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Our commitment to protect the climate

Corporate Home Science and Sustainability Commitment to protect the climate

Imagine Better for the climate

Since 1897, we have been solving the world’s greatest, most pressing problems, setting the groundwork for our most important work yet – a promise to Imagine Better for the next 125 years.

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Innovation

We must lead our industry in delivering materials science innovations that lead the world toward a low carbon future.

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Leading by example

We are continuously finding ways to reduce carbon emissions while helping our customers reduce their carbon emissions by innovating lower-carbon products.

View of a manufacturing facility
Our path to net zero

We are investing $1 billion per year to drive both growth and decarbonization of our manufacturing assets.

Decarbonization is a critical challenge for the world, and for Dow

This is a complex challenge we are determined to not only meet, but also to lead in our industry.

OUR CLIMATE TARGETS

Protect the climate targets

Our “Protect the Climate” targets reflect our commitment to accelerate our work with our suppliers, customers and value chain partners to ensure Dow’s ecosystem is carbon neutral by 2050.

  • By 2030, Dow will reduce its net annual carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons versus its 2020 baseline (15% reduction) or by 30% reduction from the 2005 baseline
  • By 2050, Dow intends to be carbon neutral (Scopes 1+2+3 plus product benefits)

OUR PATH TO ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS

Tracking our decarbonization progress

Dow reduced its carbon emissions by 15% between 2005-2020, while growing the volume of products manufactured by 30%.

Leading climate protection by example: our approach
To achieve our “Protect the Climate” targets, we are embarking on a plan that encompasses all three carbon emissions scopes:
Aerial view of manufacturing facility
Scope 1

Emissions directly under our control from our own operations.

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Scope 2

Emissions caused indirectly from the generation of the power we purchase from 3rd parties.

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Scope 3

Emissions we are indirectly responsible for, upstream from the products or services we buy from suppliers, and downstream from the transportation, usage and end of life of our sold products.

Our Path2Zero scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions Dow currently emits approximate 35 million metric tons of CO2 annually. Achieving our emissions reduction targets in the short term is critical to ensuring stakeholders we are tracking toward our 2050 carbon neutrality commitment. Here’s a look at how we intend to achieve our short- and long-term sustainability targets.

By 2025, we intend to reduce our carbon emissions by another 2 million metric tons between 2022 - 2025. These emissions reductions will come from a combination of:

Increasing use of renewable energy – saving ~1 million metric tons/year
Manufacturing asset renewals and optimization – saving ~0.5 million metric tons/year
Energy efficiency improvements – saving ~0.5 million metric tons/year

Roadmap to reduce >90% of scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions

DOW’S CURRENT EMISSIONS

~35MM mta
Target of ~5MM mta (reduction is ~30% over the 2005 baseline) by 2030
DETAILS & TARGET THROUGH 2030 2030 – 2050
  • Scope 1 & 2 emissions mostly from power & steam generation and olefins production
  • Target reducing these emissions by >90% by 2050 while enabling business growth
  • Site efficiency improvements and renewable power
  • On-purpose circular-hydrogen; carbon capture & sequestration
  • Implement Alberta project & Terneuzen site carbon emissions reduction plans with government support
  • Optimize H2 allocation & production
  • Additional carbon capture and storage capabilities
  • Retrofit turbines for H2 fueling or electrical drivers
  • New cracking technologies
  • Leverage most competitive clean H2 and zero-carbon emissions e-cracking technologies
  • Connect to H2 infrastructure

Plans for >60% sites to be H2-ready by ~20401
SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS REDUCTION
  • Working with suppliers on upstream decarbonization opportunities, aligned with our Supplier Code of Conduct
  • Enabling customers to reduce emissions, amplifying our impact through design for recyclability, light-weighting, downgauging, and lower carbon footprint delivery
Actions targeted to incentivize innovation and infrastructure to decarbonize the value chain

Our path to net zero emissions

Dow is investing approximately $1 billion per year to drive both growth and decarbonization of our manufacturing assets. This is approximately 1/3rd of our capital expansion outlay that we want to maintain around depreciation and amortization levels through the economic cycle. Investment at this level to reduce and eliminate carbon emissions will continue until we attain our overall 2050 carbon neutrality goals. We have a detailed investment plan and roadmap to our 2050 carbon neutrality target that touches nearly every aspect of our business, focusing on five key areas.

Optimizing our manufacturing facilities and processes for sustainability.

  • This includes replacing end-of-life, high carbon-intensity assets with more carbon-efficient technologies at our top sites globally and investing in carbon abatement technologies, such as circular hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.
  • We recently announced plans for the world's first net-zero carbon emissions integrated ethylene cracker and derivatives site in Fort Saskatchewan, which will triple the site’s capacity, while retrofitting existing assets to be net zero.

Increasing clean energy in our purchased power mix.

  • In 2022, we expanded our access to renewable power capacity to more than 1,000 megawatts (MW), enabling approximately 40% of our purchased electricity to come from renewable sources.
  • Collaborating with X-energy with the intent to utilize zero-carbon-emissions advanced nuclear technology at our Seadrift, Texas, site by the end of the decade.

Collaborating with our supply chain to tackle ‘upstream’ carbon emissions.

  • We’re working closely with our suppliers to set emissions reduction targets and to embed ESG performance as a metric in supplier selection, contracting, and relationship management.
  • Approximately 70% of Dow’s emissions footprint fall into the scope 3 categories – and more than half of those come from the raw materials, transportation, and other services we purchase as a company.
  • Reducing scope 3 emissions is a tremendous challenge for all companies. We recognize the significant opportunity we have to work with our suppliers to reduce those emissions – just as our customers are looking to us to reduce emissions for the products they buy from us.

In 2023, Dow was named a Supplier Engagement Leader for addressing climate change for the second consecutive year by CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states, and regions. Dow achieved an “A” score for climate change action in the supply chain and earned its place once again amongst the top-rated companies featured on CDP’s Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. This score stands alongside Dow’s A- rating from CDP for climate, forests, and water.

Investing in transformative next-generation solutions for climate protection.

  • We’re investing in longer-term innovations in manufacturing technologies, such as fluidized catalytic dehydrogenation (FCDh), ethane dehydrogenation (EDH) and electric cracking technology (e- cracking), which will help us transition to cleaner manufacturing facilities by 2050.

Developing low-carbon products, technologies, and services.

  • Dow products are essential to a low carbon future – and we want the world’s best brands to look to us to help them achieve their goals and make their products more sustainable.
  • We’re helping our customers achieve their climate goals by providing products that facilitate energy efficiency, light weighting, fuel transition, circularity, increased operational efficiency, resource reductions and reduced emissions.