MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) today released its 2016 Sustainability Report, laying a solid foundation with strong first-year results since announcing its 2025 Sustainability Goals. Prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards Comprehensive Option (GRI 102-54), GRI is the most widely used framework for sustainability reporting used globally by businesses, governments and other organizations. The report highlights the successes of Dow’s commitment to redefine the role of business at its intersection with society.

“Our 2025 Sustainability Goals are designed to do nothing less than help redefine the role of business in society,” said Andrew Liveris, chairman and chief executive officer. “By driving unprecedented collaborations, Dow is leading the way in developing societal blueprints that will advance the transition to a more sustainable society and a path to a better, more resilient and more profitable way of doing business.”

Dow’s 2025 Sustainability Goals serve as the next chapter in the Company’s sustainability journey, in which it will take a leadership role in developing societal blueprints that integrate public policy solutions, science and technology, and value chain innovation to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable planet and society. Overall, in the first full year of Dow’s 10-year effort, Dow has already made exciting gains: piloting new business models to rethink waste, developing tools to recognize how natural ecosystems provide business value, and developing blueprints for low-carbon and livable cities.

“Our 2025 Sustainability Goals harness Dow’s innovation strengths, global reach and the passion of our employees,” said Neil Hawkins, chief sustainability officer and corporate vice president, environment, health and safety. “These 10-year goals will deliver long-term value to Dow and sustainable, global solutions for our customers and society.”

Just a few goal achievements from Dow’s first year:

Leading the Blueprint: 100 dialogue sessions conducted. On track for having the first societal blueprint draft by the end of 2017.

Delivering Breakthrough Innovations: Implemented a new generation of Sustainable Chemistry Index and developed business-specific 2025 Sustainability Goals.

Advancing a Circular Economy: 20 projects in progress, including the Hefty® Energy Bag Project – a unique program designed to convert previously non-recycled plastics into energy – and our support to ongoing research with Ocean Conservancy to reduce marine debris.

Valuing Nature: Collaborated with The Nature Conservancy to develop a suite of tools to help businesses place a value on nature in their decision processes. Identified more than $40 million worth of Valuing Nature Goal projects.

The full 2016 Sustainability Report is available on Dow’s website.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world's most challenging problems, such as the need for fresh food, safer and more sustainable transportation, clean water, energy efficiency, more durable infrastructure, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven portfolio delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in 175 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, infrastructure, transportation, consumer care, electronics, and agriculture. In 2016, Dow had annual sales of $48 billion and employed approximately 56,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 7,000 product families are manufactured at 189 sites in 34 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.

^®TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170522005734/en/