MIDLAND, Mich. – March 18, 2022 – Dow (NYSE: DOW) announces today it is collaborating with Investor Advocates for Social Justice (IASJ) to commission a racial equity audit that will be conducted by a team from Covington & Burling LLP, a law firm supported by both organizations that has experience working with other leading companies on civil rights and equity audits. The audit will be an assessment of how Dow’s U.S. operations, products, policies and services support racial equity and the Company’s inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) strategy.
“ID&E is a business imperative for Dow and is also simply the right thing to do,” said Karen S. Carter, chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer at Dow. “We strive to not only continuously improve, but also to constantly measure our progress and hold ourselves accountable. We are pleased to partner on this audit with IASJ to identify where we have made progress and where we need to make more to enable us to work toward actionable and sustainable solutions for our stakeholders.”
The audit builds upon comprehensive efforts Dow has taken to lead in all aspects of ID&E both at Dow and in the communities in which we live and work, including to address issues of systemic racism. Recent actions include:
- Launching Dow ACTs, a framework to address systemic racism and inequality within the Company and in its communities.
- Joining OneTen, a coalition of businesses who are coming together to upskill, hire and advance one million Black individuals in America over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.
- Embarking on numerous strategic actions to focus on improving the representation of underrepresented populations throughout the organization, as set forth in its 2025 Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Strategy. The Company publicly discloses on its website its U.S.-based workforce data through its EEO-1 and publishes global workforce data through its INtersections ESG report.
The Company also has a long history of seeking and acting on community input and communicating transparently in the communities where it operates. Nearly 70% of Dow sites in the U.S. have Community Advisory Panels (CAPs) or participate in a multi-company Community Advisory Council where feedback is sought on topics including environmental performance, economic development, safety, health and wellness, poverty, housing and food security, among others. And for decades Dow has set the industry standard for maintaining and expanding “green belts,” or non-industrialized properties around its sites that provide added distance between our operations and our neighbors.
These and other efforts have repeatedly earned Dow key third-party recognitions, including placement for four consecutive years on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, which recognizes U.S. companies for their management of diversity and inclusion, as well as being named for the third year to JUST Capital’s JUST 100 list, which celebrates U.S. corporations that outperform on the issues that matter most to the American public – such as prioritizing accountability to all stakeholders; protecting worker health and safety; cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace; producing sustainable products; providing benefits and work-life balance; and protecting customer privacy.
“Committing to a Racial Equity Audit is a critical step in confronting the legacy of systemic racism and its impacts on communities of color in the United States,” said Courtney Wicks, executive director of IASJ. “We look forward to working with Dow to address these concerns and to help pave the way for companies to examine and dismantle structures that contribute to systemic racism.”
“Centering the voices of environmental justice communities will be critical to ensuring the interests, values, safety and prosperity of all Dow’s employees and the communities in which it operates are fairly represented,” said Sr. Ethel Howley, Social Responsibility Resource Person, School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund.
The audit will include input from a range of stakeholders, including employees, civic organizations and community members. Dow will publish the results of the audit upon completion, which is expected in 2023.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership to achieve profitable growth and deliver a sustainable future. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates 104 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.
For further information, please contact:
Kyle Bandlow
+1 989 638 2417
kbandlow@dow.com