Dow and Rio 2016 Delivering an Unprecedented Carbon Legacy in Brazil
August 01 2016 - 9:42AM
Business Wire
Through cross-sector collaboration the Olympic
Games are leaving a legacy of low-carbon technologies in Brazil and
Latin America
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are making history by leaving a
significant legacy of low-carbon technologies in Latin America
while set to balance 2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents
(CO2e).
The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and The Dow Chemical Company
(NYSE:DOW), the Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games and
Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016, announced today that more than
2 million tonnes of third-party-verified greenhouse gas (GHG)
reductions are projected to be delivered by all projects and
actions implemented to fulfill the commitment of hosting a global
event with minimal carbon impact. Through unique cross-sector
collaboration, the Olympic Games act as a catalyst for the adoption
of more sustainable solutions that are relevant to the economy and
society.
“Dow’s partnership with the Olympic Movement enables us to use
the platform, of sport and the Olympic Rings to demonstrate how our
science and technologies can advance the adoption of lower-carbon
solutions” said Louis A. Vega, Dow global vice president of Olympic
& Sports Solutions. “The Rio 2016 Olympic Games have provided
us with a unique opportunity to start a new dialog and collaborate
with industry leaders within the region to introduce solutions that
will benefit generations to come.”
Building on the successful implementation of the “Sustainable
Future” program, that enabled the mitigation of the direct carbon
footprint of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Organizing
Committee before the Opening Ceremony, Dow was selected as the
Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016 in September 2014 and developed
a portfolio of projects in the areas of agriculture, industry and
infrastructure that have already delivered 100,000 tonnes of
verified GHG emission reductions to date. These projects will
continue to generate climate benefits throughout the realization
period – which goes through 2026.
“Ensuring the delivery of Games with a minimal carbon footprint
is one of the key highlights of our sustainability strategy,” said
Tania Braga, head of sustainability and accessibility for the Rio
2016 Organizing Committee. “Most importantly, we were able to
create momentum by engaging key industries in Brazil and in Latin
America towards a more sustainable way to operate. The
collaborations inspired by the Olympic Games, and lead by our
partner Dow, have already created a positive legacy in our
region.”
Leaving a lasting impact
As Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016, Dow committed to
delivering third-party-verified GHG emission reductions of 500,000
tonnes CO2e by 2026 to balance the footprint of hosting and staging
of the Games, while also aspiring to generate an additional 1.5
million tonnes of climate benefits to address societal associated
emissions, such as spectator travel.
Working with Rio 2016, Dow designed a tailor-made program to
address the environmental and technology needs of Brazil and Latin
America by introducing low-carbon solutions and practices within
key sectors of the economy. Dow’s portfolio of projects enables
businesses to enhance productivity and conserve energy by switching
from fossil to renewable energy sources, optimizing resources in
agriculture and livestock farming and building capacity for more
energy-efficient infrastructure, leading to long-term changes in
the market.
Dow selected Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to provide
third-party validation of projects against the Dow Climate
Solutions Framework and to verify GHG emissions reductions towards
the mitigation of Rio 2016’s owned and associated footprints.
“Our responsibility has been to conduct an independent
assessment, validating the project plans and verifying the
reductions and conservative projections of the impacts throughout
the realization period,” explained Braulio Pikman, senior partner
at ERM. “Our extensive process, which combines auditing of project
documentation with verifying actual implementation evidences,
determined that the portfolio is expected to generate more than 2.2
million tonnes of climate benefits through the end of 2026.”
For generations to come
In addition to the carbon mitigation goals, Dow and Rio 2016
committed to reach half a million people in Brazil to raise
awareness of sustainability and climate change. Dow engaged
decision-makers within the construction industry by hosting
seminars on energy efficiency and included the farming community in
a dialog on more sustainable agriculture practices. In addition,
Dow supported Rio 2016’s Transforma educational platform to reach
over 7 million students.
As the premier corporate partner of Transforma, Dow expanded the
platform by adding nine science classes to the curriculum, covering
concepts on sustainability, chemistry, physics, and biology through
the lens of sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Transforma
has been rolled out to all 27 Brazilian states since its
implementation in 2013.
“Dow has been a corporate citizen of Latin America for 60 years
– an anniversary celebrated as Brazil, our first country in this
region, hosts its first Olympic Games. I can’t think of a better
way to commemorate our legacy, and set the stage for the next 60
years of powerful collaborations and business growth,” said Fabian
Gil, Dow Latin America president.
To learn more about Dow’s carbon mitigation program for the Rio
2016 Olympic Games, please visit www.dow.com/carbonmitigation.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to
passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The
Company is driving innovations that extract value from material,
polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of
the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean
water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing
agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven,
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 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as
packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2015,
Dow had annual sales of nearly $49 billion and employed
approximately 49,500 people worldwide. The Company's more than
6,000 product families are manufactured at 179 sites in 35
countries across the globe. On June 1, 2016, Dow became the 100
percent owner of Dow Corning Corporation’s silicones business, a
global company with sales of greater than $4.5 billion in 2015, 25
manufacturing sites in 9 countries and approximately 10,000
employees 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.
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Dow Media RelationsJamie Ellis989-636-3325jellis@dow.comorDow
Olympic & Sports SolutionsFernão Silveira+55 11
950-339-814fsilveira@dow.com
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