Dow Investors Spurn Disclosing Impact of Plastic Cutback Efforts

Dow Inc. investors rejected a bid Thursday asking the chemical company to consider the potential bottom-line impact of environmental and government efforts to curtail use of pollution-causing plastic.

The proposal from shareholder organization As You Sow asked the company to detail for investors how a “significant reduction in virgin plastic demand”—plastic that has been newly made and not from recycled materials—would impact its financial position. It is part of a broader campaign by As You Sow to reduce plastic waste across industries, starting with packaging by retailers but eventually targeting the manufacturers themselves.

“While the petrochemical industry has no specific ...