The earth's population has grown by more than five billion people over the past century, and in the next four decades, it will grow by two billion more.¹ With a booming population comes the urgent need for sustainable sources of energy, affordable food supply, adequate housing, and clean water. As chemistry provides the building blocks for more than 95 percent of the world’s produced goods, uncovering sustainable chemistry solutions is critical to meeting these global needs. According to The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), key to developing these solutions is building a robust global dialogue that offers public and private sectors the opportunity to collaborate around sustainable chemistry in new and innovative ways.

On Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. ET, 30 leading global thinkers will convene during The Future of Sustainable Chemistry, a virtual conference, to explore how sustainable chemistry can be used to help solve some of the world’s most complex challenges. The 30 speakers presented in the online conference are on the forefront of sustainable chemistry, striving to understand, teach and facilitate an important shift occurring in chemistry today. Featured speakers include: John Warner, co-founder of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, Tariq Banur, director of the Division for Sustainable Development at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; John Elkington, author and co-founder of SustainAbility; and Daniel Esty, professor of environmental law and policy at Yale University, and co-author of Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.

“Collaboration between chemists, industry, academia, NGOs and government is essential to uncover truly sustainable solutions to meet complex global challenges,” said Theresa Kotanchek, vice president of Sustainable Technologies at The Dow Chemical Company. “Through an open, online forum, The Future of Sustainable Chemistry will help move the conversation forward, and encourage global collaboration to help build a safer, cleaner and more sustainable world for future generations.”

During the online conference, which is open to all at http://futurewecreate.com, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a real-time online discussion, building a rich global dialogue. Attendees will also have the opportunity to interact with featured speakers and other participants via digital and social media channels, adding their voices to the overall dialogue on sustainable chemistry. Leading up to the event, visitors will be able to preview a trailer describing the conference as well as see a full listing of conference speakers. Follow The Future We Create on Facebook and Twitter to participate.

The Future of Sustainable Chemistry is the third virtual conference in The Future We Create series. The first and second virtual conferences, The Future of Women in Chemistry and Science, and The Future of Water, were held earlier in the year, as part of Dow’s commitment to help encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of the science during the International Year of Chemistry (IYC).

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: 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 deliver 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.

• Twittercue: The Future of Sustainability will explore how sustainable chemistry can be used to help solve world challenges #IYC2011 #FutureWeCreate 
• Twittercue: 30 global leaders virtually convene on how the power of chemistry can create a sustainable future #IYC2011 #FutureWeCreate

OLD - Dow Chemical Company

OLD - Dow Chemical Company

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.