Dow Chemical 2009 Annual Report Download - page 25

23
2009 Annual Report
u THE RIGHT COMMITMENT
Dow’s charitable contributions, employee engagement and strategic
partnerships are delivering solutions to communities around the world.
The right initiatives today will contribute to community success tomorrow.
23
2009 Annual Report
Caring for Our Communities
To help serve the unique local needs of the communities in
which we operate, Dow conducted detailed surveys of residents
at 10 strategic sites across the globe. The surveys identified the
issues that matter most to the communities and resulted in
customized programs that address education, the environment
and economic success. For example:
•฀฀In฀Aratu,฀Brazil,฀Dow฀developed฀the฀ECOSMAR฀Project฀–฀
Matarandiba Sustainable and Solidarity Economy in partnership
with the Federal University of the State of Bahia. The project is
designed to promote sustainable development by generating jobs
and income in the Matarandiba community. First-phase initiatives
include a community information center and community bank.
•฀฀In฀Terneuzen,฀The฀Netherlands,฀Dow฀opened฀a฀technical฀training฀
pilot plant at the Regional Education Center. This will provide
on-the-job training for the future workforce of Dow, as well as
other companies and industries.
In other community initiatives, Dow:
•฀฀Kicked฀off฀the฀construction฀of฀three฀“Project฀Hope”฀schools฀
in rural areas of Sichuan Province, China, to rebuild schools
damaged by an earthquake in 2008.
•฀฀Provided฀financial฀contributions,฀as฀well฀as฀polyurethane฀
product and technology, as the leading sponsor of the Jaipur
Foot project in India, which will supply artificial limbs and
calipers to more than 17,000 people.
•฀฀Teamed฀with฀two฀non-profit฀organizations฀in฀South฀Africa฀that฀
provide shelter, food and a family environment for orphans and
vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. Dow is assisting with
operational costs and the schooling of the children.
Advancing Science Through Education
Supporting education has been a focus for Dow for more than
a century. From facilitating innovative ways to teach science
to younger students to supporting sustainability education at
universities, we are helping students succeed – in school, in the
workforce and in life. For example, Dow:
•฀฀Established฀a฀multi-year,฀multimillion-dollar฀joint฀research฀
framework with King Abdullah University of Science and
Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
•฀฀Supports฀science-in-schools฀programs฀across฀the฀globe,฀
including one in Victoria, Australia, where robotics are
used to introduce primary and secondary schoolchildren
to science at 20 area schools.
Sparking World-Changing Ideas
Creating a better world for future generations requires tapping
the best ideas and resources. Dow works with hundreds of
partners worldwide as we strive to help address today’s
complex environmental challenges. In 2009, we:
•฀฀Collaborated฀with฀IBM฀on฀its฀Global฀Innovation฀Outlook฀
on Water – a series of brainstorming sessions around the
world that brought together hundreds of the leading water
management experts to discuss strategies for improving the
efficiency of the world’s water systems.
•฀฀Teamed฀with฀Microsoft฀to฀launch฀the฀Dow฀Microsoft฀Sustainability฀
Challenge. High school and college students across Brazil were
invited to submit projects aimed at reducing energy intensity.
•฀฀Announced฀our฀alignment฀with฀Live฀Earth฀to฀host฀the฀Dow฀
Live Earth Run for Water, the largest solutions-based initiative
aimed at solving the world water crisis. The event will take
place April 18, 2010, over 24 hours, and will feature concerts
and water education in countries across the world.
Giving Time, Talent and Resources
A number of programs give our employees the opportunity to
touch lives directly within their own regions. Among these:
•฀฀Dow฀was฀a฀sponsor฀of฀Habitat฀for฀Humanity’s฀2009฀Jimmy฀
and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which united volunteers and
families in need of decent, affordable housing in the Mekong
region. During the week-long event, volunteers built 82 new
homes in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China’s
Sichuan Province.
•฀฀In฀Bay฀City,฀Michigan,฀Dow฀partnered฀with฀Habitat฀for฀
Humanity and more than 35 organizations from across the
region to paint, landscape and make repairs to 38 aging
homes. More than 800 volunteers, half of which were Dow
employees, turned out for the week-long neighborhood
revitalization project.
•฀฀Dow฀was฀a฀national฀sponsor฀of฀the฀Keep฀America฀Beautiful®
2009 Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest annual
community improvement program. Dow employees nationwide
joined three million other volunteers to beautify parks, clean
seashores, pick up litter and plant trees.