Dow Unveils New Chinese Energy Efficiency Partnership

IndustryWeek U.S. 500 member Dow Chemical Co. has announced a joint partnership with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Chinese Energy Research Institute aimed at supporting China's efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy intensity. This multinational joint partnership comes on the heels of recent re-commitments by the Chinese government to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent by 2010.

This partnership exemplifies Dow's global commitment to its 2015 Sustainability Goals, which were unveiled one year ago by the company's CEO Andrew Liveris, and include a commitment to further reduce Dow's energy intensity by 25 percent. Since 1996, Dow has already succeeded in reducing its energy intensity globally by 22 percent.

The program will initially involve the three parties working together to identify tools that will enable China to attain its energy conservation goals. This includes energy efficiency guidebooks, benchmarking materials, software, case studies, auditing and training programs and workshops. The program will also include working with central and provincial governments to design policies to encourage businesses to improve energy efficiency.

Dow has successfully implemented similar partnership projects in China. In 2005, Dow sponsored a three-year project with the State Environmental Protection Administration to promote the development of cleaner production in China. Within its first year, the project realized economic benefits of more than $12.9 million and reduced gas emissions, energy consumption, and liquid and solid waste production. In 2006, Dow sponsored another three-year national pilot project with the State Administration for Work Safety on safe management of hazardous chemicals resulting in safety training for more than 2,000 safety supervisors and officers from various levels of the Chinese government and companies throughout China.