Dow takes sustainability to the pet food aisle

Dow Inc. is bringing sustainability to the pet food market and working on other sustainable projects around the world.

Midland, Mich.-based Dow recently developed a recyclable pet food bag made from the firm's polyethylene resins. Dow worked with machinery firms Windmöller & Höschler Group and B&B Anlagenbau GmbH on the project.

"Sustainable options aren't just nice to have, most firms know they need to have it," Romain Cazenave, Dow Europe, Middle East and Africa packaging marketing director, said in an interview at the recent K 2022 trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany. "We're seeing the industry move so fast on sustainability."

The new large pet food pouches deliver the same performance and properties of multi-material packages combined with outstanding gloss and transparency, officials said.

Dow also is working on recyclable packaging options — including transparent or opaque laminated pouches — for coffee, nuts, pasta, cereal bars and other food items, Cazenave said. "Sustainability is going to be how flexible packaging wins market share," he added.

Packaging made with Dow's PE resins and specialty elastomers can offer better optics and stiffness than competing materials, officials said. Cazenave added that some grades can have up to 70 percent recycled content.

In another big sustainability move, in late November Dow announced its 2022 Business Impact Fund selections. These are nine projects that help solve social challenges and advance sustainable solutions through multi-stakeholder collaboration, officials said. Dow launched the program in 2016.

"This year, our selected projects address circularity and waste transformation initiatives, as well as climate protection, water conservation and biodiversity," Dow Co. Foundation President Bob Plishka said in a news release. Two of Dow's 2022 projects are in Brazil, with two more in Mexico and single projects in Colombia, India, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam.

For one of the projects in Mexico, Dow will partner with Omnigreen and Fundación Avina to create 10 new mini-waste collection sites that will be easily accessible for consumers and improve employment conditions for waste collectors. Each collection center will seek to reduce the loss of value of recycled material and raise public awareness of proper waste management and disposal.

In Vietnam, a Dow project will address the increasing challenge of collecting, cleaning, pre-processing and recycling plastic waste from the Mekong River delta aquaculture industry through a full value chain approach. The most significant challenge in that region is the large volumes of unused plastic waste stemming from pond liners, primarily used in shrimp farming. Personnel at 30 aquaculture farms will train in material handling, waste recycling and environmental, health and safety compliance.

Since its launch, Dow's Business Impact Fund has supported 51 projects in 21 countries totaling nearly $10 million in investments. The projects have created more than 900 jobs, recycled about 11,000 tons of material and reduced CO2 emissions by around 35,000 tons.

Dow employs almost 36,000 worldwide and posted sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021.