We are part of an ever-evolving global society – one that values organizations such as Dow not only for our products and services, but also for the distinctive contributions we make to our world and its people. For Dow, these contributions are most visible in the consumer markets we serve. These include: food; building maintenance and construction; transportation; furniture and furnishings; paper and publishing; home care and improvement; personal and household care; health and medicine; water purification; electronics and entertainment.

However, our contributions must extend beyond product performance. We strongly believe that if we are to be successful in the 21st Century, we must simultaneously excel in all three elements of sustainable development: economic prosperity, corporate social responsibility and environmental stewardship. We are learning to make sustainability a way of business at Dow.

While we continue to learn, we are making progress.

Cornerstones of the Dow sustainability strategy are our eight Sustainable Development Guiding Principles. Adopted in February 2000 these principles guide our behavior and our decision-making. Setting corporate targets and reporting openly and rigorously against them is also part of our strategy, validating the cliché that "What gets measured gets done." Since 1999, we have published an annual Public Report helping you to track our progress.

The Dow commitment to sustainable development has once again been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI World). In the DJSI World review of sustainability companies for 2001, Dow was rated as the top performer for the global chemical industry group, alongside BASF. This is the second year that Dow has held the industry leadership position. Since the inception of the DSJI World three years ago, Dow has been listed as an index component. To learn more, see Dow Remains Chemical Industry Leader.