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Fostering sustainable communities through global partnership

Across the globe, Dow partners to develop solutions that spark positive change and build resilient, sustainable communities. Our Global Citizenship strategy directs our investments to accelerate social change and create a more sustainable and equitable future. Together with our community partners, we create social impact by advancing sustainable solutions, building inclusive communities and developing tomorrow’s innovators.

2021 social impact highlights
$32.4MM

Foundation + Corporate + In-kind invested

50%

Dow employees volunteered

888

grants delivered to 653 partner organizations

Nonprofits that received Dow funding last year reported:
4,203

students achieved academic success

29,729

people experienced health improvements 

31,500

MT C02 emissions were avoided

372

people experienced economic empowerment

Collaborating with communities to advance sustainable solutions

Dow is advancing sustainable solutions by seeking new innovative ways to apply Dow products and technology for social good.

The Business Impact Fund

The Business Impact Fund is one way that Dow unlocks business opportunities by solving social problems. Launched in 2016, the Business Impact Fund has supported 42 projects totaling $7.7MM in investments. These highly visible projects are opportunities for Dow to explore new, innovative ways to expand our markets and address important social problems.

OLIVER'S VILLAGE

Stepping up for sustainable communities

We teamed with AECI Plant Health, a strategic customer in Africa and major agricultural solution provider, to empower Oliver’s Village, a nonprofit organization in South Africa, with gardens to support self-sustainable agriculture. Launched in 2021, the Business Impact Fund project is projected to benefit 200,000 people per year by providing food security to the community and creating different local jobs to empower women.

Building inclusive communities

Dow is building inclusive communities by engaging Dow Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), supporting educational programs that close opportunity gaps and addressing systemic discrimination and inequity to accelerate change in Dow communities. Dow’s Global Citizenship team works closely with the Office of Inclusion and our employee resource groups (ERGs) to help drive Dow’s ambition and deliver on our Dow ACTs commitments.

ALL IN ERG Fund

The ALL IN ERG Fund is a program that aims to help Dow become the most inclusive materials science company in the world by harnessing the passion, perspective and expertise of our 10 ERGs. The competitive grant program allows our ERGs to work with local organizations to champion inclusion, diversity and equity projects in Dow communities. Since the Fund launched in 2019, we have committed $800,000 to support 37 projects in 20 countries worldwide.

2,999 people reached

3,084 Dow volunteer hours

20 businesses/nonprofit organizations created or strengthened

409 people improved social and emotional well-being

997 people succeeded in school

360 people gained or sustained jobs

DON BOSCO GANSHOREN CHILDREN'S HOUSE

Providing tools for collaborating with community

The Don Bosco Ganshoren Children's House project in Belgium supported 80 diverse youth from challenging social situations. The students learned non-violent communication skills and how to effectively share life experiences – important life skills for navigating and solving challenging situations. Dow volunteers engaged with students on interactive science experiments, resume and career sessions and workshops on inclusion and communication.

Don Bosco Ganshoren Children's House member participates in an interactive STEM event led by Dow's GAAN ERG in Belgium at the Children's House in June 2021.

Developing tomorrow’s innovators

As a leading materials science company we help prepare and energize a diverse and robust future workforce by cultivating interest in STEM subjects, inspiring students to pursue STEM careers and accelerating their readiness.

ROBOTS THAT BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION

Powering innovation from the start

Since 2014, Dow has supported FIRST, an international robotics community that prepares young people for the future and advances STEM education worldwide. In 2021, Dow partnered with FIRST to strengthen and expand program offerings across 18 countries, supporting local competitions and teacher workshops that impacted more than 11,000 students and improved the academic performance of more than 1,700 students. Dow grants directly to FIRST teams, of which 95% are mentored or coached by Dow employees.

VOLUNTEERISM PROMOTES POSITIVE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Engaging for impact

Volunteerism promotes a positive employee experience and ultimately, advances our ambition. 50% of employees reported volunteering in 2021, with a strong correlation between employees who volunteered and/or participated in ERGs and those that reported a positive employee experience.

Leveling the playing field

As part of the Company’s Total Rewards program and aligned to our Engaging for Impact 2025 Sustainability Goal, we launched Dow’s first-ever global Volunteer and Employee Resource Group (ERG) Participation policy in September 2021. The policy allows our employees 12 hours of paid time off to volunteer and engage in ERG activities.

This policy demonstrates our commitment to volunteerism, inclusion and employee equity, by allowing all employees – regardless of job type and level – the ability to take time away from work to volunteer and participate in ERG activities.

Volunteers clean-up waste at Pulling Our Weight event

Tackling the issues

In 2021, as part of our #PullingOurWeight program, Dow hosted 195 community cleanups in 32 countries. Our 7,485 participants helped remove 387,513 pounds of waste from the environment, of which 11.27% was recycled.

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Collaborating with communities

Dow is committed to building resilient communities to address unmet needs while keeping our employees and communities safe.

Understanding community stakeholders' needs

We know that by listening and collaborating with nonprofit partners, we can prioritize and allocate resources to achieve the greatest impact.

Some examples of how we learn about and respond to specific community needs include:

In Zhangjiangang, China, we applied our resources to impact 234 students with disabilities by creating opportunities to build greater confidence, social resilience and career readiness skills.

In Turkey, Dow and local NGO partner ÖRAV initiated the Environmental Literacy program to deliver comprehensive sustainability training to primary school teachers and students.

In India, we engaged with Mann Deshi to equip rural women in Chiplun, near Dow's Lote plant, with long-term career and entrepreneurial skills.

In 2021, we launched a Community Opinion and Needs Assessment to provide data-based and objective insights into the needs of strategic Dow communities (defined as cities near large Dow manufacturing facilities).

In Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region, we worked with the nonprofit Hidden Harvest to address the 138% increase in food insecurity due to the pandemic. As a result, Hidden Harvest was able to secure a refrigerated truck, enabling them to rescue 2.5 million pounds of food and deliver more than 2 million meals to those in need.

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