Page 280 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

256 Cha pte r T h i r tee n

active partnership projects within DFE reduced more than 200 mil-
lion pounds of chemicals of concern.
Chapter 8 describes some of the DFE strategies adopted by vari-
ous industries to ensure environmentally responsible utilization of
chemicals in their supply chain processes, including chemical man-
agement services, chemical property screening, and toxics elimina-
tion. The following case studies of Dow, DuPont, and BASF illustrate
leading edge DFE practices in the chemical industry.

Dow Chemical: Raising the Bar
The Journey toward Sustainability
With annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees, Dow is a
diversified chemical company with global operations that encom-
pass 175 countries worldwide. Dow was one of the first companies to
establish a product stewardship program and has consistently been
an outspoken proponent of sustainable business practices. All of Dow’s
business divisions are encouraged by management to connect chem-
istry and innovation with the principles of sustainability; and the
resulting products and services address a variety of human needs,
including fresh water, food, pharmaceuticals, paints, packaging, and
personal care products. Dow strives to combine the power of science
and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve
what is essential to human progress [3].
Since the 1980s, Dow has achieved significant improvements in
environmental performance as measured by conventional indicators,
such as energy, emissions, and waste reduction. Dow was one of the
first companies to understand the link between environmental excel-
lence and profitability, and established a pioneering Waste Reduction
Always Pays (WRAP) program in 1986. In the early 1990s, Dow for-
mally adopted sustainable development principles, joined the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development, and began applying
life-cycle assessment to its products and processes. At the same time,
Dow was among the leaders in the establishment of community advi-
sory panels to foster stakeholder engagement.
In 1996 Dow announced a set of ambitious Environmental Health
and Safety Goals for 2005, including goals for energy, waste, waste-
water, emissions, priority compound emissions, illness and injuries,
and process safety incidents. By the end of 2005, Dow had surpassed
a number of the goals and had made significant achievements on all
the goals. A rigorous assessment of the value derived from this effort
indicated that Dow spent $1 billion to save about $5 billion during
the time period of the goals.
In 2006, Dow’s CEO and Chairman, Andrew Liveris, personally
announced the company’s ambitious sustainability goals for 2015.