Focus - The Dow Chemical Company

We are committed to delivering long-term value for our
stockholders, employees, communities and society.
At Dow, we understand and embrace
the need to be a responsible corporate
citizen. We are committed to the principles
of sustainable development and the Triple
Bottom Line business model of economic
prosperity, environmental stewardship and
social responsibility. We continue to make
tremendous progress, and our results are
reported via the Dow Global Public Report
(http://www.dowpublicreport.com).
We remain dedicated to improving the
quality of life in the communities where
we operate and throughout society in
general. From our leading environmental
health and safety practices and the development
of sustainable technologies, to
our dedication to corporate contributions
and volunteerism, we aspire to earn the
satisfaction and support of this key
stakeholder group.
Dow actively explores ways to reduce
our overall environmental impact and
improve manufacturing efficiencies. Our
focus on recycling chlorine demonstrates
that the two goals can go hand-in-hand.
In 2005, we expect to have increased our
recovery and reuse of chlorine by 1.3 billion
pounds from 1995—the equivalent
of two world-scale plants. We have also
reduced the amount of flaring—the controlled
combustion of process gases—
at our hydrocarbons facilities by 20 percent
since 1998, and remain committed
to further reductions. Although flaring is
an important safety practice, the noise,
smoke, heat and light it produces impact
community residents; and burning valuable
products has a negative impact on Dow’s
bottom line.
Our commitment to ethical business
practices is a critical element of our
accountability to stakeholders. Dow’s
Board of Directors plays an important role
in Dow’s corporate governance practices
(see pages 4-5). Additionally, high ethical
standards are built into company culture,
as employees operate around the world
according to an established Dow Code
of Business Conduct. The Company’s
Finance employees specifically are
required to adhere to a Financial Code of
Ethics, and standardized global financial
work processes help ensure integrity and
timeliness in our financial statements.
Operating under the auspices of the
Audit Committee of Dow’s Board, a highly
experienced internal auditing function
exists to
evaluate the
adequacy of financial
and operating controls for
Dow’s global operations. Dow’s
Office of Global Ethics and Compliance
provides employees with guidelines for
ethical conduct and a means of reporting
potential violations, as well as implementing
global training programs.
We recognize that our greatest
competitive advantage is Dow’s 50,000
employees. Therefore, we are committed
to maintaining their satisfaction. Our comprehensive
People Strategy addresses
Dow’s ability to attract and retain outstanding
professionals, provide them
with continuous learning, encourage
performance excellence, achieve diversity
and develop leaders at all levels.
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