Dow Chemical Company

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Campaign to Fix the Debt
Company Profile
Company Name Dow Chemical
CEO Name Andrew Liveris
CEO Compensation $19,274,624
CEO Retirement Assets $23,726,536
Underfunded Company Pension -$7,010,000,000
Annual Company Revenue $59,985,000,000
Territorial Tax Break $3,500,000,000
Federal Lobbying/Political Donations ('09-'12*) $31,685,000
Click here for sources.
2011 data unless otherwise noted.
©2013 Center for Media and Democracy

The Dow Chemical Company is a leading producer of plastics, chemicals, hydrocarbons, and agrochemicals. Dow was incorporated in 1897.[1] It is the largest chemical company in the U.S. and the largest in the world (along with ExxonMobil and behind BASF). It is one of the "Big 6" Biotech Corporations, along with BASF, Bayer, Dupont, Syngenta, and Monsanto (so called because they dominate the agricultural input market -- that is, they own the world’s seed, pesticide, and biotechnology industries).[2][3]

Dow also makes "performance plastics"; including engineering plastics, polyurethanes and materials for Dow Automotive. Other products include packaging materials such as its Styrofoam brand insulation; fibers, and films. It also makes chemicals like acrylic acid; commodity chemicals (chlor-alkalies and glycol) and agrochemicals. Its Hydrocarbons and Energy unit makes olefins and aromatics, raw materials for other chemicals. Dow also owns half of silicone products maker Dow Corning. [4]

Dow subsidiary Union Carbide was involved in the disaster in Bhopal, India and later in asbestos lawsuits.[5]

In 2011, the Dow Chemical Company reported $59,985,000,000 in total sales.[6]

Access Dow Chemical Company's corporate rap sheet compiled and written by Good Jobs First here.

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"

The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem."

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

About Fix the Debt
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem." Through a special report and new interactive wiki resource, the Center for Media and Democracy -- in partnership with the Nation magazine -- exposes the funding, the leaders, the partner groups, and the phony state "chapters" of this astroturf supergroup. Learn more at PetersonPyramid.org and in the Nation magazine.


Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Dow Chemical was a "Director" level sponsor of the 2011 and 2016 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conferences, which in 2010, equated to $10,000.[7][8] Dow Chemical was also a sponsor of the Louisiana Welcome Reception at the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting.[9] Dr. Daland R. Juberg, North American leader of the Human Health Assessment Group within Dow AgroSciences (Indianapolis, IN), spoke at the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force meeting of the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting.[10]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

See #Lobbying and #Political contributions below for more on Dow's political influence.

Environment and Health Controversies

Documents Contained at the Anti-Environmental Archives
Documents written by or referencing this person or organization are contained in the Anti-Environmental Archive, launched by Greenpeace on Earth Day, 2015. The archive contains 3,500 documents, some 27,000 pages, covering 350 organizations and individuals. The current archive includes mainly documents collected in the late 1980s through the early 2000s by The Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), an organization that tracked the rise of the so called "Wise Use" movement in the 1990s during the Clinton presidency. Access the index to the Anti-Environmental Archives here.

Chemical Disaster in Bophal, India

On the night of December 3rd, 1984, thousands suffocated from 27 tons of methyl isocyanate that leaked out of Union Carbide’s pesticides plant . [11] At least 3,000 people were killed that night, several thousand more in the following nights, and yet more in the years to come. Twenty-five years later, the chemicals from the abandoned factory continue to seep into the ground and effects nearby survivors and their children.[12]

In 2001 Dow Chemical inherited the liabilities when it purchased Union Carbide. Union Carbide left the factory desolate and destroyed, ignoring their lease agreement with the state of Madhya Pradesh, that the land, when returned, be in a ‘habitable and usable condition.[13] Dow ignored the Polluter Pays principle, claiming that the Madhya Pradesh government should pay for the clean up. The company asserted that the $300 million in compensation paid by Union Carbide in 1989 should be funneled into cleanup efforts, rather than to affected individuals.[14]

Napalm

During the Vietnam War, Dow encountered boycotts against its end-consumer products because of its manufacture of napalm. [15] ZNet noted:

"Saran Wrap -The thin slice of plastic invaluable to our lives. Produced by Dow until consumers were looking for Dow products to boycott. Dow decided to get out of consumer products for this reason -- they sold off Saran Wrap -- and since just makes chemicals that make our consumer products.[16][17][18]

Dioxin

In 1978 Dr Richard J Kociba a scientist working for Dow Chemicals found overwhelming evidence that Dow's 2,3,7,8-TCDD herbicides (which contain dioxins) were dangerous, and published his report in Applied Pharmacology.

Before Love Canal had come to public notice, he had begun a series of three different life-time (2 year) animal studies feeding dioxins to male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Kociba found high rates of liver cancer in the female mice (but not the males) and he had microscope slides to prove it.
This triggered the scientific scare about dioxins (and later, their cousins, the furans) in herbicides -- not just in Agent Orange. Public concerns became exaggerated when the media over-reacted; and this was supplemented by the clumsy and frantic attempts by the chemical companies to throw doubt on their own research.

[Dow Chemicals rejected the Kociba findings. They then hired the 'greenwashing' PR firm, E Bruce Harrison , to run a campaign, discounting and confusing the findings. They later challenged Kociba's diagnosis of the cancers by mounting their own 'independent' committee of highly-paid consultants who reviewed the Kociba slides and found fewer 'confirmed' cancers -- which is why scientists don't like releasing their basic data; it just fuels the fires of organised attack.].

The first lawsuits were filed against Dow Chemicals and Monsanto over their sloppy production of Agent Orange resulting in Vietnam Veteran's dioxin. Then in March 1978, Eckardt C Beck, the local (Love Canal) Regional administrator for the EPA reported:

I visited the canal area at that time. Corroding waste-disposal drums could be seen breaking up through the grounds of backyards. Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. One entire swimming pool had been had been popped up from its foundation, afloat now on a small sea of chemicals. Puddles of noxious substances were pointed out to me by the residents. Some of these puddles were in their yards, some were in their basements, others yet were on the school grounds. Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces.
And then there were the birth defects. The New York State Health Department is continuing an investigation into a disturbingly high rate of miscarriages, along with five birth-defect cases detected thus far in the area.

In October 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave Dow 60 days (until December 10, 2007) to present the agency with "a good faith offer demonstrating its willingness to conduct or finance a remedial investigation and feasibility study and design a remedy" for dioxin contamination of the Tittabawassee River, and perhaps the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay areas of Michigan. [19]

Animal Testing

Dow contracts some tests out to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). [20] Huntingdon Life Sciences is the 3rd largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world and the largest animal testing facility in all of Europe. Firms hire CROs to conduct animal toxicity tests for agrochemicals, petrochemicals, household products, pharmaceutical drugs and toxins.

For links to copies of a facility's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Animal Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) reports, other information and links, see also Facility Reports and Information: Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan. [21]

Violation Tracker
Discover Which Corporations are the Biggest Violators of Environmental, Health and Safety Laws in the United States
Violation Tracker is the first national search engine on corporate misconduct covering environmental, health, and safety cases initiated by 13 federal regulatory agencies. Violation Tracker is produced by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First. Click here to access Violation Tracker.

Lobbying

Dow Chemical Company spent $10,650,000 on lobbying in 2013.[22] Nineteen out of the 33 (58%) lobbyists employed by Dow Chemical previously held government jobs. The top issues lobbied were Energy & Nuclear Power, Environment & Superfund, Agriculture, Taxes, and Manufacturing.

2012 Lobbying Data for Dow

Lobbying Firm Amount Reported Issue
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld $260,000 Support for WAVE project in federal approval and funding process; support for TIGER grant
Alclade $60,000 Regulations for the implementation of methyl bromide alternatives under Title VI of the Clean Air Act; Implementation of the Montreal Protocol; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Order granting objections to tolerances and pending requests for a stay: Sulfuryl Fluoride (EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0174)
APCO Worldwide $320,000 Advocacy in support of renewable energy.
Bergeson & Campbell $10,000 USDA conservation programs, farm bill, clean water standards, nutrient use
Cardinal Point Partners $200,000 Battery Issues -- USAF RTD&E in Defense Appropriations and Authorization Acts FY 2013
Cove Strategies $10,000 Policy supporting growth in manufacturing
Crowell & Moring $20,000 General pesticide regulatory advice and counsel related to registration review of key active ingredients, application of Endangered Species Act consultation requirements to pesticide registrations, regulatory implications related to recommendations from National Research Councils Fluoride in Drinking Water report (2007), agriculture nutrient policy, and deregulation of genetically modified organisms under the Plant Protection Act.
Dow Agrosciences $570,000 To extend temporary suspension of duty on Diiodomethyl-p-tolylsulfone; HR 5703, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 2-Propenoic acid, polymer with diethenylbenzene; HR 5704, To renew temporary suspension of duty on Methyl Hydroxyethyl Cellulose; HR 4880, To extend suspension of duty on ion-exchange resin powder, dried to less than 10 percent moisture; HR 4881, To extend suspension of duty on an ion exchange resin comprising a copolymer of styrene crosslinked with divinylbenzene, iminodiacetic acid, sodium form; HR 4882, To extend suspension of duty on an ion exchange resin comprising a copolymer of styrene crosslinked with ethenylbenzene, aminophosphonic acid, sodium form; HR 4884, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 2-Phenylphenol sodium salt; HR 4886, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 2-Phenylphenol; HR 5346, To extend temporary suspension of duty on Macroporous; HR 5347, To extend temporary suspension of duty on certain ion- exchange resin powder; HR 5348, To temporarily suspend duty on poly(4-1-isobutoxy ethoxy)styrene-co -4-hydroxystyrene; HR 5360, To extend temporary suspension of duty on powdered ion exchange resin comprised of a copolymer of styrene, cross linked with divinyl-benzene; HR 5361, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 10,10'-Oxybisphenoxarsine; HR 5362, To suspend temporarily the duty on certain macroporus adsorpent polymers; HR 5363, To suspend temporarily the duty on 4-(1-Ethoxyethoxy) styrene-4- (t-butylcarbonyloxy) styrene-4-hydroxystyrene copolymer; HR 4996, To extend temporary suspension of duty on quinoline; HR 4997, To extend and modify temporary suspension of duty on 2- Cyanopyridine; HR 4998, To extend temporary reduction of duty on DAT intermediate; HR 4999, To extend the temporary reduction of duty on DMDS; HR 5000, To extend temporary reduction of duty on methoxyfenozide; HR 5001, To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Quintec; HR 5002, To suspend temporarily the duty on Benzamide, N[[[3,5 Dichloro-2-fluoro-4-1,1,2,3,3,3- hexafluoropropoxy)phenyl] amino]carbonyl]2,6 difluoro - (9Cl); HR 5003, To extend temporary suspension of duty on Dimethyl malonate; HR 5004, To extend temporary suspension of duty on diphenyl sulfide; HR 5005, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 2,6-Dichloroaniline; HR 5006, To extend temporary suspension of duty on DEPCT; HR 5007, To suspend temporarily duty on 2 methoxy-4- trifluoromethylpyridine; HR 5008, To extend temporary suspension of duty on fenbuconazole; HR 5009, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 1,3-Dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone; HR 5010, To suspend temporarily duty on 2-Amino-5,7-dimethoxy-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine; HR 5011, To suspend temporarily the duty on a Formulated product containing Propyzamide as the active ingredient; HR 5012, To extend temporary suspension of duty on MCPA-2-ethylhexyl; HR 5013, To suspend temporarily the duty on Tebuthiuron; HR 5014, To suspend temporarily the duty on 4 Ethoxy 1,1,1 trifluoro 3 butene-2- one; HR 5015, To extend temporary suspension of duty on Ethalfluralin; HR 5016, To suspend temporarily the duty on 2 Chloro 1 (3 ethoxy 4 nitrophenoxy) 4 (trifluoromethyl) Benzene; HR 5017, To suspend temporarily the duty on Dichlormid; HR 5018, To extend temporary suspension of duty on propiconazole; HR 5019, To extend temporary suspension of duty on Gallery; HR 5020, To extend temporary suspension of duty on mixtures of fungicide; HR 5021, To extend temporary suspension of duty on myclobutanil; HR 5022, To suspend temporarily the duty on (R)-(+)-2-(4 hydroxyphenoxy)propionic acid; HR 5023, To suspend temporarily the duty on Acetic Acid, 5 Chloro-8- quinolinoxy, 1 Methylhexylester; HR 5024, To extend temporary suspension of duty on Benfluralin; HR 5025, To extend temporary suspension of duty on trifluralin; HR 5026, To extend temporary suspension of duty on 4,4-Dimethoxy-2-butanone; HR 5027, To extend temporary suspension of duty on mixed isomers of 1,3-dichloropropene
Dow Corning $640,000 Discussion pertaining to proposed rulemaking at the EPA. Discussions pertaining to pending anti-dumping/countervailing duties case before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Proposed tax legislation regarding territorial taxation of foreign earnings.Proposed regulations regarding In-Bond transport. Appropriations Request concerning Li Ion Batteries.
Ernst & Young $100,000 International tax issues.
Holland & Knight $80,000 Energy efficiency and renewable energy matters; green product issues.
James Callan & Associates $20,000 Maintaining food and feed tolerances for the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride.
ML Strategies $180,000 Issues related to high energy intensive and trade vulnerable industries, solar policy and energy efficiency.
Policy Navigation $60,000 EPAs risk assessment for dioxin and preliminary remediation goals.
Strategic Marketing Innovation $40,000 Funding for electronics and energy storage materials development
The Dow Chemical Company $6,575,000 The Regulatory Accountability Act (S. 1606, H.R. 3010); Toxic Substances Control Act; Green Chemistry legislation; Regulation of bisphenol-A; dioxin EPA Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2250) S. 847 The Safe Chemicals Act EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS);Trans Pacific Partnership Market Access - Thailand, India, China Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Russia PNTR; SAFETEA-LU - Highway bill S. 301 - a bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to make technical and minor modifications to the positive train control requirements under chapter 201 Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2011 - S. 275; chemical and transportation security issues: H.R. 901 - Chemical Facilities Anti Terrorism Act of 2011 H.R. 908 - Full Implementation of the Chemical Facilities Anti Terrorism Act; H.R. 3674, The PRECISE Act S. 473 - Continuing Chemical Facility Anti Terrorism Act of 2011; SECURE IT Act of 2012 S. 413 - Cybersecurity & Internet Freedom Act of 2011; S. 3480 Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act; policy supporting growth of manufacturing in US; Permanent extension & expansion of research credit, renewable energy & energy efficiency tax benefits, corporate tax reform, domestic partner tax equity, international taxation, superfund taxes, changes to repatriation holiday, H.R. 942 American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2011; S. 461 Polluter Pays Restoration Act; H.R. 2088/S. 1171 Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act; H.R. 1834, Freedom to Invest Act of 2011; H.R. 71 & H.R. 3606, Jobs Act; H.R. 4281, Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 S. 1577, Greater Research Opportunities with Tax Help Act H.R. 2735, Provide permanent CFC look-through tax treatment H.R. 3630, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011;

Dow Chemical and subsidiary Dow AgroSciences spent a combined total of $6,640,000 on lobbying in 2009. $1,870,000 went to 8 outside firms for the parent company; $120,000 went to one outside firm for the subsidiary and the remaining amount was spent on in-house lobbying.[23] In 2011, the company spent $8 million in direct lobbying. $820,000 was focused on the AgroSciences division, around pesticide spray drift, the chemical sulfuryl fluoride, and efforts to minimize EPA’s review of dioxin. $3.3 million has been spent in the first 3 months of 2012, with $350,000 spent on its AgroSciences division. [24]

Political Contributions

The Dow Chemical company controls a political action committee that has been active in every election cycle since 1990.

As of the first quarter of 2014, Dow Chemical had given $632,940 to federal candidates and groups.[25] This included over $100,000 to the Republican Governor's Association and large sums to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Republican State Leadership Committee.

Dow gave $1.45 million to federal candidates in the 2012 election cycle, with 68% going to Republicans.[26] Top recipients included Mitt Romney ($67,072), Barack Obama ($21,790), Fred Upton ($11,500), Allyson Schwartz ($11,000), and George Allen ($10,500).[27]

Dow gave $319,100 to federal candidates in the 2010 election cycle, 51% to Democrats and 47% to Republicans.[28]

Personnel

Executive Committee

As of January 2013:[29]

  • Andrew N. Liveris - President, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
  • James R. Fitterling - Executive Vice President: Feedstocks, Performance Plastics, Asia and Latin America
  • Joe Harlan - Executive Vice President: Chemicals, Energy and Performance Materials
  • Howard Ungerleider - Executive Vice President: Advanced Materials
  • Bill Weideman - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Other key executives

  • William Weideman - Executive VP & CFO
  • David Kepler- Executive VP, Business Services, Chief Sustainability Officer & CIO[30]

