Dow Expects $1bn Cost Savings by Valuing Nature in Business Decisions

The Dow Chemical Company today announced new sustainability goals, to be accomplished by 2025, which include creating products that offset three times more carbon dioxide than they emit throughout their life cycle and delivering $1 billion in cost savings or new cash flow by valuing nature in business decisions.

Dow’s seven 2025 sustainability goals are:

Goal 1: Leading the Blueprint — Dow will develop, in collaboration with the public and private sector, a “societal blueprint that integrates public policy solutions, science and technology and value chain innovation to facilitate the transition to a sustainable planet and society.” The initial blueprint will be published year-end 2017 and will be updated throughout the goal time frame.

Goal 2: Delivering Breakthrough Innovations —Dow’s product portfolio will have a six-fold net positive impact on sustainable development. Dow products will offset three times more carbon dioxide than they emit throughout their life cycle and save three times more energy than they use throughout their life cycle.

Goal 3: Advancing a Circular Economy — Dow will work with other industry leaders, non-profit organizations and governments to deliver six major projects that facilitate the world’s transition to a circular economy.

Goal 4: Valuing Nature — By valuing nature, Dow will generate $1 billion by 2025 in the form of cost savings or new cash flow as measured by net present value.

Goal 5: Increasing Confidence in Chemical Technology — Dow will work with nonprofit, businesses and government partners to develop predictive modeling capabilities and integrate them into 100 percent of their new product assessments.

Goal 6: Engaging Employees for Impact — Dow employees worldwide will apply their talents to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people. Dow employees will give 600,000 hours to support students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and math education. Dow volunteers will complete 700 sustainability projects around the world.

Goal 7: World-Leading Operations Performance — Dow will reduce its freshwater intake intensity at key water stressed sites and its waste intensity footprint by 20 percent, compared to a 2015 baseline. The company also says it will obtain 400 MW of its power demand from renewable sources and strive to eliminate unplanned safety events.

Dow’s 2025 goals are the company’s third set of sustainability-related goals since 1995. Dow says its 2005 environment, health and safety goals resulted in $5 billion in safety, waste, water and energy savings after a $1 billion investment.