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ARLINGTON, VA – The first-ever survey of conservation impact investing reveals a fast-growing market totaling approximately $23 billion in the five-year period from 2009-2013. During the same period, private investments accounted for almost $2 billion of this market-an amount that is growing at an average of 26 percent annually, and is expected to reach more than $5.6 billion by 2018.

Investing in Conservation: A landscape assessment of an emerging market is the first data-driven study of the market for conservation-related investments based on direct feedback from investors. Conservation investments, also referred to as conservation impact investments, are intended to return principal or generate profit while driving a positive impact on natural resources and ecosystems.

The report was co-authored by EKO Asset Management Partners and The Nature Conservancy’s NatureVest division. It was overseen by a steering committee that also included the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The report presents findings from a survey of 56 investors, including five for-profit and nonprofit development finance institutions (DFIs) and 51 private investment organizations.

This report shows the growth of the market for conservation impact investing; its authors anticipate that its publication will lead investors who were not able to be counted in this survey to share their portfolio activity in future work.

The report shows that private investments in this space are expected to more than triple over the next five years (2014-2018). However, the report also finds that a substantial amount of potential private capital has not been deployed, demonstrating the need for a significant increase in the number of risk adjusted investment opportunities.

According to survey findings, the approximately $23 billion committed to conservation impact investments from 2009-2013 was invested in three main categories:

Water quantity and quality conservation, including investments in watershed protection, water conservation and storm water management, and trading in credits related to watershed management
Sustainable food and fiber production, including investments in sustainable agriculture, timber production, aquaculture, and wild-caught fisheries
Habitat conservation, including investments in the protection of shorelines to reduce coastal erosion, projects to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), land easements, and mitigation banking
Other key findings include the following:

Private investors expect to deploy $1.5 billion of already-raised capital over the next five years, and to raise and invest an additional $4.1 billion
Of the nearly $2 billion already invested by private investors, 80 percent came from only 10 sources
The total market for conservation investment is expected to increase to $37.1 billion over the next five years
Of the three categories of conservation investment studied, DFIs invested largely in water quality and quantity projects ($15 billion), while private investors invested largely in sustainable food and fiber production (about $1.2 billion)
Survey respondents noted a shortage of investable projects and opportunities, indicating that they need more deals with adequate risk-return ratios and more seasoned management teams
Impact investment is one way to address the critical global deficit in conservation funding. An estimated $300 billion annually is needed to meet the world’s conservation challenges, according to a Global Canopy Programme report. Yet current levels of investment, mainly from governments, multilateral agencies, and philanthropic sources, total only about $50 billion.

To address the shortage of conservation impact investment opportunities, the study co-authors are working to structure conservation opportunities that can be supported by private capital. In 2014, with support from JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Conservancy launched NatureVest, a dedicated division focused on deploying $1 billion in impact capital for conservation over the next three years by convening investors, developing and executing innovative financial transactions, and building an investment pipeline across multiple sectors.

Survey respondents provided information about their impact investments from a five-year period, 2009-2013, including intended conservation impact, size and type of investment, target internal rate of return, and performance to date. Respondents were also asked about the structures of their investment portfolios in the period from 2004 to 2008, and their perceptions of and long-term visions for the future market for conservation-related impact investing.

Stakeholder quotes

“Impact investing is gaining huge attention recently-yet the environmental side of impact investing remains under-represented and understudied, especially as compared to the more established social investing sector. This report came together with the goal of helping impact investors understand future conservation investment opportunities and partnership opportunities across investor classes.”
— Susan Phinney Silver, Manager of Program-Related Investments, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation

“Our report puts real numbers to what we’ve long suspected: Private investors are deploying more capital than before toward investments that lead to both greater conservation and a definable financial return. But more needs to be done. What the report tells us is that this is not a money problem. The money is out there. It is about courage, ingenuity, and creativity. It is about coming up with appropriate financeable deals. If we’re successful, it will mean that billions of new dollars will flow into efforts to improve sustainable food supplies, protect habitats, and achieve water conservation around the world.”
— Ricardo Bayon, EKO Asset Management Partner and co-author of the report

“We decided that rather than wait and react to investment ideas that came our way, we needed to proactively understand the landscape of conservation impact investments. While there are inevitable gaps in the data – especially on the conservation impact side – I think this report is an important step as the first systematic attempt to provide a comprehensive fact base of activity in the conservation investing field.”
— Dan Winterson, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

“Finding a way to structure private capital into conservation deals is essential if we want to attract the scale of investment needed to effectively protect vibrant ecosystems. JPMorgan Chase is proud to have worked side by side with our research partners, and we did so to sharpen our own understanding of this growing market-as well as to put a flag in the sand that shows our commitment to this critical emerging area for investment.”
— Matt Arnold, Head of Sustainable Finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“As conservation and the value of nature become a stronger focus for impact investors, public and private dollars can be used together for greater impact in environmental projects. This research reveals what many have suspected-that impact investors are using substantial, fast-growing amounts of money to support sustainable food and fiber production, as well as water and land conservation, and will continue to do so for years to come.”
— Marc Diaz, Managing Director of NatureVest at The Nature Conservancy.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private family foundation created in 1964 by David Packard (1912-1996), cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914-1987). The Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the following program areas: Conservation and Science; Population and Reproductive Health; Children, Families, and Communities; and Local Grantmaking. The Foundation makes national and international grants and also has a special focus on the Northern California counties of San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. Foundation grantmaking includes support for a wide variety of activities including direct services, research and policy development, and public information and education. Learn more at www.packard.org.

EKO is an investment and advisory firm founded in 2007. EKO develops and implements innovative approaches to financing conservation and environmental sustainability designed to deliver attractive returns to investors. The firm was founded by professionals with backgrounds in finance, banking, asset management, and environmental conservation. EKO’s founding shareholders include Wolfensohn & Co. and several other family offices and high-net-worth investors. EKO works on groundbreaking initiatives related to water, fisheries, carbon, agriculture, and natural infrastructure with partners such as The Nature Conservancy, CH2M Hill, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Visit EKO at www.ekoamp.com.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation believes in bold ideas that create enduring impact in the areas of science, environmental conservation, and patient care. Intel co-founder Gordon and his wife Betty established the foundation to create positive change around the world and at home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our environmental conservation efforts promote sustainability, protect critical ecological systems, and align conservation needs with human development. Patient care focuses on eliminating preventable harms and unnecessary health care costs by meaningfully engaging patients and families in a redesigned, supportive health care system. Science looks for opportunities to transform-or even create-entire fields by investing in early-stage research, emerging fields, and top research scientists. Visit us at Moore.org or follow @MooreFound.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org . To find out more about NatureVest, visit www.NatureVestTNC.org.

After a tense wait during the seven-hour descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the signal confirming the successful touchdown arrived on Earth at 16:03 GMT (17:03 CET).

The confirmation was relayed via the Rosetta orbiter to Earth and picked up simultaneously by ESA’s ground station in Malargüe, Argentina and NASA’s station in Madrid, Spain. The signal was immediately confirmed at ESA’s Space Operations Centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, and DLR’s Lander Control Centre in Cologne, both in Germany.

The first data from the lander’s instruments were transmitted to the Philae Science, Operations and Navigation Centre at France’s CNES space agency in Toulouse.

“Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a lander to a comet’s surface,” noted Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General.

Philae’s parting image of Rosetta, taken shortly after separation
Philae’s parting image of Rosetta, taken shortly after separation
“With Rosetta we are opening a door to the origin of planet Earth and fostering a better understanding of our future. ESA and its Rosetta mission partners have achieved something extraordinary today.”

“After more than 10 years travelling through space, we’re now making the best ever scientific analysis of one of the oldest remnants of our Solar System,” said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

“Decades of preparation have paved the way for today’s success, ensuring that Rosetta continues to be a game-changer in cometary science and space exploration.”

“We are extremely relieved to be safely on the surface of the comet, especially given the extra challenges that we faced with the health of the lander,” said Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager at the DLR German Aerospace Center.

“In the next hours we’ll learn exactly where and how we’ve landed, and we’ll start getting as much science as we can from the surface of this fascinating world.”

Rosetta was launched on 2 March 2004 and travelled 6.4 billion kilometres through the Solar System before arriving at the comet on 6 August 2014.

“Rosetta’s journey has been a continuous operational challenge, requiring an innovative approach, precision and long experience,” said Thomas Reiter, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations.

“This success is testimony to the outstanding teamwork and the unique knowhow in operating spacecraft acquired at the European Space Agency over the decades.”

