3rd International Congress on Sustainability Science & Engineering

Driving Innovation Though Life Cycle Thinking

Author

Helling, R. K. - Presenter, The Dow Chemical Company

The concept of sustainability is critical for businesses and individuals to understand and apply. Although there are many ways to define sustainability, at Dow we say that sustainability requires making every decision with the future in mind. Sustainable innovation is driven by a clear corporate strategy, global accountability to goals, and a variety of tools that enable business performance. The ability to articulate aspirational goals for some areas and quantitative measurements for others is critical. The Dow Chemical Sustainable Footprint Tool™ and life cycle assessment (LCA) practices are instrumental in positioning sustainability as a target for innovation – and a source of business growth. These and other tools, their application and their impact will be described.