Midland, MI - May 07, 2009

At Dow, "Sustainability requires making every decision with the future in mind."  In the simplest of terms, it's about our commitment to using resources more efficiently, delivering sustainable solutions for our customers, and contributing to the preservation of our planet for current and future generations. 

In practice, Dow employees are meeting this commitment with great progress made together over the last quarter toward achieving our 2015 Sustainability Goals.  Our progress came amidst the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression - reason for a moment of reflection, and celebration.

Posted externally for our customers', stakeholders' and shareholders' review, our 1Q 2009 Sustainability Goals Update progress report is now available on dow.com. There, you will find updates for each of the seven 2015 Goals as well as other new and important Sustainability highlights:

• Addressing Climate Change - featuring Dow's groundbreaking pilot project with Alstom for CO_² emissions capture using our advanced amine technology
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation - updating Dow's savings through energy intensity reductions
• Product Safety Leadership - detailing how we have posted 159 Product Safety Assessments (PSAs) at dow.com, and six new PSAs in the first quarter
• Sustainable Chemistry - where we have more than a dozen businesses delivering advancements in sustainable chemistries over the last quarter
• Breakthroughs to World Challenges - where we continue explore and define the areas on which we have chosen to focus, and are building momentum via new programs in partnership with IBM and others
• Contributing to Community Success - featuring positive results across 10 strategic sites from the implementation of Dow's community success plans
• Local Protection of Human Health and the Environment - where at the end of first quarter 2009, the Injury and Illness rate was a record-low 0.20 per 200,000 hours of work.  This represents our best quarterly performance ever delivered, and is a 39 percent improvement compared to our performance for all of 2008.

Dow's 2015 Sustainability Goals remain our guidepost, and the new business structure of the Company creates a stronger foundation that supports our continued commitment to achieving the goals. 

To read more on how Dow continues to Set the Standard for Sustainability and other important sustainability highlights, please visit the Dow Sustainability site on dow.com.

About Dow

For Editorial Information:

Stacey Siler
The Dow Chemical Company
+1 989 636 4155