With 100 Days to Rio 2016, Dow Solutions Are Helping Brazil Deliver A Successful Olympic Games and A Sustainable Legacy

Dow technologies are present in the Games’ clusters and extended infrastructure

Industries, farmers and experts are working together on an innovative carbon mitigation program, with projects across Latin America already delivering carbon benefits on behalf of Rio 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the countdown clock marks 100 days to the Opening Ceremony of the first Olympic Games in South America, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), the Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games and Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016 is helping Rio de Janeiro to deliver an unforgettable event. Dow is providing technologies in multiple Olympic venues, enhancements to city infrastructure and implementing a unique carbon mitigation program across the region that will enable Rio to deliver climate benefits well beyond the Games.

“The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will further demonstrate how science and technology can enable the world of sport,” said Louis A. Vega, global vice president of Olympic & Sports Solutions and chief of staff of the Office of the CEO at Dow. “Dow is proud to power the Olympic Movement by bringing our technologies, expertise and knowledge in sustainability to the Games. Dow is an unmatched industry leader, providing tailor-made solutions for the most challenging needs of the world of sport and we are proud to have our know-how on full display in Rio.”

Technologies on and off the field

Dow is involved in nearly 20 projects connected to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, spanning from field-of-play technologies to venue construction, transportation and extended infrastructure, including:

• Deodoro Park: The hockey competition will be played on a high performance innovative synthetic turf system which uses DOWLEX™ linear low density polyethylene resins in the yarn component as well as Dow’s polyurethanes technologies.
• Maracanã stadium: Dow Plastics are utilized in the pipes from the draining and irrigation system under the natural grass pitch of Maracanã stadium, the venue of the Opening and Closing ceremonies and soccer games.
• Athletes’ Village in Barra: Coating materials and construction chemicals such as WALOCEL™ were utilized in the finishing of the buildings that will host competitors from more than 200 countries. The 28 modular water tanks were manufactured with resins from Dow’s Propylene Glycol and will provide a reliable water supply system for athletes, coaches, officials and referees participating in the Games.
• Olympic Tennis Centre, Olympic Aquatics Stadium and the Main Press Centre/International Broadcast Centre (MPC/IBC) complex: Dow Wire and Cable technologies provide protection and durability to the energy and data cables at these venues, thus helping media as they tell the stories of Rio 2016 for millions of fans.
• Viracopos International Airport in Campinas: Flooring solutions and polyurethane insulation panels from Dow were utilized in the major renovation to update the airport for both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Games.

Collaborating for a more Sustainable Future

The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee is leading a comprehensive sustainability program, called “Abraça” (to embrace), which recently received the ISO 20121 international standard – a top global sustainability certificate for the organization of major events. As the Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016 and a key contributor to “Abraça,” Dow is working to mitigate 500,000 tons of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq) from organizing and hosting the Games through third party-verified emissions reductions and also aiming to generate an additional 1.5 million tons of CO₂eq in climate benefits to address other Games-related emissions. Through its innovative carbon mitigation program, Dow has implemented five strategic projects in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure and industry in Latin America:

• Introduction of Precision agriculture technologies: helping farmers in Mato Grosso optimize the productivity of crops and reduce GHG emissions.
• Recovery of degraded pastureland: partnering with a leading agriculture group on the implementation of an efficient carbon tracking methodology to increase intensification of livestock production and reduce GHG emissions.
• Adoption of polyurethane-based insulation panels: teaching the construction value chain in Brazil and Argentina about the importance of efficient building insulation technologies to achieve significant energy savings, therefore reducing energy costs and limiting GHG emissions.
• Versatile packaging technologies: working with film manufacturers in five countries (Brazil, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia) to accelerate the adoption of a proprietary Dow technology, Microfoaming, that ensures more packaging material is produced using the same amount of resin while keeping the same functional properties.
• Biomass-generated energy: adopting groundbreaking power and steam generation technologies from eucalyptus and sugarcane biomass to replace fossil fuels (mainly natural gas) and significantly reduce GHG emissions at two of Dow’s sites in Brazil.

All the greenhouse gas reductions delivered by the mitigation projects will be verified by third-party expert ERM, which is thoroughly reviewing all the projects and climate benefits expected to be delivered by the program during the realization phase through 2026.

Additionally, in partnership with Rio 2016, Dow plans to reach 500,000 people in Brazil with information about climate change, sustainability and science. In order to achieve this goal, Dow is serving as the STEM Education partner of “Transforma” (to transform), Rio 2016’s education program, which today reaches more than 5 million students in Brazil. Dow is adding STEM-focused classes to Transforma and serving as the expansion partner, taking the program to an additional seven cities in Bahia and São Paulo.

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. 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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