Safer materials

Our approach to safer, more sustainable materials

With a portfolio of more than 14,000 products that support more than 10,000 customers, we know that how we make, distribute and enable the use and disposal of our products can have a meaningful impact on people and the environment. Our safer materials vision is a future where every new material we bring to market is sustainable for people and the planet.

2021 highlights

Product Safety blueprint created to demonstrate our approach to developing safe and sustainable chemistry

Definition of safer materials as the foundation of our actions for improvement

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Business risk reviews for products, materials and applications as part of our strong product safety risk management approach

Our actions

We are committed to ensuring that our products are designed, stored, transported, used, disposed of, or recycled in a manner that shows high regard for human health, safety and environmental stewardship. We also are engaging with customers, regulators and communities to drive environmental and health benefits that help lead to the transition to a more sustainable society.

DEFINITIONS MATTER

What is a safer material?

A safer material is one with a measurably lower health risk potential and more favorable environmental profile over its intended life cycle(s) as compared to the incumbent solution. We believe that creating safer materials is a continuous journey and is possible through innovation, design and more predictive, enabling technologies.

NEW BLUEPRINT FOR PRODUCT SAFETY

Creating safer, more sustainable materials

Ever wondered how Dow brings new innovations to the marketplace and what steps the company takes to ensure a new product is safe? In 2021, we launched a blueprint for Product Safety to demonstrate to the public how Dow brings materials safely to the market through innovation and collaboration. In addition to links to published studies and other content, the blueprint page also includes a link to “The Product Safety Story: The Birth of a Molecule.” This short animation illustrates the many ways a new molecule must undergo safety and performance testing and assessments before it continues in Dow’s R&D process.

Using technology to predict product safety

When innovating new products, Dow is using the power of data to advance product safety while also reducing animal testing and shortening time to market.

Developing sustainable materials

In 2021, Dow received two prestigious R&D 100 Awards, including an award for Multifunctional Sorbent Technology (MUST), a game-changing solution that removes heavy metals from aqueous and nonaqueous sources. Developed in collaboration with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) of the U.S. Department of Energy, the versatile chemisorbent technology makes it a highly effective sorbent to clean contaminated waterways and remove metals from electronic and pharmaceutical production processes. Dow’s SunSpheres™ BIO SPF Booster also won an ICIS (Independent Commodity Information Service) Innovation Award for Product with Best Benefit to the Environment and Sustainability.

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