Midland, MI - September 21, 2005
Andrew Liveris, president and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, spoke at a press conference in Washington D.C. today to help the Business Roundtable launch a sustainable growth initiative that encourages leading U.S. companies to embrace business strategies and projects that measurably improve Society, the Environment and the Economy.
The initiative, called S.E.E. Change, encourages CEOs of the nation's leading companies to commit to business strategies that combine traditional corporate goals of higher profit and lower cost with a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and social improvement.
Others speaking at the press conference were Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Paula Dobriansky, Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, as well as the CEOs of several other member companies of the Roundtable.
According to the Business Roundtable, the purpose of S.E.E. Change is to leverage the power of business as a force for good, by urging companies to adopt business strategies and projects that are good for the environment and society - and good for their bottom line. Member companies of the Roundtable are being asked to set challenging goals that contribute to both the bottom line and improvements to the quality of life - now and for future generations.
"As scientists and as business people, we at Dow are well aware of the importance of setting unambiguous goals, measuring our performance against them and reporting regularly on our progress," said Liveris. "Our stakeholders - investors, employees, customers, suppliers, and the people in the communities where we live and work - want to know how we are performing in each sphere of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. It is our belief that the best companies are able to perform well in all three and that doing so is critical to their own sustainability." Liveris briefly described Dow's progress against its Environmental, Health and Safety 2005 Goals as well as its intention to launch a new set of goals in mid-2006. A summary of his comments are available on dow.com.
Dow is among the first Roundtable companies to commit to participate in S.E.E. Change. Other participating companies include 3M, Alcoa, Citigroup, Coca Cola, DuPont, Eastman Kodak, General Electric, General Motors, Office Depot, Procter & Gamble, Sun Microsystems, Weyerhaeuser and Xerox.
S.E.E. Change companies will adopt sustainable growth strategies, which seek to achieve specific improvements in environmental, social and economic performance. For example, companies might utilize the technologies resulting from research and development to reduce energy consumption, provide clean water, improve hygiene or prevent disease. And by investing in health care, education and training, companies can help create stable and skilled workforces and strong markets for their products and services. Because of the diversity of Roundtable's 160 member companies, spanning every sector of the U.S. economy, S.E.E. Change is designed to give companies flexibility in determining goals in line with their sector and business priorities.
The Roundtable will also seek partnerships with government and other stakeholders that share a common interest in applying sustainability principles.
S.E.E. Change builds on the Roundtable's history of economic and environmental leadership, notably Blueprint 2001 and Climate RESOLVE (Responsible Environmental Steps, Opportunities to Lead by Voluntary Efforts). Climate RESOLVE, launched in 2003, mobilized the resources and expertise of Roundtable member companies behind the goal of enhanced voluntary action to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve the GHG intensity of the U.S. economy.
"Roundtable CEOs recognize that their responsibility to society and the environment goes hand- in-hand with their role in sustaining the economic growth necessary to support expanding populations," said John J. Castellani, President of the Roundtable. "S.E.E. Change ties these benefits together in a way that makes for better business and a better world."
About Dow
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
About Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading corporations with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees and $4 trillion in annual revenues. The chief executives are committed to advocating public policies that foster vigorous economic growth and a dynamic global economy.
For Editorial Information:
Terri McNeill
The Dow Chemical Company
(989) 636-0626
