Centennial Dow's original intention and dream of sustainable development

On May 18, 2022, The Dow Company (hereinafter referred to as Dow) celebrated its 125th anniversary. Since the company was founded by chemical expert Herbert Henry Dow in 1897, Dow has been deeply involved in the chemical industry chain from petroleum refining to specialty chemicals, and eventually grew into a leading materials science company. In fiscal 2021, Dow's operating income was US$54.968 billion, an increase of 42.62% over the previous year; the net profit attributable to the parent was US$6.311 billion, an increase of 415.18% over the previous year; the performance and profits of all operating segments achieved growth.

As one of the most influential companies in the global chemical industry, Dow has always regarded sustainable development as the core of its innovation strategy, and firmly promoted green environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction. In the past 15 years, while its business has grown rapidly, its carbon emissions have been reduced by 15%. %. Standing at a new starting point for its 125th anniversary, Dow has put forward ambitious goals in areas such as reducing carbon footprint and plastic waste, and has led the way in the practice of sustainable development by implementing a series of specific measures.

Fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals

Dow has long played the role of sustainability promoter. In the 1980s, Dow began to formulate sustainable development goals, one every 10 years. Dow is currently focusing on sustainability issues such as reducing its carbon footprint and tackling plastic waste, and last year proposed new sustainability goals.

Jim Fitlin, chairman and CEO of Dow, said that climate change and plastic waste are the most significant technological, social and economic issues facing the world, and the company's products and technologies are critical to addressing both issues . Dow has a responsibility to address these global challenges, addressing climate change and plastic waste with new science- and technology-based solutions.

It is reported that Dow will reduce its annual net carbon emissions by 5 million tons by 2030, or 15% less than the 2020 baseline. Under the Paris Agreement, Dow also plans to be carbon neutral by 2050, working to implement advanced technologies to produce products using fewer resources and help customers reduce their carbon footprints. Dow will also contribute to End Waste by 2030 through its actions and partnerships to enable 1 million tons of plastic to be collected, reused or recycled. The company is investing and collaborating on key technologies and infrastructure to significantly increase the global recycling rate of plastics. By 2035, Dow's packaging products will be 100% reusable and recyclable, helping to "close the loop."

Jon Penrice, president of Dow Asia Pacific, said the company sees the SDGs as a catalyst for growth and innovation. Dow will develop a more flexible line of low-carbon products to meet growing consumer demand while reducing carbon emissions for customers around the world.

At present, Dow has taken several actions around the world to achieve its sustainable development goals. They are one of the 20 largest clean energy users in the world, with a total of over 850 megawatts of clean energy use available. More than 25% of Dow's manufacturing sites are fully or partially powered by renewable energy.

At the same time, Dow will build the world's first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene cracking and derivatives complex in Alberta, Canada. The investment will decarbonize about 20% of Dow's global ethylene capacity, while increasing its polyethylene supply capacity by about 15% and increasing its EBITDA across its value chain to about $1 billion by 2030.

Firmly optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese market

The continuous growth of Dow's performance is inseparable from the support of the Asia-Pacific and Chinese markets. In Dow's globalization strategy, China is one of its most reliant markets. The company has continued to invest in China recently and is firmly optimistic about the long-term development prospects of the Chinese market.

Since entering China in the 1970s, Dow has been deeply involved in the Chinese market for more than 40 years, introducing world-class innovative technologies and products to China, and is committed to joint innovation with local companies to develop new technologies and new products. China is currently Dow's largest market in the world outside the United States. The company operates in 18 locations in China, employs approximately 3,000 people, and has established a comprehensive network of business offices, world-class manufacturing bases and innovation bases, including eight manufacturing bases. Among them, the Shanghai Dow Center, located in Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, is the business and innovation center in the Asia-Pacific region, and is also Dow's largest integrated R&D center outside the United States. The R&D center has more than 100 comprehensive laboratories, and has assembled more than 400 top scientists and engineers, dedicated to basic research and market application development.

In the past five years, Dow has continued to increase its investment in China, building a new production line every 18 months. This is enough to see that Dow is very confident in China's current and future market.

In March 2020, Dow announced plans to invest more than US$300 million in Zhangjiagang to increase the supply of high value-added silicone products, mainly to meet the needs of consumer electronics, electric vehicles and green buildings. In March 2021, Dow signed a contract to build a South China specialty chemicals manufacturing base in Zhanjiang, with an initial investment of US$250 million, mainly serving the pharmaceutical, home appliances, apparel and automotive markets.

"We play a key role in China's vast industrial value chain. In high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, transportation, and consumer applications, Dow brings together many partners, suppliers and customers to jointly develop and manufacture Advanced products have contributed to China's modernization drive and economic structural transformation." Peng Ruisi said.

Innovative solutions to environmental challenges

While bringing advanced technologies and products, Dow has also introduced sustainable development concepts and innovative solutions to China. By optimizing production equipment and processes, increasing the procurement of electricity supplied by renewable energy, and improving carbon capture, use and storage technologies Investing in innovative materials to help customers and their industries reduce emissions and other ways to help China achieve its circular economy and low-carbon development goals.

Zhangjiagang production base is one of Dow's largest manufacturing bases in the Asia-Pacific region. The most energy-intensive part of the site is the distillation process, which accounts for 62% of on-site energy consumption and 47% of costs. By implementing the packed tower optimization technology, the Dow Zhangjiagang site has successfully reduced steam consumption by 15% and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 18,000 tons per year.

“In China, we are working around the use of renewable energy. For example, using hydropower and solar power to power our factories, etc. We are also exploring the application of biomass boilers, which can help the base reduce emissions by more than 30,000 tons per year. carbon dioxide." Zhong Ruilin, general manager of Dow's Zhangjiagang production base, said that the company's sustainable low-carbon technologies will further help China reduce carbon emissions, including process energy-saving optimization, promotion of blue hydrogen, and the use of bioenergy to reduce industrial carbon emissions.

The energy consumption of China's electricity and transportation sectors accounts for 40% and 10% of the total energy consumption respectively. In these key areas, Dow uses innovative low-carbon technologies to develop low-carbon footprint products that meet the growing needs of many vertical industries, from construction and transportation to packaging, and help customers reduce carbon emissions. Such as promoting the lightweight of electric vehicles and improving battery performance, improving the efficiency of solar panels, and building thermal insulation and energy-saving performance.

Dow is also pursuing circular economy and low carbon goals through innovation in plastic materials. In Asia Pacific, Dow offers a variety of solutions to make packaging more circular, including the design of polyethylene structures for recyclability, the development of post-consumer recycled resins (PCR) that can increase PCR usage or combine multiple A polymer compatibilizer, etc.

In China, Dow is working closely with customers to develop innovative materials and technologies to promote a circular economy. Including cooperation with Liby Company to jointly solve the problem of plastic packaging waste and create a closed loop of plastic recycling; cooperation with Meituan Bicycle, using waste polyurethane solid tires for shared bicycles as materials to support the public welfare project of "sharing bicycles into stadiums"; cooperation with Mengniu Company , Using Dow's PCR, successfully commercialized heat shrinkable film for secondary packaging, etc.

"With 125 years of global experience, expertise, technology and commitment, Dow will remain committed to providing innovative solutions to China's environmental challenges, helping China transition to a more sustainable future," said Peng Ruisi.