The Dow Chemical Company, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the Chinese Energy Research Institute (ERI) have announced a joint partnership program aimed at supporting China's efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy intensity. This joint partnership with the participation of the ERI, which is affiliated with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), comes on the heels of recent re-commitments by the Chinese government to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent by 2010 upon 2005.

"We recognize the importance of bringing our expertise in energy efficiency and conservation to China so that we can grow together with our partners and customers as they benefit from our technologies and best practices," said David Kepler, Dow's senior vice president of Shared Services, Environment, Health and Safety, Chief Information Officer and newly appointed Chief Sustainability Officer. "This initiative gives us the opportunity to collaborate with governments, academia and the business sector to help provide best practices in energy conservation."

This partnership exemplifies Dow's global commitment to its 2015 Sustainability Goals, which were unveiled one year ago by the company's CEO Andrew Liveris, and include a commitment to further reduce Dow's energy intensity by 25 percent. Since 1996, Dow has already succeeded in reducing its energy intensity globally by 22 percent.

"It's important for Chinese companies to be able to continue to grow while having the ability to implement best practices in energy conservation from leading global companies," said Han Wenke, Director General of ERI. "Through this partnership with Dow and LBNL, we're confident that we can work to lessen the impact on the environment through greater energy conservation efforts and technologies."

As an authorized and leading energy research institute in China, ERI works closely with the government to address energy-related issues and the definition of energy policies. It also works closely with businesses to understand issues and to implement national policies.

The program will initially involve the three parties working together to identify tools that will enable China to attain its energy conservation goals. This includes energy efficiency guidebooks, benchmarking materials, software, case studies, auditing and training programs and workshops. The program will also include working with central and provincial governments to design policies to encourage businesses to improve energy efficiency.

Lawrence Berkeley National Labs has worked with partners in China on energy-related projects since 1980 and has been a leader in science and engineering research for more than 70 years. It is the oldest of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories and conducts unclassified scientific research managed by the University of California.