GREENBIZ.COM
MIDLAND, Mich., July 27, 2006 – Dow Chemical this week committed the company’s resources to developing new technologies and solutions for creating safer, more sustainable water supplies for communities around the world.
Speaking at the United Nations, Andrew Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO, emphasized the urgency of addressing the needs of the 1.2 billion people worldwide whose lives are threatened because of inadequate or unhealthy water supplies.
“Water is the single most important chemical compound for the preservation and flourishing of human life,” Liveris said. “And yet today, more than a billion people are in peril every day because they do not have enough water or the water they have is unhealthy. Lack of clean water is the single largest cause of disease in the world and more than 4,500 children die each day because of it.”
As part of Dow’s 2015 Sustainability Goals, Liveris pledged the Company would reinforce its commitment to technologies designed to meet the needs of the 21st century for water development, purification and transmission technologies, including:
# New solutions for economically viable desalination;
# New and improved chemistry and polymers for removing specific impurities in water;
# Innovative materials for leak-proof water piping that can dramatically increase the efficiency of community water systems;
# New, lower-cost technologies and business models for the management of municipal water supplies.
“As a large company, we take our philanthropic mission very seriously, but we approach the challenge of developing water resources not in a spirit of charity but as a business, in a spirit of enterprise,” Liveris said. “Where we create the most leverage, the most value, the most power to solve this problem is in the laboratory and in the marketplace.”
Liveris also outlined a new partnership between Dow and the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit organization committed to sustainable water solutions. The foundation will raise awareness of and funds for clean water projects worldwide through the inauguration of the Blue Planet Run(R), the first-ever global endurance run around the world, sponsored by Dow.
Over the course of 100 days, beginning in June 2007, a team of Blue Planet Run athletes will circumnavigate the globe, running 24 hours a day.
According to Blue Planet Run Foundation founder Jin Zidell, the partnership with Dow has created a platform for expanding the reach and influence of the foundation within the community of major corporations that are actively working to achieve sustainability goals.
“The partnership between the Blue Planet Run Foundation and Dow is truly a cooperative effort to raise awareness for this important cause,” said Zidell. By working together, we are creating a movement to celebrate life and make a real difference in the lives of millions of most disadvantaged people around the world.”
“Blue Planet Run creates a focal point for rallying individuals, businesses and governments around the problem of clean water access,” Liveris said. “It is an important piece of our educational and philanthropic commitment to this issue and consistent with the compassionate, dedicated, generous spirit of the 42,000 men and women of The Dow Chemical Company.”

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