dow Latin America hosted nearly 800 people from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and the United States at its first forum on sustainability in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event - Dow Sustainability Forum - Latin America - People, Planet, Future - was aimed at accelerating sustainable business strategies through a dialogue and collaboration among employees, customers, partners, and communities. The event kicked off Dow's first Sustainability Week - established to create new mindsets and unbiased actions towards stewardship of environment, health, and diversity as keys to the future.

"We've put ourselves on record as a company that is setting the standard for sustainability and, with the Latin American forum, hope to acclerate understanding of the relationship between people, our planet and our companies," said Pedro Suarez, president for Dow Latin America. "Sustainability is a key driver for our business strategy right along with talent management, investing for growth, and maintaining financial discipline, but achieving a sustainable future is not possible without unprecedented collaborations and partnerships."

Neil Hawkins, global vice president of sustainability at Dow, challenged the audience to drive sustainability through bold goals and transparent metrics. Adam Werbach, regarded as one of the world's major experts in sustainability and CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi S, delivered the forum's keynote address. Werbach challenged all to reach across typical barriers and work together for solutions to world problems, but also to match Dow's commitment of improving energy efficiency by 25 percent by 2015. The forum concluded with a call for commitments to bringing new ideas to Dow and convene again in 2010.

About Dow

With annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, 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 around 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. 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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