Dow Corning Commits $5 Million to Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves announced today that Dow Corning has committed $5 million to its efforts to prevent unnecessary death, sickness and injury from toxic cooking smoke by creating a global market for clean, affordable and accessible cookstoves and fuels.

Each day, approximately 3 billion people eat food that was prepared using inefficient cookstoves or open fires. The World Health Organization has categorized household air pollution as the fifth biggest health risk in developing countries, with two million people dying annually from acute and chronic diseases such as cancer, lung disease, pneumonia, tuberculosis and others.

“Dow Corning’s generous contribution to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves demonstrates their strong commitment to saving and empowering lives in this sector, and their leadership in sustainable development,” said Radha Muthiah, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. “We are also excited to tap Dow Corning’s research, design and testing expertise, as they will be invaluable in helping the Alliance bring the deployment and use of clean cookstoves to scale.”

Last year, Dow Corning’s Citizen Service Corps gave 10 employees a month-long opportunity to volunteer in Bangalore, India. The employees worked with three non-governmental agencies, two of which had a direct link to clean cookstoves: one to develop quality control systems and improve the supply chain for manufactured energy-efficient cookstoves, the other to research and analyze the needs and demands of rural customers when buying energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cookstoves to develop a more effective marketing and sales plan.

“Our commitment to the Alliance will allow us to explore how to use our technology, business and innovation expertise to provide a valuable contribution to improve and even save lives of those exposed to smoke from traditional cookstoves, especially women and children who spend hours each week collecting fuel, often in dangerous circumstances,” said Bob Hansen, President and CEO of Dow Corning.

Since launching in September 2010 at the Clinton Global Initiative, the Alliance has moved rapidly to position the cookstoves sector to achieve unprecedented global progress through strong financial commitments, in-depth market analyses, expert recommendations and high-profile ambassadors, among other activities.

Representatives from the United Nations Foundation, Dow Corning, the State Department and others from the Alliance’s 175-plus national, corporate and nonprofit partners will gather at a reception tonight to celebrate Dow Corning’s commitment and the Alliance’s one-year anniversary.

For a copy of the Alliance’s one-year report, click here.

###About the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is an innovative public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Alliance’s ‘100 by ‘20’ goal calls for 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. The Alliance is working with its public, private and non-profit partners to help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment and use of clean cookstoves in developing countries. Visit www.cleancookstoves.org for more information.

About Dow Corning
Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company’s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States. Dow Corning’s global operations adhere to the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care® initiative, a stringent set of standards designed to advance the safe and secure management of chemical products and processes. Visit www.dowcorning.com for more information.