Dow AgroSciences Wins United Nations' Montreal Protocol Innovators Award for
Stratospheric Ozone Protection Efforts
Company Also Named Recipient of the U.S. EPA "Best of the Best" Award
MONTREAL – Sept. 21, 2007 – Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: Dow), has been named a winner of the United Nation’s Montreal Protocol Innovators Award at the annual Meeting of the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement designed to protect the earth’s ozone layer. The award honors the company’s innovation, investment and commitment to protect the environment through its efforts to develop alternatives to methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance being phased out under the Protocol. At this meeting, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Protocol, Dow AgroSciences was also named a winner of the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Best of the Best” Ozone Protection Award which honors an elite group of companies, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated long-term excellence in efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone layer.
Both awards honor the company’s long-standing commitment to providing critical alternatives to methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance used for pre-plant, post-harvest and structural fumigation uses. Dow AgroSciences products containing the active ingredients 1,3-dichloropropene and sulfuryl fluoride have been widely adopted on a global scale to coincide with the scheduled phase-out of methyl bromide.
“I am delighted that Indianapolis, Indiana-based Dow AgroSciences has been recognized for their continued leadership in developing technical and economically feasible alternatives to methyl bromide in accordance with this important international treaty,” stated Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).
Other global leaders also applaud the company’s efforts. “The European Union has been a leading proponent of the Montreal Protocol since its creation. The innovation shown by Dow AgroSciences to develop feasible alternatives to ozone-depleting substances has strongly contributed towards the attainment of the Protocol’s goals,” says Karl-Heinz Florenz, German Member of the European Parliament.
“These Dow products assisted in the rapid phase-down in methyl bromide when users in Europe switched to these alternatives,” says Tom Batchelor, a policy expert with Touchdown Consulting based in Belgium. Batchelor coordinated Europe’s phase-out of methyl bromide and other ozone-depleting substances when he worked for the European Commission, Europe’s executive arm responsible for implementing the decisions of the European Parliament and Council.
“This public acknowledgment illustrates how Dow is delivering on its strategy of utilizing technology to address critical issues facing society while creating growth opportunities for the Company,” says Jerome Peribere, Dow AgroSciences president and chief executive officer. “We are honored by this award which commends our company’s long history of being able to constantly introduce important soil, post-harvest and commodity fumigation products that can help growers around the globe have viable, available and cost-effective pest control options.”
He adds, “As an innovation-based company, we are making important progress towards the development of new soil and post-harvest fumigation tools that we believe will further assist our customers to meet their urgent market needs.”
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top-tier agricultural company providing innovative crop protection, pest and vegetation management, seed, and agricultural biotechnology solutions to serve the world's growing population. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $3.4 billion. Learn more at www.dowagro.com.
About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
For Editorial Information:
April Dart
Bader Rutter & Associates
(262) 784-7200
adart@bader-rutter.com
Mike Birtsas
Dow AgroSciences LLC
(317) 337-4728
mwbirtsas@dow.com
