From Local Communities to the Global Stage, Dow Takes Citizenship Seriously
Community outreach has been an essential element at The Dow Chemical Company since its founding in 1897. In 2006, Dow set a goal as part of their 2015 Sustainability Goals, to have all sites where Dow has a strategic presence achieve their individual community acceptance ratings based on the establishment of local goals.
Dow’s Progressive Community Success Model
Dow’s innovative Community Success process allows strategic Dow communities to provide qualitative and quantitative inputs on their quality of life issues and what Dow’s appropriate role is – whether it’s directly addressing community needs or using its leadership position to influence other organizations. Data is collected through an anonymous community assessment.
Based on the results, a community success plan for the Dow site is developed through a collaborative process with site leadership and community stakeholders. “By first listening closely to our stakeholders, we are respectfully prioritizing their needs. Then, we can work to address them with our company’s intellectual and business know-how, as well as deliver more strategic alignment to contributions, partnerships, outreach, volunteerism, and issues resolution,” said Cindy Newman, North American Public Affairs director, who is leading the Contributing to Community Success 2015 Sustainability Goal.
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Community Success surveys have been completed for all 10 strategic Dow sites (Pittsburg, California; Terneuzen, the Netherlands; Zhangjiagang, China; Freeport, Texas; Plaquemine, Louisiana; Hahnville, Louisiana; Midland, Michigan; Stade, Germany; Rhine Center, Germany; and Aratu, Brazil).
While Community Success action plans and tactics are customized for each strategic Dow community around the globe, most are focused on action plans to address these community issues in positive ways between now and the year 2015. Areas of focus include protecting natural environmental resources, being an influencer for economic development, and supporting science and environmental education, as evidenced in two of the 10 Community Success action plans that are now in place.
Terneuzen, the Netherlands
Known for the beauty of its port location, Terneuzen is the third largest port in the Netherlands. Today, it is home to over 55,000 people and local attractions include cycling and walking trails, maritime exhibitions, harbors, and canals.
Terneuzen is also the home to the largest Dow plant outside the United States. Through survey results, the major quality of life issue defined by local community members is the ability to pursue challenging and rewarding job opportunities in Terneuzen while being confident that their community is environmentally sound. The Terneuzen site’s Community Success Plan includes plans for the site to be a leader in environmental stewardship, as well as being a center of innovation for the 21st century.
Pittsburg, California
Pittsburg, California, is the home of Dow’s second oldest manufacturing site in the United States. It is located adjacent to San Francisco Bay.
Community members for Pittsburg defined safety and security, health care, education, and the environment as their major quality of life issues.
As part of its site plan, a greater emphasis will be placed on supporting science education. The site partners with Lindsay Wildlife Museum to enable more than 2,000 third and fourth graders to participate in field trips to the Dow Wetlands each year. High school students perform community service at the wetlands such as clean-ups, planting, and weeding projects. Local college students also utilize the wetlands to conduct field experiments. In 2008, Dow expanded an annual environmental fair to include an evening honoring teachers, featuring a talk by oceanic expert and Emmy-winner Jean-Michel Cousteau.
The Next Steps
“Helping create sustainable communities – one at a time, where Dow does business – will truly help set the standard for sustainability,” says Newman. “We want all people in communities where Dow has a strategic presence to agree that Dow plays a significant role in making their community a better place to live.”