The landing site, named Agilkia and located on the head of the bizarre double-lobed object, was chosen just six weeks after arrival based on images and data collected at distances of 30–100 km from the comet. Those first images soon revealed the comet as a world littered with boulders, towering cliffs and daunting precipices and pits, with jets of gas and dust streaming from the surface.

Following a period spent at 10 km to allow further close-up study of the chosen landing site, Rosetta moved onto a more distant trajectory to prepare for Philae’s deployment.

Five critical go/no-go decisions were made last night and early this morning, confirming different stages of readiness ahead of separation, along with a final preseparation manoeuvre by the orbiter.

Deployment was confirmed at 09:03 GMT (10:03 CET) at a distance of 22.5km from the centre of the comet. During the seven-hour descent, which was made without propulsion or guidance, Philae took images and recorded information about the comet’s environment.

“One of the greatest uncertainties associated with the delivery of the lander was the position of Rosetta at the time of deployment, which was influenced by the activity of the comet at that specific moment, and which in turn could also have affected the lander’s descent trajectory,” said Sylvain Lodiot, ESA Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager.

“Furthermore, we’re performing these operations in an environment that we’ve only just started learning about, 510 million kilometres from Earth.”

Touchdown was planned to take place at a speed of around 1 m/s, with the three-legged landing gear absorbing the impact to prevent rebound, and an ice screw in each foot driving into the surface.

But during the final health checks of the lander before separation, a problem was detected with the small thruster on top that was designed to counteract the recoil of the harpoons to push the lander down onto the surface. The conditions of landing – including whether or not the thruster performed – along with the exact location of Philae on the comet are being analysed.

Over the next 2.5 days, the lander will conduct its primary science mission, assuming that its main battery remains in good health. An extended science phase using the rechargeable secondary battery may be possible, assuming Sun illumination conditions allow and dust settling on the solar panels does not prevent it. This extended phase could last until March 2015, after which conditions inside the lander are expected to be too hot for it to continue operating.

Science highlights from the primary phase will include a full panoramic view of the landing site, including a section in 3D, high-resolution images of the surface immediately underneath the lander, on-the-spot analysis of the composition of the comet’s surface materials, and a drill that will take samples from a depth of 23 cm and feed them to an onboard laboratory for analysis.

The lander will also measure the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the surface. In addition, low-frequency radio signals will be beamed between Philae and the orbiter through the nucleus to probe the internal structure.

The detailed surface measurements that Philae makes at its landing site will complement and calibrate the extensive remote observations made by the orbiter covering the whole comet.

“Rosetta is trying to answer the very big questions about the history of our Solar System. What were the conditions like at its infancy and how did it evolve? What role did comets play in this evolution? How do comets work?” said Matt Taylor, ESA Rosetta project scientist.

“Today’s successful landing is undoubtedly the cherry on the icing of a 4 km-wide cake, but we’re also looking further ahead and onto the next stage of this ground-breaking mission, as we continue to follow the comet around the Sun for 13 months, watching as its activity changes and its surface evolves.”

While Philae begins its close-up study of the comet, Rosetta must manoeuvre from its post-separation path back into an orbit around the comet, eventually returning to a 20 km orbit on 6 December.

Next year, as the comet grows more active, Rosetta will need to step further back and fly unbound ‘orbits’, but dipping in briefly with daring flybys, some of which will bring it within just 8 km of the comet centre.

The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on 13 August 2015 at about 185 million km, roughly between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Rosetta will follow it throughout the remainder of 2015, as they head away from the Sun and activity begins to subside.

“It’s been an extremely long and hard journey to reach today’s once-in-a-lifetime event, but it was absolutely worthwhile. We look forward to the continued success of the great scientific endeavour that is the Rosetta mission as it promises to revolutionise our understanding of comets,” said Fred Jansen, ESA Rosetta mission manager.

Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its Member States and NASA. Rosetta’s Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI. Rosetta is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet. It is escorting the comet as they orbit the Sun together, and has deployed a lander to its surface.Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the Sun and its planets formed. By studying the gas, dust and structure of the nucleus and organic materials associated with the comet, via both remote and in situ observations, the Rosetta mission should become the key to unlocking the history and evolution of our Solar System.

About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem-bourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. Two other Member States of the EU, Hungary and Estonia, are likely soon to become new ESA Member States.

ESA has Cooperation Agreements with six other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.

Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, naviga-tion, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.

Building on strong progress during the first six years of the Administration, today President Obama announced a new target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. At the same time, President Xi Jinping of China announced targets to peak CO2 emissions around 2030, with the intention to try to peak early, and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of all energy to around 20 percent by 2030.

Together, the U.S. and China account for over one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s joint announcement, the culmination of months of bilateral dialogue, highlights the critical role the two countries must play in addressing climate change. The actions they announced are part of the longer range effort to achieve the deep decarbonization of the global economy over time. These actions will also inject momentum into the global climate negotiations on the road to reaching a successful new climate agreement next year in Paris.

The new U.S. goal will double the pace of carbon pollution reduction from 1.2 percent per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8 percent per year on average between 2020 and 2025. This ambitious target is grounded in intensive analysis of cost-effective carbon pollution reductions achievable under existing law and will keep the United States on the right trajectory to achieve deep economy-wide reductions on the order of 80 percent by 2050.

The Administration’s steady efforts to reduce emissions will deliver ever-larger carbon pollution reductions, public health improvements and consumer savings over time and provide a firm foundation to meet the new U.S. target.

The United States will submit its 2025 target to the Framework Convention on Climate Change as an “Intended Nationally Determined Contribution” no later than the first quarter of 2015.

The joint announcement marks the first time China has agreed to peak its CO2 emissions. The United States expects that China will succeed in peaking its emissions before 2030 based on its broad economic reform program, plans to address air pollution, and implementation of President Xi’s call for an energy revolution.

China’s target to expand total energy consumption coming from zero-emission sources to around 20 percent by 2030 is notable. It will require China to deploy an additional 800-1,000 gigawatts of nuclear, wind, solar and other zero emission generation capacity by 2030 – more than all the coal-fired power plants that exist in China today and close to total current electricity generation capacity in the United States.

Building on Progress
In 2009, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were projected to continue increasing indefinitely, but President Obama set an ambitious goal to cut emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020. Throughout the first term, the Administration took strong actions to cut carbon pollution, including investing more than $80 billion in clean energy technologies under the recovery program, establishing historic fuel economy standards, doubling solar and wind electricity, and implementing ambitious energy efficiency measures.

Early in his second term, President Obama launched an ambitious Climate Action Plan focused on cutting carbon pollution, preparing the nation for climate impacts, and leading internationally. In addition to bolstering first-term efforts to ramp up renewable energy and efficiency, the Plan is cutting carbon pollution through new measures, including:

Clean Power Plan: EPA proposed guidelines for existing power plants in June 2014 that would reduce power sector emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 while delivering $55-93 billion in net benefits from improved public health and reduced carbon pollution.
Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles: In February 2014, President Obama directed EPA and the Department of Transportation to issue the next phase of fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by March 2016. These will build on the first-ever standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (model years 2014 through 2018), proposed and finalized by this Administration.
Energy Efficiency Standards: The Department of Energy set a goal of reducing carbon pollution by 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030 through energy conservation standards issued during this Administration. These measures will also cut consumers’ annual electricity bills by billions of dollars.
Economy-wide Measures to reduce other Greenhouse Gases: The Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies are taking actions to cut methane emissions from landfills, coal mining, agriculture, and oil and gas systems through cost-effective voluntary actions and common-sense standards. At the same time, the State Department is working to slash global emissions of potent industrial greenhouse gases called HFCs through an amendment to the Montreal Protocol; the Environmental Protection Agency is cutting domestic HFC emissions through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program; and, the private sector has stepped up with commitments to cut global HFC emissions equivalent to 700 million metric tons through 2025.
Expanding U.S. and China Climate & Clean Energy Cooperation

To further support the achievement of the ambitious climate goals announced today, the United States and China have pledged to strengthen cooperation on climate and clean energy. The two countries are expanding their ongoing and robust program of cooperation through policy dialogue and technical work on clean energy and low greenhouse gas emissions technologies.

