[January 16, 2019] |
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Dow to Help Lead $1 Billion Global Alliance to End Plastic Waste in the Environment
Dow is playing a lead role in the formation of a new alliance of global
companies to advance solutions that eliminate plastic waste in the
environment, especially in the ocean.
Dow is a founding member of the Alliance
to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), a newly formed organization committing
more than $1 billion with the goal of raising $1.5 billion over the next
five years to develop and scale solutions that manage plastic waste and
promote post-use solutions of plastic. The Alliance, currently comprised
of nearly 30 companies, will develop and bring to scale solutions that
will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions by
transitioning to a circular economy for plastics. The Alliance
membership represents global companies and organizations located
throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle
East.
"Keeping our environment free of waste is important to the future of Dow
and our industry, but more importantly, it's important to the future of
our planet," said Jim
Fitterling, chief executive officer of Dow. "This initiative brings
together companies, governments, NGOs and consumers to accelerate
efforts to drive innovation, provide much-needed resources, and take
decisive action to put an end to plastic waste in the environment."
The Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that includes companies
from across the global plastics and consumer goods value chain,
including chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies,
retailers, converters, and waste management companies, along with a
strategic partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development.
The Alliance will make investments and drive progress in four key areas:
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Infrastructure development to collect and manage waste and
increase recycling;
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Innovation to advance and scale new technologies that make
recycling and recovering plastics easier and create value from all
post-use plastics;
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Education and engagement of governments, businesses, and
communities to mobilize action; and,
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Clean up concentrated areas of plastic waste already in the
environment, particularly the major conduits of waste, like rivers,
that carry land-based plastic waste to the ocean.
"Solving this critical world challenge will require a diverse set of
solutions developed by an equally diverse group of stakeholders," said
Fitterling. "The Alliance to End Plastic Waste brings together some of
the most innovative minds in the world, allowing us to explore, develop
and implement those solutions."
Dow's lead role in the AEPW is another example of the company's actions,
commitments and investments to help eliminate plastic waste from the
environment. Most recently the company has:
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Invested in people and companies working toward solutions: In
October, Dow announced that it became
a founding investor in Circulate Capital's $100 million effort to
incubate andfinance companies and infrastructure that prevent waste
in oceans. Circulate
Capital's mission is to demonstrate the viability of investment in
the waste management and recycling sectors to attract the
institutional investment capital needed to scale integrated recycling
and waste management companies and infrastructure across South and
Southeast Asia.
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Engaged with government: Dow is a member of the World Economic
Forum's Global
Plastic Action Partnership, designed to bring businesses, civil
society, national and local governments, community groups and
world-class experts together to collaborate on solving plastic
pollution. This partnership is initially funded by the governments of
Canada and the U.K., along with Dow and several global brands, with
the objective to have investable localized solutions in place by 2020,
which can then be adapted and implemented in other countries. The
first project is a collaboration with the government of Indonesia.
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Cleaned up of existing waste: Dow's recent #PullingOurWeight
campaign, which began in fall 2018, included more than 5,600 Dow
employees, families and friends participating in 55 cleanups globally,
removing more than 52,500 pounds of trash and litter from beaches and
waterways.
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Innovated for recyclability: Product innovation is another key
part of Dow's efforts to end plastics waste in the environment. Dow's
RecycleReady technology enables manufacturers to develop packaging
that can qualify for the Sustainable Packaging Coalition's
"How2Recycle" label and can be recycled via polyethylene recycling
streams such as the grocery store drop-off system in the U.S. Dow also
continues to focus on compatibilizer technologies which allow
multi-layer packaging materials to be recycled into new products.
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Advanced waste to energy projects: In 2014, Dow initiated the Hefty®
EnergyBag® recovery initiative which collects hard-to-recycle
plastics and converts them into valuable resources. As of July 2018,
the Hefty® EnergyBag® program has collected more than 176,500 bags and
diverted more than 115 tons of plastics from landfills, the equivalent
of approximately 92 million snack-sized chip bags or 546 barrels of
diesel fuel. Dow recently
announced another $100,000 in grant funding for organizations to
establish programs in their communities.
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Worked closely with leading NGOs: Dow also announced in October
2018 that it is donating an additional $1 million to Ocean
Conservancy over the next two years to support waste collection
and recycling solutions in Southeast Asian countries. This money will
be used for projects that build the capacity of local non-governmental
organizations and partnerships with city leaders to develop, scale and
replicate implementable solutions.
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Invested in recycling and waste management solutions: Another
step Dow is taking to complement its circular economy activities is to
drive development
of new commercial recycling business models and growth strategies
to monetize plastics waste recycling streams globally.
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Continues to collaborate across the value chain: Dow is also a
founding member of the Sustainable
Packaging Coalition, which collaborates with packaging converters
and brand owners to increase production of stand-up pouches that can
be recycled through existing polyethylene film recycling streams.
About Dow
Dow combines science and technology knowledge to develop premier
materials science solutions that are essential to human progress. Dow
has one of the strongest and broadest toolkits in the industry, with
robust technology, asset integration, scale and competitive capabilities
that enable it to address complex global issues. Dow's market-driven,
industry-leading portfolio of advanced materials, industrial
intermediates, and plastics businesses deliver a broad range of
differentiated technology-based products and solutions for customers in
high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, and consumer
care. Dow is a subsidiary of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), a holding company
comprised of Dow and DuPont with the intent to form three strong,
independent, publicly traded companies in agriculture, materials science
and specialty sectors. More information can be found at www.dow.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190116005305/en/
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