Operation Clean Sweep^® at Dow

Dow achieved OCS Blue Membership in 2019, recognizing Dow’s commitment to measures beyond standard program participation. These include strengthened employee training, internal audits, sharing of best practices, and annual external reporting. 

Dow began external OCS reporting in 2020. Aligning with OCS Blue member guidelines, any incident of unrecovered plastic release greater than 0.5 kg is reported through the OCS program. Our INtersections Progress Report provides information aligned to global reporting requirements on pellet loss and on our efforts to continue to improve plastics containment.

OCS principles are implemented through Dow’s global Plastic Control Standard, which is aligned with the OCS framework and applied across applicable plastics manufacturing and logistics operations, including labs and storage locations. The standard establishes expectations for:

• Facility specific risk assessments to identify potential routes of plastic loss
• Development of risk minimization plans with preventive actions and mitigation measures for each potential route of plastic loss
• Defined training requirements, housekeeping program and audit system
• Incident response and corrective actions
• Ongoing performance review and continuous improvement

This approach ensures that plastic containment is managed as part of normal operations.

Where external certification pathways exist, Dow actively pursues third party OCS certification and verification. All of Dow’s European Packaging & Specialty Plastics assets are externally certified against the European Certification Scheme. In the United States, five sites have been verified against the US based OCS Blue Verification pathway, with additional sites continuing to pursue certification. In regions where certification pathways are not yet available, Dow still maintains the Plastic Control Standard.

Preventing plastic loss requires operational discipline supported by physical systems designed to reduce risk under both normal and abnormal conditions. Dow invests in layered containment approaches that prioritize stopping plastic close to the source as well as intercepting material before it can reach the environment.

These measures can include primary and secondary containment, stormwater management improvements, and engineered solutions designed to capture visible plastic across a range of flow conditions.

Dow recognizes that plastic loss risks can extend beyond facility boundaries. We work with external manufacturers, logistics service providers, and transport partners to reduce loss across the value chain. This includes clear contractual expectations, environmental and safety practices, transparent incident reporting, and education on pellet loss prevention.

Dow also shares practical solutions and lessons learned with customers and industry peers to encourage broader adoption of effective loss prevention practices. Addressing plastic loss requires collective action across the value chain.

Dow views OCS not as an end state, but as a framework for implementing controls, transparency, and improving performance over time.

Through OCS, external verification where available, and external reporting, Dow works to reduce plastic loss from its operations while contributing to broader efforts to protect the environment.