The United States and China agreed to:

Expand Joint Clean Energy Research and Development: A renewed and expanded commitment to the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). This will include:
Extending the CERC mandate for an additional five years from 2016-2020;
Renewing funding for the three existing tracks: building efficiency, clean vehicles, and advanced coal technologies with carbon capture, use and sequestration (CCUS); and
Launching a new track on the interaction of energy and water (the energy/water ‘nexus’).
Advance Major Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Demonstrations: Expanding our work under the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) and under the CERC, and partnering with the private sector, the United States and China will undertake a major carbon capture and storage project in China that supports a long term, detailed assessment of full-scale sequestration in a suitable, secure underground geologic reservoir. The United States and China will make equal funding commitments to the project and will seek additional funding commitments from other countries and the private sector. In addition, both sides will work to manage climate change by demonstrating a new frontier for CO2 use through a carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS) project that will capture and store CO2 while producing fresh water, thus demonstrating power generation as a net producer of water instead of a water consumer. This CCUS project with Enhanced Water Recovery will eventually inject about 1 million tons of CO2 and create approximately 1.4 million cubic meters of freshwater per year.
Enhance Cooperation on Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs): Building on the historic Sunnylands agreement between President Xi and President Obama regarding HFCs, the United States and China will enhance bilateral cooperation to begin phasing down the use of high global warming potential HFCs, including through technical cooperation on domestic measures to promote HFC alternatives and to transition government procurement toward climate-friendly refrigerants.
Launch a Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities Initiative: Urbanization is a major trend in the 21st century, and cities worldwide account for a significant percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In response, the United States and China are establishing a new initiative on Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities under the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group. Under the initiative, the two countries will share city-level experiences with planning, policies, and use of technologies for sustainable, resilient, low-carbon growth. This initiative will eventually include demonstrations of new technologies for smart infrastructure for urbanization. As a first step, the United States and China will convene a Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities “Summit” where leading cities from both countries will share best practices, set new goals, and celebrate city-level leadership.
Promote Trade in Green Goods: The United States announced that Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will lead a Smart Cities/Smart Growth Business Development Mission to China April 12-17, 2015, focused on green infrastructure, energy efficiency and environmental trade sectors. The mission will highlight the benefits of sustainable urbanization, technologies to support China’s air pollution and climate goals, and green buildings opportunities. In addition, USTDA will conduct three reverse trade missions to bring Chinese delegations to see environmental, smart grid, and CCUS technologies in the United States over the next year.
Demonstrate Clean Energy on the Ground: U.S. DOE, State, and USTDA will undertake a number of additional pilot programs, feasibility studies, and other collaborative efforts to promote China’s energy efficiency and renewable energy goals. These will include expansion of our cooperation on “smart grids” that enable efficient and cost-effective integration of renewable energy technology, as well as the implementation through a U.S. and Chinese private sector commercial agreement of a first-of-its-kind 380 MW concentrating solar plant in China.

Midland, Michigan – A new resin compatibilizer from Dow is giving millions of pounds of barrier film scrap a second chance at life. At PACK EXPO International Chicago, November 2 – 5, 2014, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics will debut RETAIN™ Polymer Modifiers, a portfolio of compatibilizers that make it easier to recycle post-industrial barrier films without compromising performance or aesthetics.

Based on a reactive ultra-low viscosity, RETAIN Polymer Modifiers allow pelletized barrier films, containing materials like ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyamide (PA), to be more evenly dispersed into a polyolefin matrix. Compared to other control films, the technology is helping make packages clearer, maintain mechanical properties and significantly reduce gels in films produced from barrier film recycle streams.

“RETAIN Polymer Modifiers help take plastic packaging to the next level, supporting converters’ landfill waste goals,” said Ritika Kalia, market manager for Food and Specialty Packaging, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. “The technology also enables the use of ‘post-industrial recycled content’ claims, and helps trim down costs associated with collecting, packaging and selling scrap materials.”

The technology has benefits beyond the sustainability realm too. After many vigorous trials, RETAIN Polymer Modifiers demonstrated impressive optical and physical properties, and improved processability. The product portfolio also:

Uses the advanced chemistry developed for Dow’s AMPLIFY™ TY Functional Polymers
Achieves the same clarity as a control film
Maintains or increases dart values
Delivers the option to replace a portion of PE purchases with in-process barrier film trim
Makes better use of existing recycling streams
For more information about RETAIN™ Polymer Modifiers, AMPLIFY TY tie layers and plastic packaging technologies, please visit http://www.dowpackaging.com/, or follow the business on Twitter at @DowPackaging. Dow experts will also be available to discuss Dow’s entire packaging portfolio at PACK EXPO International Chicago.

About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than $57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

WILMINGTON, NC— —The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to lead a research and development project to support advanced reactor technology development. GEH will receive a multi-million dollar federal investment to develop an updated safety assessment of the company’s PRISM sodium-cooled fast reactor.

The research investment is part of a program through which DOE partners with industry in developing next generation nuclear technology that has the potential to achieve significant advances in safety, efficiency and economics. The funding will enable GEH and Argonne National Laboratory to partner in developing and modernizing next-generation probabilistic risk assessment methodologies for PRISM.

Probabilistic risk assessments examine how the pieces of complex systems work together to ensure safety. The assessments allow risk to be quantified in order to identify factors that could potentially impact safety. This effort will build upon assessments of PRISM that were developed in the early 1990s.

“PRISM is an exciting technology that has the ability to close the nuclear fuel cycle,” said Jay Wileman, GEH Senior Vice President, Nuclear Plant Projects. “Updating the safety assessment of PRISM will be important in supporting licensing efforts worldwide.”

The PRISM high energy neutron reactor design uses a series of proven, safe and mature technologies to recycle nuclear waste – reprocessed uranium and unused fuel from past nuclear reactor programs – while generating carbon free electricity. The reactor can disposition plutonium stockpiles and harness the remaining energy potential of spent nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium.

In 2013, DOE authorized a $1 million research investment for GEH to develop new insulation material for the PRISM electromagnetic coolant pump. This project is expected to conclude successfully next year.

In January 2014, the United Kingdom Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) noted that, on the information provided, PRISM’s fourth generation nuclear power technology was considered a “credible option” for managing the nation’s plutonium stockpile. In July 2014, GEH and Iberdrola Generación Nuclear S.A. entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate towards further advancing the proposal for UK deployment of PRISM.

GEH Selected for Advanced Reactor R&D Project
PRISM is based on the successful Experimental Breeder Reactor II that began operating in 1964, as well as on the Advanced Liquid Metal Program, which lasted for 10 years.

To learn more about how PRISM works visit GE Reports http://www.gereports.com/post/101863876380/this-advanced-nuclear-reactor-feasts-on-radioactive or www.gehitachiprism.com

For more information about the DOE announcement visit http://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-new-investments-advanced-nuclear-power-reactors-0

About GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Based in Wilmington, N.C., GEH is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. Established in June 2007, GEH is a part of a global nuclear alliance created by GE and Hitachi to serve the global nuclear industry. The nuclear alliance executes a single, strategic vision to create a broader portfolio of solutions, expanding its capabilities for new reactor and service opportunities. The alliance offers customers around the world the technological leadership required to effectively enhance reactor performance, power output and safety.

Bayer CropScience has signed an agreement to purchase certain DuPont Crop Protection Land Management assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

MONHEIM, Germany, and WILMINGTON, Delaware, – Bayer CropScience (Bayer) and DuPont Crop Protection (DuPont) announced today the signing of an agreement for Bayer to purchase certain DuPont Crop Protection Land Management assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter 2014, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

This acquisition will enable Bayer’s Environmental Science business unit to offer a comprehensive portfolio of products for effective weed control for Industrial Vegetation Management (IVM). Furthermore, the company will gain access to the growing Forestry and Range & Pasture business segments in North America. Under the agreement, DuPont will continue to sell its Land Management products outside the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand and its range and pasture products in Mexico and Latin America.

“We are a leader in the professional environmental science market globally and the planned acquisition underlines our ambition to further grow this position in the years to come,” said Bayer CropScience CEO Liam Condon. “It allows us to provide our customers with first-choice solutions to protect and care for the environment in which we live, work and play. Keeping our railways, railroads and infrastructure clean and safe and forestry plantations more productive is part of our mission – Bayer: Science for A Better Life.”

“This agreement is another step in the execution of our DuPont Crop Protection business growth strategy,” said Rik Miller, president of DuPont Crop Protection. “We continue to focus on delivering our science and innovative new offerings to the market that drives profitable growth both today and over the long-term.”

Citing “clear and growing” human influence on the climate system, a United Nations report issued today has warned that if left unchecked, climate change will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.

