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Originally published in Dow's 2022 Progress Report
We seek to connect our science and innovation to advance sustainable solutions in the communities where we operate and do business. Investments support Dow’s sustainability goals and include funding for collaborations that address circularity, climate protection and resiliency. One of the ways we do this is through Dow’s Business Impact Fund, which aims to create shared value – unlocking business opportunities to make a social impact.
BUSINESS IMPACT FUND
Our Business Impact Fund is a competitive grant program that uses designated corporate contributions toward new, business-aligned initiatives that address critical social challenges and advance sustainability solutions. In 2022, Boston College recognized the fund with a Corporate Citizenship Innovation Award as the Social-Impact Changemaker.
Funding proposals come from our employees worldwide, and projects utilize Dow products, technology and expertise, often in partnership with our customers. Selected 2022 projects addressed circularity and waste transformation initiatives, as well as climate protection, water conservation and biodiversity.
Since its launch in 2016, the Business Impact Fund has supported 51 projects totaling $9.87 million in investments and spanning 21 countries, resulting in:
1,644 jobs
45,061 acres of land protected or improved
13,182 metric tons of recycled materials
256,138 people experiencing improved health
Project REFLEX Addresses Barriers to Flexible Packaging Recycling in Africa
In 2022, Project REFLEX expanded into Egypt and Guinea after a successful pilot phase in Nigeria. Supported by Dow’s Business Impact Fund, the initiative aims to divert flexible plastic waste from the environment by establishing a market for recycled content in Africa. In addition to providing technology, expertise and funding, Dow and project partner Wecyclers also seek to demonstrate the value of the recycled materials and provide income opportunities through collection, sorting and recycling. The project specifically targets flexible packaging, such as plastic water sachets, to show how they can be collected and recycled into new packaging applications. The project has reached 103,424 people and created 50 jobs, with a 50% increase in additional income for at least 25,000 waste collectors. A total of 599 metric tons of materials were recycled or diverted from landfills.
