address both internal and external identifiable risks. The security plan includes regular vulnerability assessments, security audits, mitigation efforts and physical security upgrades designed to reduce vulnerability. The Company’s security plans are also designed to avert interruptions of normal business operations that could materially and adversely affect the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The Company played a key role in the development and implementation of the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care® Security Code ("Security Code"), which requires that all aspects of security – including facility, transportation and cyberspace – be assessed and gaps addressed. Through the global implementation of the Security Code, the Company has permanently heightened the level of security – not just in the United States, but worldwide. The Company employs several hundred employees and contractors in its Emergency Services and Security department worldwide. In 2019, the Company established its Global Security Operations Center ("GSOC") to provide 24-hour/day, 365-day/year real-time monitoring of global risks to Dow assets and people. The GSOC employs state-of-the-art social media monitoring, threat reporting and geo-fencing capabilities to analyze global risks and report those risks, facilitating decision-making and actions to prevent Dow crises. Through the implementation of the Security Code, including voluntary security enhancements and upgrades, the Company is well-positioned to comply with U.S. chemical facility regulations and other regulatory security frameworks. The Company participates with the American Chemistry Council to periodically review and update the Security Code. The Company continues to work collaboratively across the supply chain on Responsible Care®, supply chain design, emergency preparedness, shipment visibility and transportation of hazardous materials. The Company cooperated with public and private entities to lead the implementation of advanced tank car design, and track and trace technologies. Further, the Company’s Distribution Risk Review process addresses potential threats in all modes of transportation across the Company’s supply chain. To reduce vulnerabilities, the Company maintains security measures that meet or exceed regulatory and industry security standards in all areas in which they operate. The Company's initiatives relative to chemical security, emergency preparedness and response, Community Awareness and Emergency Response and crisis management are implemented consistently at all Dow sites on a global basis. Each Dow site has established outreach programs designed to engage community stakeholders with objectives centered around awareness of Dow operations, products, and efforts to protect worker and community health and the environment. These programs also educate community members on emergency planning and response, emissions and waste, future site plans to reduce waste and emissions, and process safety systems. Finally, these outreach efforts establish an opportunity for Dow site leaders to hear about community stakeholder expectations and address questions and concerns about safety, health, environmental or other issues. The Company participates with chemical associations globally and participates as an active member of the U.S. delegation to the G7 Global Partnership Sub-Working Group on Chemical Security and in positions of leadership in the U.S. Chemical Sector Coordinating Council. Climate Change Climate change matters for the Company are likely to be driven by several categories of risks related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy (“Transition Risks”) and risks related to the physical impacts of climate change (“Physical Risks”). Transition Risks Transition Risks include carbon pricing mechanisms, transition to lower greenhouse gas emissions technology, increased cost of raw materials, and mandates on and regulation of existing products and services. Carbon pricing is a market-based strategy to address climate change by putting a monetary value on greenhouse gas emissions, allowing for the costs of climate impacts and opportunities for low-carbon energy options to be reflected in production and consumption choices. Approximately 35 percent of Dow’s Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions are generated from operations in Canada and the European Union (“EU”) where carbon pricing is already in place. As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission proposed a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 55 percent below 1990 levels, with a goal for the EU to be carbon neutral by 2050. In China, an emissions trading system, initially proposed to cover the power sector only, is expected to gradually expand to cover a total of eight sectors, including the petrochemical and chemical industries, though no specific timeline for implementation and expansion has been outlined. These carbon pricing mechanisms will not only increase Dow’s direct costs to operate but will also result in increased energy costs. Dow mitigates the direct cost impact of existing regulation through research and 62