Midland, MI, July 18--The Dow Chemical Co. today announced that its Board of Directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, Charters for each of the standing Board Committees, and a revised Code of Business Conduct. These documents are available on the Ethics and Corporate Governance page of the Company's website at www.dow.com.
"An honest, transparent and trustworthy corporate culture bolsters employee morale, builds customer trust, and ultimately guards stockholder value," said Bill Stavropoulos, chairman, president and CEO. "Simply stated, good governance and ethics are not only the right thing to do, they make for good business."
The Corporate Governance Guidelines, in compliance with the proposed New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) standards, document important aspects of Dow's corporate governance structure. They include criteria for director qualifications, election, education and tenure; set expectations for frequency of Committee meetings and agenda development; and provide a framework for management evaluation and succession planning.
New charters have been adopted for each standing Board Committee, which meet SEC requirements and the proposed NYSE standards. Additionally, Dow's Board has recently elected its first Presiding Director, Harold T. Shapiro, President Emeritus and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
The Guidelines and charters can be found at www.dowgovernance.com , which also provides access to:
·Recent governance news
·Board Member biographies
·Board Committees
·Restated Certificate of Incorporation
·Bylaws
·Financial certifications and filings
The purpose of the revised Code of Business Conduct is to clearly articulate Dow's high expectations of acceptable business behavior for employees and board members. Making the Code available to the public, including customers, suppliers, and contractors, allows them to understand acceptable business practices and to perform within them. The revised Code, updated from the 1999 version, is soon to be available in more than a dozen languages.
"Our goal is to create and sustain an atmosphere where our people feel comfortable that they have the knowledge and support to protect our company values, and to act with the highest business and professional integrity," said Tom McCormick, director, Office of Global Ethics & Compliance.
Since 1998, Dow has also offered the Dow EthicsLine, a toll-free help line, to employees and individuals, to ask questions or to report suspected violations of the Code. A third-party organization staffs the globally accessible service with specialists trained to assist callers with concerns. Multi-lingual assistance is available, and callers may remain anonymous, if desired.
