This commentary will appear in the Third Party Review section of Dow Canada's 2004 Public Report.

Dow Canada deserves to be recognized for the environmental initiatives it has undertaken in the past, and for the progress the company had made in emissions reduction over the past ten years as described in the 2004 Dow Canada Public Report.

As society moves forward into a world more constrained by environmental limits due to climate change and the need for sustainable use of resources, the demands for environmental preformance and direct contributions to sustainability will be higher. Cleaning up a littered or contaminated site, however innovative the method, will be viewed as simply doing what should be done and less and indicator of environmental leadership. More important will be increasing (and reporting on) the alignment of Dow's businesses with sustainable principles, which the 2004 report touches on when mentioning Woodstalkâ„¢ Gold MR Fiberboard.

The need for transparency and providing comprehensive information on greenhouse gas emissions will also be of increasing importance. Sufficient data to allow public verification of compliance with Canada's greenhouse gas management framework should be provided as part of Dow Canada's reporting practises.