In this section
			Corporate Environmental Advisory Council Community Advisory Panels Global Reporting Initiative The Public Interest Committee, Board of Directors, The Dow Chemical Company Ongoing Validation Awards

Ongoing validation and feedback of our overall efforts to manage and report on the Triple Bottom Line performance of Sustainable Development continued in 2003.

Independent Ratings
The number of various rating agencies grew again in 2003 and we expect continued progress in the various methodologies for assessing performance.

In the spirit of transparency, we are providing the actual assessments of Dow from a few of the more well known rating agencies. In some cases, we provided only the executive summary, as the detailed questions are considered proprietary by some of these institutions. This poses an interesting dilemma for the various rating agencies. The credibility of the rating organizations is highly dependent on the transparency to all of their respective processes, yet many consider this a part of their protected intellectual capital. It is not clear how this will be resolved in the future, but Dow believes that the fundamental principle of transparency will have to apply for these agencies, as well as the companies they are evaluating. Following are summaries of their reports.

		Dow Jones Sustainability Index (112KB PDF) Once again, The Dow Chemical Company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) as one of the top chemical companies in terms of overall corporate sustainability performance. Despite being in the top 10 percent, our overall position fell in 2003, although the difference between the top score and Dow is less than seven percentage points. The differences in 2003 are primarily based on poor economic performance, and a Media and Stakeholder Assessment (MSA) of various "legacy" issues by the research arm of the DJSI—Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). As a result of the assessment, Dow met with the analysts from SAM to dialogue and learn more about how Dow performed relative to the leaders and the chemical industry average.
		Innovest Strategic Value Advisors (135KB PDF) In 2003, Innovest conducted its first "Intangible Value Assessment" for The Dow Chemical Company. Areas evaluated included sustainable governance, human capital, stakeholder capital, products, and services, and emerging markets. Overall, Dow was awarded a "AA" rating, ranking third in the chemical industry. In a separate assessment of overall environmental performance, Dow was downgraded on January 26, 2004 from a "AA" rating, to a "BB" rating—moving from 8th out of 30 competitors to 45th out of 69 competitors. The primary reason for the significant downgrading is due to the perception of increased risk (versus actual legal or market risk) to the Company of various legacy issues. Dow believes this downgrading is unwarranted, and has spent considerable time with the analyst at Innovest regarding the specifics of its assessment—providing additional dialogue, documents, and facts on some of the issues of concern.
		Business in the Community (177KB PDF) Established in 2002, The Corporate Responsibility Index is a business management tool, developed to support companies in improving their impact on society and the environment. It enables them to assess the extent to which their strategy is translated into responsible practice throughout the organization, in managing four key areas—Community, Environment, Marketplace, and Workplace. In 2003, Dow received an overall Index Score of 90.64 percent—placing it once again in the top 20 percent of all companies who provided information for the index. Overall performance for all companies reporting increased, with the average moving from 72 percent to 79 percent. Dow received top marks for overall corporate strategy, and performance and impact—relative to other companies within the chemical sector and overall. Areas for improvement based on this assessment include: more robust programs for assessment of suppliers and customers (note: this is a new task item for Dow in 2004!), linkage of performance on social dimensions with top management and board members, and pursuit of third party validation mechanisms for performance and reporting.

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