Echoing that dire warning, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that if the world maintains its “business as usual” attitude about climate change, the opportunity to keep temperature rise below the internationally target of 2 degrees Celsius, “will slip away within the next decade.”

“With this latest report, science has spoken yet again and with much more clarity. Time is not on our side…leaders must act,” declared the UN chief, in Copenhagen, Denmark on an official visit that included a press conference to launch the final installment Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

According to a press release from the panel, the so-called “Synthesis Report” confirms that climate change is being registered around the world and warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Since the 1950s many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.

“Our assessment finds that the atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has diminished, sea level has risen and the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased to a level unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years,” said Thomas Stocker, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I, which participated in the compilation of the final report along with two other expert working groups.

Calling the report the “most comprehensive assessment of climate change” ever carried out, the Secretary-General urged worldwide action in light of its stark findings, saying that “even if emissions stopped tomorrow, we will be living with climate change for some time to come.”

He went on to say that the report found that the world is largely very ill-prepared for the risks of a changing climate, especially the poor and most vulnerable who have contributed least to this problem.

“I have seen for myself those rapidly melting glaciers, most recently in Greenland together with the Prime Minister of Denmark,” he said emphasizing that though he is not a scientist, he has traveled the world over, “to see the impact for myself and…add to the voices of scientists in a political way, as a common man.”

Yet, the “good news is that if we act now, we have the means to build a more sustainable world,” he said, explaining that quick and decisive action that draws on many readily available tools and technologies can put the world on the right track. Renewable energy sources are increasingly economically competitive. Energy efficiency has long proven its value. It was a myth that climate action would be costly, he said, stressing that in fact, inaction “will cost much, much more,” he added.

R. K. Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC, underscored that the means to limit climate change are at had. “The solutions are many and allow for continued economic and human development. All we need is the will to change, which we trust will be motivated by knowledge and an understanding of the science of climate change.”

Speaking later at the Copenhagen Energy Security Dialogues, the Secretary-General commended the global vision of European Union leaders who had taken decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent from by 2030.

“This is one of the major achievements immediately after the Climate Change Summit which I convened,” in late September, said the UN chief, adding that while he has made the issue one of the Organization’s top priorities, he wanted to broaden the scope of measures aimed at tackling it.

Indeed as climate change “is not just a matter for environmentalists and/or scientists. It is a major development challenge that can also lead to serious security threats”, Mr. Ban said, noting that mobilizing for climate change is also mobilizing for sustainable development.

As such, the United Nations would focus on three linked priorities for next year: accelerating continued efforts to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); shaping a “bold and ambitious” post-2015 development agenda by the end of next year; and agreeing a meaningful climate change agreement by next December next year in Paris.

“A transformative approach to energy can drive all these priorities to a successful realization,” of those aims, said the Secretary-General, noting that the Sustainable Energy for All initiative he had launched in 2011is mobilizing governments, businesses, finance and civil society to transform the world’s energy systems.

“The United Nations is bringing the world together on energy because energy is central to our future well-being as a human family,” he said.

Virgin Galactic’s partner Scaled Composites conducted a powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo earlier today. During the test, the vehicle suffered a serious anomaly resulting in the loss of the vehicle. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft landed safely.

The Virgin Galactic team is cooperating with our partners at Scaled Composites and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as well as local authorities. We understand that the NTSB is scheduled to arrive in Mojave tomorrow morning (Saturday Nov. 1) to commence their investigation, which is expected to last several days.

Local authorities have confirmed that one of the two Scaled Composites pilots died during the accident. The other pilot parachuted to the ground and is being treated at a local hospital. All of us at Virgin Galactic are deeply saddened by today’s events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those affected by this accident.

George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, provided the following statement:

“Our primary thoughts at this moment are with the crew and family, and we’re doing everything we can for them now. I’d like to recognize the work of the first responders who we work with in the Antelope Valley for their efforts on behalf of the team. We’re also thinking of the team members that we have at the companies that have been working on this program.

Space is hard and today was a tough day. We are going to be supporting the investigation as we figure out what happened today. We’re going to get through it. The future rests in many ways on hard days like this, but we believe we owe it to the team, that has been working so hard on this endeavour, to understand this and to move forward. And that is what we’ll do.”

Sir Richard Branson is on his way to Mojave and is expected to arrive by early Saturday morning.

We understand your interest in additional information. It is our understanding that there will be another press conference over the weekend at the Mojave Air & Space Port. We will post any logistical details as they become available, and we will provide another update from Virgin Galactic at that time in conjunction with the press briefing.

The Wallops Incident Response Team completed today an initial assessment of Wallops Island, Virginia, following the catastrophic failure of Orbital Science Corp.’s Antares rocket shortly after liftoff at 6:22 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

“I want to praise the launch team, range safety, all of our emergency responders and those who provided mutual aid and support on a highly-professional response that ensured the safety of our most important resource — our people,” said Bill Wrobel, Wallops director. “In the coming days and weeks ahead, we’ll continue to assess the damage on the island and begin the process of moving forward to restore our space launch capabilities. There’s no doubt in my mind that we will rebound stronger than ever.”

The initial assessment is a cursory look; it will take many more weeks to further understand and analyze the full extent of the effects of the event. A number of support buildings in the immediate area have broken windows and imploded doors. A sounding rocket launcher adjacent to the pad, and buildings nearest the pad, suffered the most severe damage.

At Pad 0A the initial assessment showed damage to the transporter erector launcher and lightning suppression rods, as well as debris around the pad.

The Wallops team also met with a group of state and local officials, including the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Marine Police, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Wallops environmental team also is conducting assessments at the site. Preliminary observations are that the environmental effects of the launch failure were largely contained within the southern third of Wallops Island, in the area immediately adjacent to the pad. Immediately after the incident, the Wallops’ industrial hygienist collected air samples at the Wallops mainland area, the Highway 175 causeway, and on Chincoteague Island. No hazardous substances were detected at the sampled locations.

Additional air, soil and water samples will be collected from the incident area as well as at control sites for comparative analysis.
The Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Resources Commission reported today they have not observed any obvious signs of water pollution, such as oil sheens. Furthermore, initial assessments have not revealed any obvious impacts to fish or wildlife resources. The Incident Response Team continues to monitor and assess.

Following the initial assessment, the response team will open the area of Wallops Island, north of the island flagpole opposite of the launch pad location, to allow the U.S. Navy to return back to work.

Anyone who finds debris or damage to their property in the vicinity of the launch mishap is cautioned to stay away from it and call the Incident Response Team at 757-824-1295.
Further updates on the situation and the progress of the ongoing investigation will be available at:
http://www.orbital.com
and
http://www.nasa.gov/orbital

Recognizing that technology drives exploration, NASA has selected four teams of agency technologists for participation in the Early Career Initiative (ECI) pilot program. The program encourages creativity and innovation among early career NASA technologists by engaging them in hands-on technology development opportunities needed for future missions.

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate created the ECI to enable a highly collaborative, joint-partnering work environment between the best and brightest NASA early career innovators and leading innovators in industry, academia and other government organizations.

“Continued investment in technology is a requirement for the success of NASA’s current and future missions,” said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Investing in the future leaders in space technology in partnership with the nation’s leading innovators is part of our overall portfolio strategy for mission success.”

Teams selected for the ECI pilot program and their topic areas are:
High-Speed Video Imaging with Disruptive Computational Photography Enabling Technology, submitted by NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, with partner, Innovative Imaging and Research (I2R) of Mississippi. The team will develop and demonstrate a system for high-speed, 3-D, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging. Video imaging will be performed at the chip level using computational photography, providing NASA with advanced visualization technologies to meet future needs.

Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and Transceiver (LISA-T), submitted by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama with partner, Huntsville’s NeXolve, to build and demonstrate a deployable solar array and integrated transceiver system. The technology represents a novel approach to developing a lighter weight, higher power technology solution for future spacecraft energy needs.

On-Orbit Autonomous Assembly of Nanosatellites, submitted by NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia with external partner Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. The team will develop advanced autonomous docking hardware based on Halbach magnetic array technology. Reliable autonomous rendezvous and docking techniques provide enabling technologies for future mission needs.

Integrated Display and Environmental Awareness System (IDEAS), submitted by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, with Orlando area partners Abacus Technology and Purple Rock Scissors, and the Florida Institute of Technology of Melbourne. The team will develop a wearable computer with an optical heads-up display providing augmented reality data and communications, enhancing real-time operations on the ground and in space.

