|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
5.23.2006 ET
|
CSR News from:
|
|
|
News Category:
|
|
Liveris Announces 2015 Sustainability Goals for Dow
Commitments include new efforts to develop breakthroughs in water, food, housing, health and safety over 10 years
(CSRwire) In an address in Washington, D.C., Andrew Liveris, President, CEO
and Chairman of The Dow Chemical Company, announced the company's
sustainability goals for the next decade.
Speaking to leaders of the policy, regulatory, business and environmental
communities at Washington's Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Liveris
outlined an ambitious multi-part program to address some of the most
pressing economic, social and environmental concerns facing the global
community over the next 10 years.
Specifically, among the goals introduced by Liveris today was a commitment
to achieving at least three breakthroughs to address the world's ability to
solve the challenges of affordable and adequate food supply; decent
housing; sustainable water supplies; or improved personal health and
safety.
"As we strive to achieve the goals I've outlined for today, we will reach
beyond the fences of our company," Liveris said. "Sustainability begins at
home, but its destiny is to engage the problems of the world. We will build
on our company's rich legacy of leadership in solving the world's most
pressing problems with a spirit of fearless accountability, not just for
our own footprint on the planet, but the collective footprint we make
because we are part of the human family."
Liveris also announced Dow's commitment to improving the company's energy
efficiency, developing alternative sources of energy and addressing the
challenge of global climate change that has been driven by the consumption
of fossil fuels.
Between 1996 and 2005, Dow has reduced its consumption of fossil fuels per
pound of product by more than 20 percent. Dow's 2015 goals call for further
improvements in energy efficiency of 25 percent over the next decade.
In the area of climate change, Dow's 2015 goals also call for reducing the
company's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 2.5 percent annually
between 2006 and 2015. According to Liveris, the company will achieve this
reduction via a combination of energy efficiency; greater use of
alternative, low GHG emission energy sources; and GHG offsets such as
those permitted under Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) of the 1999 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.
"It is now clear that the world's climate is impacted by increases in
greenhouse gases, of which CO2 created by the burning of fossil fuels, is
the single largest component," Liveris said. "Some have said our
industry's intense appetite for fossil fuels disqualifies us somehow from
being part of the solution. On the contrary, no one in the world is more
intensely aware of the need, ultimately, to reinvent our dependency on oil
and natural gas than we are. In other words, we will lead the way on energy
transformation because we have to."
Summary of Dow's 2015 Goals:
In addition to energy consumption, climate change and the four global
challenges outlined in Liveris's address today, included among the
highlights of Dow's 2015 sustainability commitments are:
Continued improvement in employee health and safety at Dow
locations;
New mechanisms for collaborating with communities where Dow has a
major presence to spearhead efforts to address community concerns and
support community goals;
A renewed and enhanced commitment to "sustainable chemistry,"
including new or enhanced products or services with additional
sustainability benefits;
Increased transparency of Dow products with risk assessments written
for the lay person;
External evaluation and assessment of Dow product safety and product
stewardship processes A full summary of Dow's 2015 Sustainability Goals
are available at www.dowattainability.com
About Dow:
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science
and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range
of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175
countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and
pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on
a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of
$46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or
the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated
subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
|
|
