The Public Interest Committee, Board of Directors, The Dow Chemical Company

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We believe the 2003 Dow Global Public Report demonstrates the strong commitment of the Dow Board of Directors and Company Management to respond to the concerns of its stakeholders through transparent and responsible corporate conduct. This 2003 Report reflects the close relationship between our sustainability goals – economic, environmental, and social – and the other business interests of the Company.

Increased awareness has changed public expectations about the roles and responsibilities of corporations within society. The legitimacy of our enterprise is dependent on public trust. This Report demonstrates how our conduct is in keeping with societal expectations for socially responsible behavior. We are pleased that this Report contains news of significant gains in many areas as Dow continued to work diligently to achieve its 2005 goals in the face of challenging business conditions. But we consider it just as important that the Report also discusses those areas where Dow progress has fallen short of our goals. Dow as a company holds itself to high standards of business conduct. As a consequence, our goals are ambitious and encourage us to stretch to achieve them.

For the first time, Dow has sought to be "in accordance with" the guidelines set forth by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). We believe this is further evidence of Dow's commitment to perform against accepted ways of reporting the Triple Bottom Line of Sustainable Development: Economic Prosperity, Environmental Stewardship, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Board of Directors remains committed to Dow's ongoing pursuit of sustainability and continued open reporting of the Company's progress. We hope you will find this report of interest.

Public Interest Committee of the Board of Directors

J. C. Danforth, Chair
J. M. Cook J. M. Fettig K. R. McKennon		P. G. Stern J. M. Ringler W. S. Stavropoulos

–April 2004

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