The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honored The Dow Chemical Company as one of the honorees of the 18th annual U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, for the development of EVOQUE™ Pre-Composite Polymer Technology. This win marks the ninth time that Dow and its affiliates have received this recognition, more than double any other company since the award’s inception in 1996.
“We are honored to be recognized again by the EPA,” said David E. Kepler, Chief Sustainability Officer and executive vice president of Dow. “Sustainable innovation is a driving force behind Dow’s mission and we are constantly working to develop solutions that exceed customers expectations. EVOQUE™ delivers a great combination of performance and sustainability. It’s a win-win.”
The U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award is presented annually to organizations that incorporate the principles of green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture, and use. Dow’s past recognitions span innovation across a broad number of applications, including environmentally-friendly insect control, synthetic pathways that reduce carbon dioxide waste, and an environmentally safe marine anti-foulant.
GRAPHIC: See Dow’s winning history of sustainable innovation
The 2013 award recognizes the innovative technology behind EVOQUE that is changing the way paint is made and allowing more effective hiding with lower environmental impact. This technology improves sustainability and performance such as rust resistance, protection and durability, while requiring less titanium dioxide, helps to reduce the paint’s carbon footprint by more than 22 percent and water consumption by 30 percent.
“Dow’s technology is just one of many examples of Green Chemistry in action – helping solve environmental problems while saving money, and reducing waste and resource use,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA. “When technologies like this make their way to market, the human and environmental impacts, as well as economic impacts, are real and long lasting.”
The President’s Green Chemistry Challenge Awards are presented annually on behalf of the White House, and are sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention in partnership with the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute and other members of the chemical community.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2012, Dow had annual sales of approximately $57 billion and employed approximately 54,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.