The announcement of this transformation comes on the heels of the Company’s support for President Obama’s $6 billion HOMESTAR Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program.
"Increasing energy efficiency is the simplest, most accessible and cheapest way to extend energy supplies while also slashing carbon emissions," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "As a world leader in applied chemistry, Dow is at the forefront of delivering innovative energy and climate change solutions. This is one hallmark example of how Dow is delivering solutions for some of the world’s most critical challenges."
Dow was the first insulation manufacturer in North America to announce its discovery and development of a next-generation foaming agent solution to meet mandatory requirements agreed upon by signatory countries of the Montreal Protocol. The technology development was a significant milestone for Dow, and was the result of a multi-year research effort led by Nobel Prize winning researcher, Simon Lee.
Now all production facilities in North America have successfully converted to the Company’s new, proprietary foaming agent technology, which is zero ozone-depleting and contains no-VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The conversion process was a highly complex, multi-million dollar investment, involving more than 1,000 Dow employees and contractors over a two-year period.
According to Torsten Kraef, Dow Building and Construction Business Group Vice President, the Company has a proud legacy of building solutions that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by the ongoing operation of buildings worldwide.
"Currently, buildings and homes account for over forty percent of all greenhouse gas emissions put into our atmosphere," said Kraef. "Dow has a wide array of products available today to address this challenge and enable our customers and partners to unlock dramatic improvements in the energy and climate change profiles of their businesses and products."
Earlier this year, the suite of STYROFOAM(TM) Brand and other Dow insulation products achieved Cradle to Cradle(R) Certification at the Basic and Silver levels. Cradle to Cradle is a process that assesses products for their ingredients’ human health, environmental health and recyclability profiles. The rigorous, external assessment was conducted by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC, a global sustainability consulting and product certification firm.
Dow continues to accelerate the development of energy alternatives across a variety of industries by investing in the development of materials, technologies and business strategies that enable new breakthrough solutions. Late in 2009, Dow announced it is making solar power an attainable, real, clean energy possibility for consumers through the development of solar technologies like its innovative DOW(TM) POWERHOUSE(TM) Solar Shingles. Through investment in its joint venture, Dow Kokam, the Company is developing next generation battery technology to power hybrid and electric vehicles.
"We’re proud to continue to raise the bar on our own sustainability commitments, while meeting the next generation energy needs of consumers," said Kraef.
Dow Building Solutions has a 60+ year legacy of providing energy saving solutions to the global commercial and residential construction industry, which began with the launch of its flagship STYROFOAM(TM) Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foam Insulation, one of the most recognized brands of insulation in the world. A market-facing business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Building Solutions offers building science expertise to help builders, designers, architects and homeowners reduce energy costs and protect against wind, rain and moisture, while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Dow Chemical Company: 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 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
