Dow Collaborates to Create Sustainable Vision of the World in 2050

BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

By 2050, global population will grow by 2-3 billion people, grassland and forestland will decrease 10-20 percent, and reactive nitrogen, which increases atmospheric ozone levels, will have increased by 66 percent. To aid and advance human progress toward dealing with these changes, The Dow Chemical Company DOW, a global partner for the United Nations–designated 2011 International Year of Chemistry (IYC), will join public and private sector leaders at today's IYC closing event to present chemistry's role in creating healthy, productive and prosperous lives. That role includes solutions that enable clean water, crop productivity, food safety, building efficiency and abundant enough energy to fuel prosperity.

The IYC closing event, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize Award to Marie Curie, will take place under the theme “The world in 2050: our expectations from the life sciences, chemistry, industry and governments to build a better world by 2050.” Dow will join Nobel laureates, politicians, industry and NGO leaders to share views on how chemistry provides solutions to major challenges facing mankind around several megatrends: increasing population and urbanization; increasing health risks; economic growth and globalization; accelerating technological changes; stresses on energy supply and natural resources; climate change and declining ecosystem services.

“A sustainable future can only begin with innovation driven by collaboration between thought leaders in both the public and private sectors,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow Chairman and CEO. “In the coming decades, our planet will face many challenges. The International Year of Chemistry has provided us with an opportunity to leverage our expertise and global reach to broker relationships that will lead to innovations and sustainable solutions to solve those challenges. Our collective future depends on what answers we develop today – to ensure a healthy planet for tomorrow.”

Additional Dow investments in 2012 will continue to reinforce the goals of IYC to key stakeholder audiences - increasing public appreciation of chemistry, encouraging students to pursue careers in science, and generating enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry to solve world challenges, including:

• As a Worldwide Olympic Partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and National Olympic Committees around the globe, Dow is leveraging science to help the Olympic Games fulfill its goal of a Sustainable Games. The Company is supporting the Olympic Games and host cities through 2020 by providing solutions that are more sustainable, safer and higher performing. At the 2012 London Games, Dow is providing environmentally friendly wire and cabling components, as well as roof and floor insulation materials to improve energy efficiency.
• Dow is the sole corporate sponsor of an international chemistry competition for high school students, held from July 21 – 30, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Students from more than 70 nations will participate in exams, laboratory work and scientific and cultural excursions intended to stimulate student interest in chemistry, foster international relationships and exchange of knowledge in chemistry.
• The next virtual conference in Dow's Future We Create thought leadership series, held January 24, 2012, will focus on increasing access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. To date, the Future We Create series has featured more than 100 experts giving perspectives on specific themes such as water and sustainable chemistry, engaging approximately 55,000 viewers across 100 countries.

Dow scientists will participate in the closing event's IYC Future Leaders Program, featuring young professionals from seven leading chemistry and health care organizations to develop a vision of the world in 2050 enabled by chemistry. These Future Leaders will demonstrate the importance of chemistry in daily life, and its role in solving global challenges while respecting and including the value of our planet's natural systems. The presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion with public and private sector leaders about actions the chemistry sector can take over the next four decades.

Dow's participation in the IYC closing event is the latest in a year-long engagement with more than 200 partners across more than 40 countries to support the IYC objectives of increasing public appreciation of chemistry, encouraging students to pursue careers in science, and generating enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry to solve world challenges.

For more information on Dow's involvement in IYC, visit www.dow.com/iyc.

About Dow

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 delivers 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.