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate received 28 proposals from NASA early career teams for the ECI pilot program. Selected proposals will refine their plans and negotiate agreements with partner organizations. Projects will be funded up to $1 million per year for a period of up to two years.

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is building, testing and flying the technologies needed for the aerospace missions of tomorrow. The directorate continues to solicit the help of the best and brightest minds in academia, industry, and government to drive innovation and enable solutions in important technology thrust areas. These planned investments are addressing high priority challenges for achieving safe and affordable deep-space exploration.

For more information about NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:

spacetech

Siemens and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) announced the winners of the City Climate Leadership Awards 2014 at a ceremony held on Monday night in New York City. The Awards honor cities all over the world for excellence in urban sustainability and leadership in the fight against climate change.

The winners and presenters of the C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards 2014 after the ceremony.

The awards honored eleven city projects for their leadership in the fight against climate change. .
The winners and presenters of the C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards 2014 after the ceremony. The awards honored eleven city projects for their leadership in the fight against climate change.
The winning cities in the ten award categories are:
Amsterdam (Finance & Economic Development)
Barcelona (Intelligent City Infrastructure)
Buenos Aires (Solid Waste Management)
London (Carbon Measurement & Planning and Air Quality)
Melbourne (Adaptation & Resilience)
New York City (Energy Efficient Built Environment)
Portland (Sustainable Communities)
Seoul (Green Energy)
Shenzhen (Urban Transportation)

“The C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards demonstrate the breadth, scale and impact of the most innovative climate actions in cities around the world,” said C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “I commend the winning cities for their leadership and commitment, and am confident that their knowledge and experience will help drive other cities to implement on-the-ground solutions faster and more efficiently. Through cooperation and collaboration, cities continue to deliver the results that are having a global impact.”

“In the fight against climate change, cities have the most crucial role to play,” said Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector and Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. “And cities are very aware of this. We were simply overwhelmed by the number and quality of environmentally impactful and innovative city initiatives from all over the world. We have seen bold approaches, out-of-the-box thinking and smart ingenuity. The key thing is: these are not just ideas but these are ideas that are making a difference.”

The winners were celebrated at an Awards Ceremony featuring Eduardo Paes as well as Roland Busch, C40 Board President Michael R. Bloomberg and Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister. The event brought together more than 250 decision-makers from cities around the world including national leaders, mayors, city planners, policy makers and representatives from the business world.

The award-winning cities were selected for the following actions:
Finance and Economic Development recipient: Amsterdam for its ‘Investment Fund’. With this innovative project the city demonstrates how environmental and climate protection initiatives can be effectively incorporated into a city’s economic development strategy. Amsterdam designed a powerful financing instrument of USD 103 million to be invested in sustainable energy projects, some of them focusing on small businesses. The fund lowers energy bills for citizens and businesses and contributes to Amsterdam’s overall CO2 reduction targets: In 2010, the city had already achieved a 20 percent reduction, compared to 1990 levels.

Intelligent City Infrastructure recipient: Barcelona for its ‘Urban Platform’. This project introduces a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) architecture that provides a single platform, which interconnects the entire city. The platform enables the city to manage resources efficiently and reduce the impact of urban infrastructure on the environment. It will help the city save energy and reduce pollution thanks to sensors monitoring water levels for irrigation, garbage containers, parking, people flow, energy efficiency in city buildings, etc. The program is also geared towards citizen engagement and features a web platform called “GO” (Open Government), which publishes all data publicly.

Solid Waste Management recipient: Buenos Aires for its ‘Solid Urban Waste Reduction Project’. This project is not only improving the city’s cleanliness, but it is also a well-integrated and easily replicable strategy that includes strong citizen engagement and job growth. The city has committed to reducing waste sent to landfill by 83 percent by 2017, achieving this through an ambitious waste treatment program based on waste separation at origin, recovery, recycling and valorization. The city’s efforts have already resulted in a significant reduction of waste sent to landfills.

Carbon Measurement and Planning recipient: London for its assessment of city-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Between 2012 and 2013, the Greater London Authority (GLA) took a holistic approach to measuring GHG emissions. It was the first city worldwide to report direct and indirect city-wide GHG emissions following internationally recognized GHG accounting and reporting principles. The effort builds on the C40 and partners’ Global Protocol for Community-scale GHG Emissions (GPC) (in which London was also a pilot city), including a wider range of indirect emissions and a separate consumption-based methodology.

Air Quality recipient: London for its ‘New Taxi for London’ project. Transport accounts for 60 percent of all air pollutant emissions in London. This project seeks to develop new zero emission-capable vehicles with manufacturers; it will use GPS-based geofencing to switch hybrid vehicles to its zero emission drive cycle and will provide a range of innovative financing solutions. The aim of the project is to reduce emissions from the city’s iconic black taxi fleet by up to 100 percent in central London and around 75 percent in the rest of the city. Since the introduction of age limits more than 3,000 of the oldest taxis have been retired and from 2018 all taxis will be newly licensed. This project is a unique approach of aligning the Government Office for low emission vehicles, the European Investment Bank and the UK Green Investment Bank.

Adaptation and Resilience recipient: Melbourne for its ‘Urban Landscapes Climate Adaptation Program’. By increasing green space to 7.6 percent of municipal space and doubling the tree canopy, the program’s goal is to cool the city by 4°C and reduce drought vulnerability using green infrastructure. The city’s actions have already led to the planting of 12,000 new trees and the addition of 10,000 square meters of green space. The program includes running extensive citizen engagement initiatives, which together with the other actions provide a wide range of benefits including improved air quality and city resilience, reduced energy demand, and reduced heat-related illness and morbidity.

Energy Efficient Built Environment recipient: New York for its ‘Greener, Greater Buildings Plan’ and New York City ‘Carbon Challenge’ program. Launched to back up New York’s environmental goal of reducing citywide GHG emissions by 30 percent by 2030, these programs benefit building owners through energy savings, and improve both air quality and public health. By reducing an estimated 5 percent of GHG emissions, this program can save the city USD 7 billion in energy costs and create roughly 17,800 jobs over the next 10 years. The NYC Carbon Challenge is designed to reduce emissions by more than 600,000 metric tons by the end of the program.

Sustainable Communities recipient: Portland for its ‘Healthy Connected City’ network. The city is developing “complete neighborhoods” to give all residents safe and convenient access to the goods and services needed in daily life. In 2012, 45 percent of the Portland population lived in complete neighborhoods, a figure which the city aims to raise to 80 percent by 2035. The city’s ambitious and successful initiative shows a unique and valuable pathway to sustainable, resilient, and low carbon communities.

Green Energy recipient: Seoul for its ‘Make Seoul a City of Sunlight’ project. The city is building more photovoltaic facilities, targeting a reduction of greenhouse emissions as well as the city’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels, oil and nuclear and coal power plants. This project is part of the ‘One Less Nuclear Power Initiative’, designed to reduce the city’s energy demand by two million tons of oil equivalent, which is the same amount as the output of one nuclear plant. Seoul’s aim is to function as a huge solar power plant and create energy independent communities.

Urban Transportation Award recipient: Shenzhen, for its ‘New Energy Vehicle Promotion’ project. As of December 2013, Shenzhen has introduced a new energy vehicle fleet of more than 6,000 units, making it the largest zero-emissions fleet in service worldwide. The project aims to add 35,000 new energy vehicles to the fleet in the next two years and to reach a zero emission ecosystem in the long term. Between 2009 and 2013, this program has cut CO2 emissions by 160,000 tones, leading to the city being ranked in the top 10 for best air quality in China according to China’s Environment Agency.

About the Awards competition:
This year marks the second collaboration between C40 and Siemens on this awards competition, which recognizes innovative city driven climate actions. Cities around the world submitted 87 applications. An independent, seven-member judging panel consisting of former city mayors, architects, representatives of the World Bank, as well as C40 and Siemens evaluated 31 projects in 26 cities as award finalists.
The City Climate Leadership Awards are part of a broader collaboration between Siemens and C40, announced in New York City in April 2013. In addition to the Awards, Siemens supports the C40 Measurement and Planning Initiative – an effort dedicated to enhancing each member city’s ability to measure data, take action and track progress towards self-identified goals. Siemens’ technical expertise is directly available to C40’s robust network of cities.

