Dow requires our suppliers to provide appropriate health, safety, and environmental information and guidance on the products they supply to us.

The increasingly competitive business environment and the global nature of the chemical industry present distinctive challenges when selecting chemical suppliers. As Dow expands operations into new geographies, a rigorous approach to defining the EH&S capabilities and performance of chemical suppliers is required.

An important part of the Responsible Care^® commitment is an ongoing assessment of chemical suppliers in the context of their EH&S practices (emergency response, employee safety and health, process safety, distribution safety, security, product stewardship, and environmental performance). Dow expects all businesses to consider the EH&S practices and performance of chemical suppliers when making procurement decisions.

If a supplier’s current practices or performance are suspect, then a risk assessment is triggered with a final objective to implement improvement in a supplier’s practices. If, given a reasonable amount of time, improvement is not evident, then Dow will take further measures — up to and including termination of the business relationship.