Dow Chemical Company (A): The WRAP Program

The WRAP program at Dow Chemical's Louisiana Division incentivized employees to propose waste reduction projects by linking environmental goals with financial returns. Starting as an energy contest in 1981, it evolved into a comprehensive waste reduction initiative by 1986, utilizing a competitive submission process and ROI-based justification. By 1992, the program achieved significant waste reductions and cost savings, fostering a corporate culture of pollution prevention through recognition and knowledge sharing.

• The WRAP program evolved from an energy contest initiated in 1981 to address oil price shocks and capital scarcity, eventually expanding to include yield improvement and waste reduction.
• The program was formally announced in 1986 and implemented in 1987, driven in part by a 1985 congressional survey that revealed the high magnitude of Dow's aggregate waste streams, as well as pressure from environmental groups and the upcoming SARA Title III legislation.
• Dow established a pollution prevention hierarchy that prioritized the reduction or elimination of waste first, followed by reuse or recycling, then on-site treatment, and finally disposal in secure landfills.
• To incentivize waste reduction, Dow used full-cost accounting, charging specific units for the management of the waste streams they produced, sometimes setting these charge-back rates artificially high to increase focus on the activity.
• The program utilized a competitive submission process where projects were evaluated based on a return on investment (ROI) cutoff, which was lowered over time from 100% to 30%, with a minimum required saving of $10,000.
• Employee motivation was driven by non-financial recognition, including plaques presented by the general manager and the perception that success in the contest often led to promotions.
• By 1992, the WRAP program demonstrated significant quantitative success, including a 55% return on investment, over $10 million in savings, and the reduction of 13 million pounds of waste.

APA

Baker, K. (1994). Dow Chemical Company (A): The WRAP Program. World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-140-3_full_version_a_english.pdf

Chicago

Baker, Kenneth. Dow Chemical Company (A): The WRAP Program. World Resources Institute, 1994. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-140-3_full_version_a_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baker |first1=Kenneth |title=Dow Chemical Company (A): The WRAP Program |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1994 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-140-3_full_version_a_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baker1994dow, author = {Baker, Kenneth}, title = {{Dow Chemical Company (A): The WRAP Program}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1994}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-140-3_full_version_a_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }