Drive nature conservation, social capital and carbon cuts

• For over 30 years, Dow has been strengthening its commitment to sustainability goals and making meaningful impact on the environment, our customers and society, while also growing our business. Guided by science and innovation, the company is dedicated to developing solutions to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

• Dow efforts are focused on three strategic pillars, aligned with Dow’s global sustainability goals:Climate Protection, Circular Economy, and Safer Materials.

• On climate protection, Dow takes a holistic approach considering the inextricably linked facets of air, water and land:

  • Decarbonization and climate change mitigation – Dow intends to be carbon neutral (Scope 1 + 2 + 3 plus product benefits) by 2050.

  • Healthy ecosystems and climate change adaptation – Through Dow’s Water & Nature strategy, Dow aims to support water resilience for our sites and surrounding communities, conserve habitat in key ecosystems, and positively impact nature throughout the value chain. Dow has set distinct targets for water and nature, including that by 2050, Dow will partner to conserve 50,000 acres of habitat

• As a global leader in materials science, Dow recognizes its responsibility to the communities where we do business, and Dow continues to drive a culture that fosters caring about people, communities and environment. Dow focuses on creating positive and enduring change in Dow communities. We do this by taking actions that align with our global citizenship strategy, and among the priority issues are:

  • Thriving Communities: Dow addresses community identified needs and supports disaster resiliency and response while advancing equitable opportunities in the communities in which Dow operates

  • Sustainability: Dow promotes circularity, decarbonization, water stewardship and healthy ecosystems with a focus on communities that experience disproportionate environmental risks and burdens.

Location of the initiative (region, country, city): Brazil, Pará State, Breu Branco city

The “Conservation that Transforms” ecosystem broadens and enhances the already low-carbon position of Dow Breu Branco Site (State of Pará, Brazil), where Dow operates a Silicon Metal site, that is source of silicone-based solutions serving customers in worldwide diversified markets, such as personal care, building & infrastructure, mobility & transportation, consumer & electronics:

• Since 2025 the site is powered 100% by renewable energy

• Since 2022, the site implemented the “Afterburner project” to avoid emissions of methane to the atmosphere, reducing emissions significantly and improving the work conditions for our employees. Charcoal is a raw material in silicon metal manufacturing.

The ecosystem includes long-term initiatives such as:

• Community empowerment and Amazon forest conservation through Ybá, which supports the development of a cooperative focused on the sustainable extraction of non-timber bio-actives in Breu Branco, Pará — helping to conserve standing forests and biodiversity.

• Income generation and social capital development by the Jataí project, which supports families in Vila Mamorana, Breu Branco, through bioeconomy initiatives. The local community was trained in stingless beekeeping for honey production, creating an additional source of sustainable income.

• Education promotion: Providing complementary basic education and cultural activities for public school children and adolescents.

• New social projects to be developed based on diagnostic of local needs and through a co- creation process with leaders from the communities.

• Long term funding of these initiatives via Caiarara REDD+ Project (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation”), that will transform emissions reductions and socio- environmental co-benefits into certified high quality carbon credits (VCS, Verified Carbon Standard, and CCB, Climate Community & Biodiversity, nature-based solutions credits).

Sustainability impact

Climate

• This is Dow’s largest conservation project and a concrete application of the intersection between carbon mitigation, nature and biodiversity preservation, and social capital development. Within this ecosystem of long-term complementary initiatives, projects are interconnected and amplify their impact while aligning with Dow’s global citizenship, Water & Nature and Dow’s Decarbonize and Grow strategies.

• The Conservation that Transforms supports the company’s 2050 carbon neutrality, conservation, and water resilience goals. Together, the projects will help Amazon forest conservation (over 32000 hectares) and reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

• The primary amazon forest owned by Dow is rich in biodiversity and has an estimate carbon stock ~ 762 MT per hectare (above Amazon average of 174 – 518 MT per hectare → above 2 times Amazon average).

• The REDD+ project will also compensate Dow’s residual emissions to deliver on own GHG emissions goals and net zero commitments of Dow Breu Branco site. Validation and verification under the new Verra Methodology VM0048 ensures the integrity of greenhouse gas accounting with the utilization of the most up-to-date science, data, and technologies. It is expected that the REDD+ project avoids approximately 33 000 tons emissions per year.

• Dow’s Silicon Metal Site in Breu Branco consumes 100% renewable energy since 2025 and reduced to zero Scope 2 emissions. In 2022, the site implemented the “Afterburner project”, that has avoided emissions of methane to the atmosphere (Scope 1) in charcoal operations. Charcoal is a raw material in silicon metal manufacturing, and this site plays a critical role in Dow’s global integrated supply chain of silicone products, providing a reliable and competitive source of silicon metal.

• With this comprehensive initiative (REDD+, Renewables, Afterburner project), it is expected the site to be able to reach own operations (scope 1 and scope 2) net zero

Nature

The REDD+ Caiarara project will:

• Improve the economics of preservation and regeneration of ecosystems, promoting further assessment of biodiversity in the region.

• Fund activities and projects to further drive social impact in the communities which Dow operates.

• The main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the region have been identified as soybean expansion, extensive cattle ranching, and slash-and-burn practices. The Project addresses these challenges through biodiversity conservation and natural resource protection, implementing preventive and mitigative measures such as enhanced property surveillance, satellite-based deforestation monitoring, and promotion of sustainable socioeconomic alternatives.

Already implemented projects like Ybá and Jataí projects have, and new social projects to be developed based on diagnosis of local needs, will empower community to conserve rainforest and biodiversity of the area, by offering a sustainable non-timber income generation business model. They will enable the protection of ~470 species of animals and plants, including 37 endangered species.

Social

• These Dow-funded projects are empowering communities through training in sustainable non-timber income generation, creating social impact now and into the future with continued support from the REDD+ project.

• Ybá taps the deep forest knowledge of the local families – the guardians of Amazonian biodiversity. They represent a richly diverse ethnic population that employs fishing, craftsmanship and small-scale farming as sources of food and income. As our partners, they bring traditional experience and knowledge that can contribute to the conservation of the biome and the maintenance of the region’s ecosystems.

• In turn, Ybá project seeks to support the community and enable sustainable alternative earnings. Members of the Vila Mamorana Farmers Association, formed mostly of women of color, were selected to carry out the sustainable harvesting of seeds from the forest. With the support of Natura and guidance from the Peabiru Institute, association members received training in the sustainable and regenerative management capabilities necessary to supply bio-actives to the market.

• By the Jataí project, the community was also trained in stingless beekeeping for honey production, creating an additional source of sustainable income.

• The REDD+ Caiarara Project encompasses 11 communities in the region, primarily composed of migratory groups established over recent decades. These communities are largely engaged in subsistence agriculture and maintain direct or indirect interactions with the project area through natural resource use or geographic proximity. Key initiatives include supporting sustainable value chains, biodiversity monitoring and conservation programs, and environmental education to raise awareness and foster preservation. The Project also strengthens local governance by actively engaging communities and stakeholders in its implementation.

Business impact

Benefits

• The “Conservation that Transforms” project plays a central role on a positive agenda with Para State Government. Beyond the reinforcement on License to operate of our sites in Pará, combining community development, the project is a key argument within State Government on how Dow is willing to preserve the nature of Pará State and is aware of its role as a private company developing social-economic growth among communities in need and maintaining a huge area of rain forest in a region with almost none preserved area.

• Dow has a fiscal incentive to operate in Pará and to face it the company must fulfill some KPIs and the social component is one of them. It is important to highlight that with “Conservation that Transforms” Dow will invest more than expected on the incentive KPI. The implementation of the “Afterburner Project” is a model in the State on how to produce charcoal with low gas emission to be followed by other companies in the state.

• Supports the global silicone supply chain with a low-carbon advantage. Improves employee work conditions through safer and cleaner charcoal operations. Additionally, the generation of high-integrity carbon credits through a REDD+ project – with measurable social and biodiversity co-benefits – will be offered in the market, creating an additional source of revenue and reinforcing Dow’s commitment to sustainable development.

Costs

Investments since 2020: USD 500,000, expected to double. Long-term financing secured via REDD+ carbon credits, validated under Verra Methodology VM0048.

Typical business profile

• The Conservation that Transforms ecosystem connects initiatives focused on nature conservation, social capital development, and carbon mitigation—making it highly relevant for companies and sectors aiming to integrate sustainability goals with tangible social impact.

• A concrete example is the Ybáproject, which already has a commercial partnership with Natura, one of Dow’s key customers in Brazil. Natura uses andiroba seeds—harvested by local communities—in its products, aligning with its strategy of sourcing bioactives from the Brazilian Amazon. This collaboration has strengthened Dow’s relationship with Natura, a company that, like Dow, has a strong social presence in the Pará region. It has also opened doors for Dow to position additional solutions in the Personal Care market.

• Moreover, the project has attracted support from Univar Solutions, Dow’s largest global distributor for personal care products, reinforcing its potential to engage commercial partners committed to sustainable value chains.

• Most relevant business profiles:

  • Sectors: Personal Care, Cosmetics, Chemicals, Bioeconomy, ESG-driven brands.

  • Processes: Sustainable supply chain development, bioactive traceability, community engagement, local income generation.

  • ESG Maturity: Companies at intermediate to advanced stages of their Net Zero/Nature Positive journey, seeking integrated environmental and social impact solutions.

  • Geographic relevance:

    • Brazil: The Amazon region, particularly the state of Pará, where Dow operates—including a silicon metal production site, a key raw material for cosmetics.

    • Globally: Companies looking to partner holistically on sustainability, considering carbon, nature and water, along their value chain.

Conservation that Transforms is currently Dow’s largest conservation project globally and will serve as the company’s flagship engagement platform at COP30, especially with major players in the Personal Care sector—an industry that strongly aligns with the project’s pillars.

Approach

• Conduct diagnostic of local needs and environmental priorities.

• Partner with NGOs and community organizations to design initiatives.

• Develop bioeconomy projects with cooperatives (e.g., non-timber products, beekeeping).

• Implement education and training programs for youth and families.

• Secure long-term financing through carbon credit generation (REDD+).

• Monitor biodiversity, emissions, and social outcomes.

Stakeholders involved

• Procurement, Operations, EH&S, Commercial: coordination of on-site activities for community training and project development

• Project Developer REDD+: Ambipar

• Management of Conservation that Transforms: Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA)

• Certification REDD+: Verra Standard

• Education Promotion: Torpedos MirimProject Developer Ybá and Jataí: Dow, Instituto Peabiru, The Nature Conservancy

• Other stakeholders: Natura (commercial partner) and Univar Solutions.

Key parameters to consider

• Implementation timeline: Short term initiatives: 2-4 years; long term self-sustainable ecosystem of social capital development: 40 years

• Average lifetime of this initiative: 40 years

Implementation and operations tips

• The main challenges faced during implementation: Social capital development takes time – self-sufficient of social project needed to sustain the initiatives long term to transcend at least a generation and empower them on sustainable business models

• How to overcome the challenges, ensure success and drive wide scale adoption: Ensure long term self-sufficiency of the social initiative by improving the economics of preservation and regeneration of ecosystems, promoting further assessment of biodiversity in the region