For more information on the Awards and the projects of the finalist cities, go to: www.cityclimateleadershipawards.com
For more information on the Green City Index, go to: www.siemens.com/entry/cc/en/greencityindex.htm
The Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector (Munich, Germany), with approximately 90,000 employees, focuses on sustainable and intelligent infrastructure technologies. Its offering includes products, systems and solutions for intelligent traffic management, rail-bound transportation, smart grids, power distribution, energy efficient buildings, and safety and security. The Sector comprises the divisions Building Technologies, Low and Medium Voltage, Mobility and Logistics, Rail Systems and Smart Grid. For more information visit http://www.siemens.com/infrastructure-cities

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally that will help address climate change globally. C40 was established in 2005 and expanded via a partnership in 2006 with President William J. Clinton’s Climate Initiative (CCI). The current chair of the C40 is Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes; former Chair, 108th Mayor of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. To learn more about the work of C40 and our Cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

WASHINGTON, —Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a comprehensive report synthesizing current literature that explores opportunities in the emerging bioeconomy. The report, entitled Why Biobased?, was created as a precursor for a more comprehensive economic study to be released in the coming months by the USDA BioPreferred program on the economic impacts of the biobased products industry.

“This new report presents the opportunities U.S. agriculture and forests have in the emerging bioeconomy,” said Vilsack. “The recent inclusion of mature market products into the BioPreferred program strengthens our commitment to the U.S. biobased economy and brings together two of the most important economic engines for rural America: agriculture and manufacturing.”

Synthesizing findings from existing government, academia, and non-governmental organizations, the new report explores how government policies and industry business-to-business sustainability programs are driving the biobased economy. The report further demonstrates that the biobased economy is, in fact, growing and it offers great potential for increased job creation in numerous sectors across the U.S.

For instance, one report cited concludes that biobased chemicals are expected to constitute over 10 percent of the chemical market by 2015. Another report in the study concludes that there is a potential to produce two-thirds of the total volume of chemicals from biobased materials, representing over 50,000 products, a $1 trillion annual global market.

On the heels of this completed study, the USDA BioPreferred program has awarded a contract for a more in-depth economic study of biobased products and economic impacts, including research on job creation and economic value. It will be the first federally sponsored economic report of its kind targeting the biobased products industry in the U.S. Congress mandated the upcoming study in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The USDA BioPreferred program works to increase the purchase and use of designated biobased products through a preferred procurement initiative for federal agencies. Designated products may also carry the voluntary consumer label.

The voluntary “USDA Certified Biobased Product” label is designed to promote the broad-scale marketing of biobased products to consumers. As of September 2014, USDA has certified over 1,940 biobased products in more than 97 product categories for the label. Certified and designated products include construction, janitorial, and grounds keeping products purchased by Federal agencies, to personal care and packaging products used by consumers every day.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has estimated that U.S.-based jobs for the renewable chemicals sector will rise from approximately 40,000 jobs in 2011, which represents 3%-4% of all chemical sales, to over 237,000 jobs by 2025. This employment level would represent approximately 20% of total chemical sales.

NEW ORLEANS—September 29, 2014—GE (NYSE: GE) and PurposeEnergy Inc. today announced a collaboration whereby GE’s new anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology and PurposeEnergy’s Tribrid-Bioreactor™ will be combined as a solution to reuse industrial wastewater while also turning waste into energy.

GE’s new AnMBR, which was introduced today at WEFTEC, utilizes its ZeeWeed* 500 membranes in combination with an anaerobic bioprocess. As industrial customers seek lower operating cost and increased efficiency while at the same time facing more stringent discharge limits, AnMBR offers the ability to generate renewable energy and produce superior effluent quality for reclamation and reuse.

PurposeEnergy’s Tribrid-Bioreactor is an anaerobic digester engineered specifically for food and beverage industry byproducts. It converts organic waste into clean water and energy, leading to a reduction in carbon footprint, cost savings and on-site production of renewable energy. Unlike traditional anaerobic digesters, the Tribrid-Bioreactor separates hydraulic retention time from solids retention time. The result is greater than 99 percent reduction in organic load for not only wastewater, but also for solids and slurries that are generated during food and beverage manufacturing.

“We are pleased to be working with GE to bring these innovative technologies to the food and beverage industry. The solutions we are deploying treat organic byproducts, reduce the discharged volume of wastewater by 80 percent and generate renewable heat and power. GE’s AnMBR is helping PurposeEnergy set the new standard for food and beverage byproduct management,” said Eric Fitch, CEO of PurposeEnergy.

Combining PurposeEnergy’s Tribrid-Bioreactor and GE’s AnMBR technology solves the issues associated with traditional anaerobic processes for food and beverage manufacturers. This breakthrough design results in complete retention of biomass and prevents the discharge of both organic and inert solids. The result is a significant improvement in final effluent quality with zero suspended solids.

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. One of the end products is biogas, which can be combusted to generate electricity and heat. Advantages of anaerobic treatment include energy savings by not requiring oxygen, reduced sludge production and reduced footprint. However, the traditional anaerobic processes have disadvantages such as lesser effluent quality, process sensitivity, slow biomass growth rate, retention of methanogens and difficult-to-settle sludge.

“When AnMBR—GE’s newest membrane technological advancement—is paired with PurposeEnergy’s Tribrid-Bioreactor digester technology, industrial users can reap the benefits of recycling wastewater and generating renewable sources of energy. It is the embodiment of GE’s commitment to energy neutrality,” said Yuvbir Singh, general manager, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com.

About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Products, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
Follow GE Power & Water and GE’s water business on Twitter @GE_PowerWater and @GE_Water.

Given the challenges facing the water sector, ranging from increased competition for scarce resources to increasing water pollution and climate change to an unfinished agenda of providing basic water services for the poor, a recent conference hosted at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. brought together water economists and development practitioners to focus on some of these pressing issues.

The conference, the 11th annual meeting of the International Water Resource Economics Consortium (IWREC), on September 7-9, 2014 brought together the richness of economic research from around the world in the discussion of key water challenges. IWREC has served as a platform for water economists to promote economic work on water resources and exchange information and research findings since the early 1990s. The conference program included 50 presentations, on topics ranging from agricultural and municipal water use to groundwater management, hydroeconomic modeling and broader welfare implications of water interventions.

The presentations also shared the most recent investigations into how economic incentives influence people’s water-related choices.

“Those incentives are important, and failure to take them into account has and will continue to encourage inefficient and inequitable water use,” said John Janmaat, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia and Chair of IWREC. “However, the variety of investigations also highlights the importance of context. Overlooking the context within which incentive-based policies are to operate may lead to unintended results, if these changes can even be effected,” Janmaat added.

Moving the dialogue forward on water pricing

Following two days of presentations and rich discussion, six chief economists of the World Bank outlined challenges that they face either in their region or across the Bank. Among the issues raised was how to move forward the dialogue on water pricing, given the ongoing debate about price reform and implementation.

As World Bank Group, Senior Director of the Water Global Practice, Junaid Ahmad said, “Pricing of water remains a contentious issue. Yet, we are learning that underpricing water often brings it into the realm of rent seeking and politics, leaving the poor outside the ambit of service delivery. On the other hand, managing water as an economic good is an important way of achieving more efficient and equitable use, and of promoting the protection of water resources.”

Other issues concerned the difficulty in clarifying property rights for many types of water uses, managing the political economy, and making more informed decisions on transformational interventions that are often associated with tremendous uncertainties.

‘On-going, two-way conversation’
This was the first time the World Bank hosted the IWREC annual meeting, and it may have been the largest meeting of water economists to-date. Addressing the participants, Ahmad suggested that in the World Bank’s new structure, where knowledge and implementation are housed together, there will be more opportunity to intensify the exchange between the world of knowledge and the world of implementation.

“We need to improve the conversation between researchers and academics and the World Bank, and it should be an ongoing, two-way conversation where the richness of the research can inform our day-to-day operational work, and the questions that we are asked by our clients are taken up by academia,” Ahmad said.

This is courtesy of www.worldbank.org

Bank of America today announced a Catalytic Finance Initiative, designed to stimulate at least $10 billion of new investment into high-impact clean energy projects. The initiative will focus on developing or advancing innovative financing structures that reduce investment risk, thereby attracting a broader range of institutional investors.

“We want to take a leadership role in helping remove barriers to investment in clean energy projects around the world,” said Brian Moynihan, Bank of America chief executive officer. “The capital we commit and our strong global client and institutional investor relationships can lead to considerable additional investments in a lower carbon future.” Moynihan was the only U.S. CEO who spoke today at the United Nations Climate Summit Finance Session.

