Dow plans to launch the world's first commercially available carbon-neutrality program for silicone materials used in structural glazing, insulating glass, and weathersealing in 2022, with the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2025. The carbon certificates from Dow's backward integrated siloxane productions and carbon reduction investments will be included in the selected DOWSILTM Materials, which will be PAS 2060-certified. It is hoped that this carbon offset program, with its theme of "Designing with more freedom by engineering less impact," will assist in reducing the environmental impact of buildings and achieving higher green building certification ratings.It is estimated that the building sector is responsible for approximately 39 percent of global CO2 emissions, according to the World Green Building Council. This includes both embodied carbon and carbon dioxide emissions from building operations. However, while the production of Dow's silicon products requires energy, the use of these products in applications such as prefabricated façade elements and glass insulation requires very little energy, thereby contributing to a significant improvement in the overall energy efficiency of buildings. Furthermore, because of their proven durability, the insulated building envelope can be expected to last for more than 50 years. According to the Global Silicones Council, the energy to carbon ratio of silicone sealants conserves up to 20 times more energy than the energy required to manufacture them for insulated glass.Carbon-neutral silicones have the potential to reduce to zero the amount of carbon that is required to manufacture the silicone polymers that serve as the building blocks of our products. Carbon-neutral silicones for low e insulated glass specific building projects represent a ground-breaking innovation, particularly for technologies associated with the silicon metal manufacturing process, in which Dow is uniquely positioned.In the field of building and construction, Plettau is confident that silicone will continue to be the technology of choice, not only because of its long-term performance and low carbon footprint, but also because it equips buildings insulating glass with improved energy and greenhouse gas emissions performances.It is also a key to achieving significant ongoing carbon reduction through integrated design solutions, which allows these industry professionals to design with more freedom while engineering less impact," said Plettau. "The carbon-neutrality program for DOWSIL Silicone materials is not only an advantage for architects, builders, and building owners, but it is also a key to achieving significant ongoing carbon reduction through integrated design solutions," said Plettau.As a result of their PAS 2060 certification, which is an internationally recognized standard for organizational carbon-neutrality, Dow's carbon-neutral silicones will be able to contribute to the achievement of additional international green building certification points. Each product will be equipped with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which will communicate transparent and comparable information about the environmental impact of our products throughout their life cycle.