Key executives and 2006 pay

  • Andrew N. Liveris - $16,821,542[31]
  • Geoffery E. Merszei - CFO, $7,222,491[32]
  • David E. Kepler - $4,289,395[33]

Board of Directors

As of January 2013:[34]

  • Andrew N. Liveris - President, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
  • Arnold A. Allemang
  • Jacqueline K. Barton - Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
  • James A. Bell - Former Chief Financial Officer, The Boeing Company
  • Jeff M. Fettig - Lead Director; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Whirlpool Corporation
  • John B. Hess - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hess Corporation
  • Paul Polman - Chief Executive Officer Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V.
  • Dennis H. Reilley - Former Chairman, Covidien, Ltd.
  • James M. Ringler - Chairman, Teradata Corporation
  • Ruth G. Shaw - Former Executive Advisor, Duke Energy Corporation

Former board members include:

Contact

2030 Dow Center
Midland, Michigan 48674

Phone: (989) 636-1000
Fax: (989) 832-1556
Web address: http://www.dow.com

http://www.biodegradables.com

Articles and Resources

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Corporate Rap Sheet

External Articles

External Resources

Books

References

  1. ↑ DOW, History, organizational website, accessed January 2013
  2. ↑ Pesticide Action Network of North America, Chemical Cartel, organizational website, accessed July 2012
  3. ↑ ETC Group, Who Owns Nature? Corporate Power and the Final Frontier in the Commodification of Life, international civil society organizational report, November 2008, accessed July 2012
  4. ↑ Company Description: Dow Chemical Company, Hoovers, accessed April 2010
  5. ↑ Union Carbide Profile, Hoovers, accessed December 2007.
  6. ↑ Dow Chemical, "2011 Annual Report", organizational document, page 1.
  7. ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Sponsors, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011
  8. ↑ Nick Surgey, "ExxonMobil Top Sponsor at ALEC Annual Meeting," Exposed by CMD, Center for Media and Democracy, July 27, 2016.
  9. ↑ [American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Receptions, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011]
  10. ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, "Energy, Environment, and Agriculture 2011 Annual Meeting Task Force Meeting," speaker biographies and materials, August 4, 2011, on file with CMD
  11. ↑ "What Happened?", International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal November 11, 2008.
  12. ↑ Ellen Shifrin, "Bhopal: The Search for Justice," Basics Free Community Newsletter January 28,2009.
  13. ↑ Joe Jackson & Maeve McLoughlin, "Bhopal disaster: still waiting for the clean up," International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, November 20, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Dow's Liabilities," International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, November 11,2008.
  15. ↑ "Dow Drops Napalm", Time, November 28, 1969.
  16. ↑ Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, "Twenty Things to Know About Dow Chemical on the 20th Anniversary of Bhopal", Z Net, November 23, 2004.
  17. ↑ Dow Chemical Profile, Hoovers, accessed December 2007.
  18. ↑ Products and Services, Dow Chemical, accessed December 2007.
  19. ↑ Tony Lascari, "EPA to Dow: 60 days to talk cleanup," Midland Daily News (Midland, Mich.) October 11, 2007.
  20. ↑ Inside Customers, SHAC.net, accessed December 2009
  21. ↑ Facility Reports and Information: Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, Stop Animal Experimentation NOW!, accessed August 2011
  22. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Profile for 2014 Election Cycle," OpenSecrets.org, accessed May 6, 2014.
  23. ↑ Dow lobbying expenses, Open Secrets, accessed April 2010
  24. ↑ Open Secrets:Dow lobbying expenses. Accessed July 19th, 2012.
  25. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Profile for 2014 Election Cycle," OpenSecrets.org, accessed May 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Totals," OpenSecrets.org, accessed May 6, 2014.
  27. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Recipients," OpenSecrets.org, accessed May 6, 2014.
  28. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, 2010 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets online campaign finance website, accessed August 2011
  29. ↑ DOW, Executive Committee, organizational website, accessed January 2013
  30. ↑ Company Description: Dow Chemical Company, Hoovers, accessed April 2010
  31. ↑ Andrew N Liveris, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  32. ↑ Geoffery E Merszei, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  33. ↑ David E Kepler, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  34. ↑ DOW, Board of Directors, organizational website, accessed January 2013
  35. ↑ Board of Directors, Dow, accessed December 2007.
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