With the world’s population predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050, demand for the essential resources of water, food and energy is set to reach an all-time high.

Dow believes that as these pressures come to bear, demand for sustainable solutions will be essential to meet these basic needs.

To address these critical global challenges, the company  has established collaborations through sponsorships and partnerships with industry, academia, governments and other organisations to encourage sustained innovation from different sources.

Dow views Australia as a key source of innovation, particularly in the fields of resource management and sustainability. As an example, Dow and the University of Queensland have established the Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation – aimed at harnessing solutions to confront the big sustainability challenges of this century.

Another example through its Dow AgroSciences subsidiary is the collaboration with the Victorian government’s Department of Environment and Primary Industries. This project, based at the Department’s research facilities in Bundoora, will harness Dow technology to improve the performance of canola and wheat varieties for Australian farmers.

Another joint venture, DowAksa, is a collaboration with the Carbon Nexus facility at Deakin University and other local partners to create a lightweight materials industry based around the Victorian city of Geelong.

Dow believes that when companies apply science, technology and scale to create game-changing products, they have a real and immediate impact that not only redefines industries, but solves large global challenges.

The company has already married materials science and chemistry to help make cars lighter and more fuel-efficient; joined biology and chemistry to help develop the next generation of crop-protection products and partnered physics and chemistry to address the global water challenge.

Dow believes that advanced manufacturing creates not just products, but solutions for many of the world’s cutting-edge industries – from advanced mining equipment to sustainable energy technology, from agro- and health-sciences to underwater management systems.

If Australia wants to create a prosperous future, Dow argues that creating a truly high-tech and advanced manufacturing sector – with Australia’s research institutions firmly on board – is the answer.