As part of the initiative, Bank of America will commit $1 billion in capital to investment structures that employ a range of de-risking tools, developed in conjunction with development finance institutions (DFIs), insurance providers, foundations and institutional investors. The goal of the initiative is to make clean energy investments more financeable, particularly in emerging markets where project impact is often amplified – addressing other large-scale issues like health, education and job creation.

The Catalytic Finance Initiative will broaden the impact of the bank’s work with partner organizations and drive at least $10 billion of incremental capital in investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access. It will target primarily larger-scale financing opportunities that use de-risking structures such as first loss and mezzanine tranches, risk guarantees and new insurance products to crowd-in capital that would not otherwise be deployed in this sector. The bank will also explore opportunities to work with foundations and impact-focused clients to support smaller, energy access opportunities, using innovative catalytic first-loss capital and other forms of credit support.

“In recent years, there’s been increased focus on de-risking tools that can be used to support clean energy and energy efficiency investment,” said Purna Saggurti, Bank of America Merrill Lynch chairman of Global Corporate and Investment Banking. “We look forward to expanding our work with DFIs, investors and peers to develop approaches to credit enhancement, blended finance and aggregation structures that will open the door for a rapid rise in investment in this area.”

“The financing gap is significant, and we really welcome Bank of America’s leadership in this area. We look forward to working with them and other global banks to accelerate private sector investment into renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access,” said Rachel Kyte, group vice president and special envoy for Climate Change, World Bank Group.

“Bank of America’s bold contribution demonstrates the leadership and public-private partnership required to catalyze action towards a low-carbon economy. Transformative change will follow many such initiatives,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and executive director of United Nations Environmental Programme.

“It is essential to bring together both private and public funding if we are to secure the investment needed to address the problems created by climate change. The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting clean energy investment around the world. Initiatives such as Bank of America’s for catalytic finance help to increase the opportunities for institutional investors. We particularly welcome its clear aim to increase co-operation between development finance institutions and private capital,” said Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank vice president responsible for climate action.

“Accelerating clean energy investments globally isn’t just about needing stronger government policies that will incentivize low-carbon technologies. It’s also about creating a broader array of financing vehicles that investors can utilize to stimulate capital flows. Bank of America’s new initiative is hugely important because it acknowledges this financing gap and aims to help fix it,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk.

Bank of America’s $70 billion multi-year environmental business commitment

Since 2007, Bank of America has dedicated $31.7 billion to low-carbon and other environmental business activities. In June 2012 in conjunction with the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Bank of America announced a 10-year, $50 billion environmental business goal to advance lower-carbon economic solutions through lending, equipment finance, capital markets and advisory activities, carbon finance and investment advice and solutions for clients around the world. The $50 billion commitment followed an initial $20 billion multi-year environmental business commitment announced in 2007 that was achieved four years ahead of schedule.

Read more about Bank of America’s commitment to the environment.

Bank of America
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Astronomers using data from three of NASA’s space telescopes — Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler — have discovered clear skies and steamy water vapor on a gaseous planet outside our solar system. The planet is about the size of Neptune, making it the smallest planet from which molecules of any kind have been detected.

“This discovery is a significant milepost on the road to eventually analyzing the atmospheric composition of smaller, rocky planets more like Earth,” said John Grunsfeld, assistant administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Such achievements are only possible today with the combined capabilities of these unique and powerful observatories.”

Clouds in a planet’s atmosphere can block the view to underlying molecules that reveal information about the planet’s composition and history. Finding clear skies on a Neptune-size planet is a good sign that smaller planets might have similarly good visibility.

“When astronomers go observing at night with telescopes, they say ‘clear skies’ to mean good luck,” said Jonathan Fraine of the University of Maryland, College Park, lead author of a new study appearing in Nature. “In this case, we found clear skies on a distant planet. That’s lucky for us because it means clouds didn’t block our view of water molecules.”

The planet, HAT-P-11b, is categorized as an exo-Neptune — a Neptune-sized planet that orbits the star HAT-P-11. It is located 120 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This planet orbits closer to its star than does our Neptune, making one lap roughly every five days. It is a warm world thought to have a rocky core and gaseous atmosphere. Not much else was known about the composition of the planet, or other exo-Neptunes like it, until now.

Part of the challenge in analyzing the atmospheres of planets like this is their size. Larger Jupiter-like planets are easier to see because of their impressive girth and relatively inflated atmospheres. In fact, researchers already have detected water vapor in the atmospheres of those planets. The handful of smaller planets observed previously had proved more difficult to probe partially because they all appeared to be cloudy.
In the new study, astronomers set out to look at the atmosphere of HAT-P-11b, not knowing if its weather would call for clouds. They used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, and a technique called transmission spectroscopy, in which a planet is observed as it crosses in front of its parent star. Starlight filters through the rim of the planet’s atmosphere; if molecules like water vapor are present, they absorb some of the starlight, leaving distinct signatures in the light that reaches our telescopes.

Using this strategy, Hubble was able to detect water vapor in HAT-P-11b. But before the team could celebrate clear skies on the exo-Neptune, they had to show that starspots — cooler “freckles” on the face of stars — were not the real sources of water vapor. Cool starspots on the parent star can contain water vapor that might erroneously appear to be from the planet.

The team turned to Kepler and Spitzer. Kepler had been observing one patch of sky for years, and HAT-P-11b happens to lie in the field. Those visible-light data were combined with targeted Spitzer observations taken at infrared wavelengths. By comparing these observations, the astronomers figured out that the starspots were too hot to have any steam. It was at that point the team could celebrate detecting water vapor on a world unlike any in our solar system. This discovery indicates the planet did not have clouds blocking the view, a hopeful sign that more cloudless planets can be located and analyzed in the future.

“We think that exo-Neptunes may have diverse compositions, which reflect their formation histories,” said study co-author Heather Knutson of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “Now with data like these, we can begin to piece together a narrative for the origin of these distant worlds.”

The results from all three telescopes demonstrate that HAT-P-11b is blanketed in water vapor, hydrogen gas and likely other yet-to-be-identified molecules. Theorists will be drawing up new models to explain the planet’s makeup and origins.

“We are working our way down the line, from hot Jupiters to exo-Neptunes,” said Drake Deming, a co-author of the study also from University of Maryland. “We want to expand our knowledge to a diverse range of exoplanets.”

The astronomers plan to examine more exo-Neptunes in the future, and hope to apply the same method to super-Earths — massive, rocky cousins to our home world with up to 10 times the mass. Although our solar system doesn’t have a super-Earth, NASA’s Kepler mission is finding them in droves around other stars. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2018, will search super-Earths for signs of water vapor and other molecules; however, finding signs of oceans and potentially habitable worlds is likely a ways off.

“The work we are doing now is important for future studies of super-Earths and even smaller planets, because we want to be able to pick out in advance the planets with clear atmospheres that will let us detect molecules,” said Knutson.

Once again, astronomers will be crossing their fingers for clear skies.
More information about Hubble, Kepler and Spitzer is online at:

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NASA is seeking applications from U.S. graduate students for the agency’s Space Technology Research Fellowships. The research grants, worth as much as $74,000 per year, will coincide with the start of the 2015 fall academic term.

Applications will be accepted from students pursuing or planning to pursue master’s or doctorate degrees in relevant space technology disciplines at accredited U.S. universities. The grants will sponsor U.S. graduate student researchers who show significant potential to contribute to NASA’s strategic space technology objectives through their studies. To date, NASA has awarded grants to 247 student researchers from 79 universities located in 35 states and one U.S. territory.

“One of the most important challenges to our continued leadership and advancement of space technology is the assurance that we harness the innovation and technology capabilities from our American universities,” said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “These grants provide one vehicle to tap into the enormous talents of graduate students working at universities to advance the development of future space technologies.”

Sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, the fellowships are improving America’s technological competitiveness by providing the nation with a pipeline of innovative space technologies.

The deadline for submitting applications is Nov. 13. For more information and instructions on how to submit applications, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/oemporz
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is building, testing and flying the technologies needed for the aerospace missions of tomorrow. For more information about NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) for alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). DuPont will pay a $1,853,000 penalty to resolve allegations that the company failed to submit reports to EPA about potential adverse effects of an herbicide product called Imprelis, and sold it with labeling that did not ensure its safe use. When customers applied the misbranded Imprelis product, it led to widespread death and damage to trees.

“EPA’s ability to protect the public from dangerous pesticides depends on companies complying with the legal obligation to disclose information on the harmful effects of chemicals,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case sends the message that illegally withholding required information will be treated as a very serious violation.”

