The Olympic Games represent the apex of athletic prowess—challenging athletes to achieve the seemingly impossible. With a rich history in the world of sports and as a Worldwide Olympic Partner and the Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Movement, Dow has also been inspired to challenge the status quo.
Through Dow’s carbon partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the excitement, energy and challenge of sport is combined with groundbreaking science to generate real third-party verified climate benefits. To really push beyond business as usual, Dow is helping enable greenhouse gases (GHGs) reductions beyond the Olympic Games and host cities to some of the world’s highest output industries.
Alongside customers and key partners, Dow is bringing innovation and carbon expertise to tailored mitigation projects in building energy efficiency, packaging and recycling, and industrial applications.
To date, the cumulative GHG reductions from Dow’s three carbon programs, which include Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and the IOC programs, have reached more than 5 million tonnes of CO2e. A new portfolio of similar projects is currently being developed by Dow to reflect its closer relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It’s a partnership that Dow estimates will help mitigate 6 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2026. For example, multiple Dow solutions have been incorporated into the IOC’s new headquarters building — Olympic House — in Lausanne, Switzerland, to enhance its energy efficiency and sustainability. The IOC is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification in part because of Dow solutions such as energy-saving sealants, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints that remove formaldehyde from air in buildings, and a waterproof membrane for the green roof.
Dow is also working towards a successful application of end-of-life plastic in road construction. Value-added markets and applications for product re-use are essential in a circular economy. Dow continues to expand our geographic scope of projects demonstrating that new value for plastic waste can be created in road construction when asphalt roads are mixed with plastic waste. Road projects have been completed in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico and the United States. Research conducted at Chulalongkorn University found that the asphalt-plastic roads are 15-33 percent more durable and lead to 6 percent higher skid resistance versus standard asphalt roads.