As part of the registration process for a pesticide or herbicide, FIFRA requires companies to submit to EPA reports on a product’s potential adverse impacts on plants or animals that it is not intended to control. During the registration process and after registration was approved for Imprelis, an herbicide product intended to control weeds like dandelions, clover, thistle, plantains and ground ivy, DuPont failed to submit 18 reports.

As a result, Imprelis – as it was registered and labeled – did not adequately protect against damage to certain tree species. DuPont made 320 shipments of Imprelis to distributors in 2010 and 2011. This failure to submit reports and the sale or distribution of a misbranded pesticide or herbicide are violations of FIFRA.

DuPont has submitted over 7,000 reports to EPA of damage or death of trees – primarily Norway spruce and white pine – related to the application of Imprelis. Test data from DuPont confirmed certain coniferous trees, including Norway spruce and balsam fir, as susceptible to being damaged or killed by the application of Imprelis. There is also evidence that non-coniferous trees such as maple, honey locusts, lilacs, sycamores, and alders are susceptible to damage from Imprelis.

Starting in June 2011, EPA began receiving complaints from state pesticide agencies regarding damage to trees related to the use of Imprelis when it was applied to control weeds. Cases of tree damage and death from Imprelis were widespread in the Midwest, especially Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Indiana investigated more than 400 cases of tree damage related to Imprelis in 2011.

In August 2011, EPA ordered DuPont to stop selling and distributing Imprelis without prior approval from EPA. In September 2011, the registration for Imprelis was amended to prohibit the sale, distribution or marketing of Imprelis. The product registration for Imprelis expired on September 8th, 2014, and DuPont is no longer selling the product.

Imprelis was distributed and sold in 1 gallon, 2.5 gallon and 4.5 ounce containers, primarily to pest control professionals servicing the lawn, golf, turf and weed control sectors.

Imprelis was registered with EPA in 2010, and was marketed by DuPont for lawn and turf applications on residential and commercial lawns, golf courses, sod farms, schools, parks, and athletic fields.

The settlement, a consent agreement and final order, will be filed at EPA’s regional office in Philadelphia, and DuPont must submit payment of the penalty to the U.S. Department of Treasury within 30 days.

High-quality water is of paramount importance to power generation. It helps facilitate efficient and reliable operations, protect c­­ritical equipment, and minimize environmental impact. Source water for many power plants, however, is far from ideal. That is certainly the case for a power station in Alberta, where an innovative two-pass reverse osmosis (RO) design was used to optimize the plant’s existing configuration. The design includes DOW FILMTEC™ ECO 440i Reverse Osmosis elements and DOW FILMTEC™ XFRLE-400/34i Reverse Osmosis elements. Since their installation, FILMTEC ECO elements have resulted in 30 percent more energy savings in the system’s second pass and FILMTEC XFRLE has improved overall pressure drops and fouling.

The lake source water at the power station is derived from a combination of the North Saskatchewan River, mine drainage, plant site drainage, sewage effluent and chemical neutralization ponds. Due to the highly variable nature of source water, the system requires thicker feed spacer elements to reduce fouling rates, and to lower the pressure drop in the first pass.

“To combat this water source challenge, we designed a two-pass RO system with state-of-the-art FILMTEC XFRLE elements for the first pass and FILMTEC ECO 440i elements for the second pass,” said Denise Haukkala, technical service, Dow Water & Process Solutions.

Together, these low energy elements provide a solution to treat the power station’s high-fouling source water, and deliver high-quality permeate for the boiler feed process. FILMTEC ECO and FILMTEC XFRLE elements are optimized with low pressure drop feed spacers to allow for lower feed operating pressures, which help reduce operating costs and counter the effects of the cool feed water temperature range (7-26°C). FILMTEC ECO elements have also helped reduce chemical usage, when the plant opted not to degas the carbon dioxide with caustic in the second pass, while maintaining high permeate quality for continuous electrodeionization (CEDI) polishing prior to feeding the boiler.

Power plants rely on a steady stream of water to convert heat energy into electrical energy to drive the turbines that run the electric generators. To accomplish this, the plants require high-quality feedwater to operate their boiler and cooling system. The treatment of boiler feedwater is extremely critical, as problems can result from the use of untreated water in extreme pressure and temperature environments, including lower efficiency, overheating, damage, and the need for frequent cleaning. Since 95 percent of water used in plant operations can be reused, it is vital that both the feedwater and recycled steams are effectively treated to prevent scale and corrosion in the steam water circuit.

“Highly variable source water and cooler feed temperatures can present unique energy and fouling challenges for Canadian power plants,” remarks Wendy Rae, account manager, Dow Water & Process Solutions. “We are proud to provide early adopters of innovative technology with solutions to help lower their operating costs, reduce plant downtime, and maintain product water quality and consistency.”

Recognizing the perilous state of water demand, FILMTEC ECO elements’ unique configuration offers the possibility of higher rejection of salts at significantly reduced operating pressures, helping deliver up to 40 percent better water purification while using up to 30 percent less energy, resulting in up to 19 percent lower operating costs. FILMTEC ECO membrane technology recently won a prestigious Edison Award for its innovation and contribution to combat global water scarcity. The new technology was also named Dow’s second-ever Breakthrough to a World Challenge as part of the Company’s 2015 Sustainability Goals .

About Dow Water & Process Solutions
A global leader in sustainable separation and purification technology, Dow Water & Process Solutions is making real progress in the world. We’re helping to make water safer and more accessible, food taste better, pharmaceuticals more effective and industries more efficient and spearheading the development of sustainable technologies that integrate water and energy requirements. Dow Water & Process Solutions offers a broad portfolio of ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes, ultrafiltration membranes, fine particle filters and electrodeionization products, with strong positions in a number of major application areas, including industrial and municipal water, industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, power, oil and gas, residential water and waste and water reuse. More information about Dow Water & Process Solutions can be found at www.dowwaterandprocess.com.

About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than $57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

LAS VEGAS, – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has closed on a loan guarantee to Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels, LLC to build a biorefinery to produce jet fuel from municipal solid waste.

“This represents a huge step forward in the development of clean, renewable, job-creating American fuels,” Vilsack said during a speech at the National Clean Energy Conference. “The nation is entering a new energy age that will make us more energy independent, cut carbon pollution and strengthen our economy, especially in rural communities where clean fuels will be produced.”

USDA is awarding Fulcrum a $105 million Biorefinery Assistance Program loan guarantee through Bank of America, N.A. to construct a facility in McCarran, Nev., to convert municipal solid waste to biodiesel jet fuel. USDA Rural Development’s loan guarantee represents less than half of the $266 million project cost. The plant is expected to produce 11 million gallons of fuel annually.

This is the first loan guarantee USDA has made for the production of bio jet fuel.

Fulcrum will produce synthesis gas from 147,000 tons of municipal solid waste and catalytically convert it to synthetic paraffinic kerosene/jet fuel through a proprietary technology. The plant will be the first of what the company expects to be several bio jet fuel plants throughout the country.

Last month, Cathay Pacific Airways announced that it is investing in Fulcrum Bioenergy Inc., the parent company of Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels, LLC, and has negotiated a long-term supply agreement with Fulcrum for 375 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over 10 years. This would represent about 2 percent of the airline’s annual fuel consumption.

USDA awarded the first loan guarantee in 2009 to Sapphire Energy in New Mexico. Sapphire has already paid off its $54.5 million loan guarantee. The program’s current portfolio includes Fremont Community Digester, located in Fremont, Mich., which received a $12.8 million loan in 2011 to convert food and agricultural waste to biogas that is used as fuel to generate electricity. INEOS New Plant Bioenergy, located in Vero Beach, Fla., received a $75 million loan in 2011 to produce cellulosic ethanol from woody biomass and municipal solid waste.

USDA is negotiating three additional loans for biorefineries in Iowa, North Carolina and Oregon. These loans would provide financing to produce renewable fuels from woody biomass, municipal solid waste and energy grasses such as switch grass, miscanthus and arundo donax. One of these ventures will retrofit an existing corn ethanol facility to produce cellulosic ethanol.

Biorefineries have broad economic and environmental implications. They lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce dependence on foreign oil, give businesses and consumers more energy options and create jobs.

Congress established the Biorefinery Assistance Program in the 2008 Farm Bill. It reauthorized and extended the program in the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2014 Bill expands the program to include bio-based renewable chemicals and bio-based product manufacturing. USDA staff are working on regulations to set forth upcoming application terms for additional loan guarantees under the program.

The 2014 Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.