Chances are, Dow products touch your life in many ways every day. But few people associate Dow with its global efforts at conserving the natural habitats of plant and animal species, such as bald eagles, grasslands, mangroves, marshlands, helmet crabs or ducks.

Many Dow sites are involved in protecting the natural environment, supporting Dow’s 2015 Sustainability Goal of Contributing to Community Success. The goal measures favorability of Dow's contribution to their quality of life in communities in which Dow has a major presence. And the environment is among the major quality of life issues defined by most of the Dow communities.

Here are just a few examples of Dow’s habitat protection efforts:

• Since 1992, Dow’s Western Canada Operations near the community of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta has had a Wildlife Greenbelt containing ponds, wetlands, wildlife corridors, an observation deck and an air-monitoring trailer.
• The Mozzanica production area in Italy is home to a pond and park that was created to provide a fire-fighting water supply for the production site, while nurturing a variety of freshwater fish that keep the pond clean.
• The Riverside plant in Pevely, Missouri, United States, participates in an annual Eagles Day event, which welcomes students to visit its birds of prey habitat and nesting grounds and to learn about environmental conservation.
• Another site in the United States, in Joliet, Illinois, stands out for its preservation of prairie grasslands, and a nest-monitoring program.
• Approximately 15 percent of the employees at the Dalton, Georgia site in the United States are involved in one or more of the site’s ongoing wildlife habitat enhancement projects that include a bluebird nesting program, field management efforts and the planting and maintenance of food and cover plots.
• Since 2006, the Kasoaka Plant in Japan has been working to protect the breeding area of helmet crabs in Ikue beach in Kasaoka City, which has been designated a national natural treasure.

Each of these efforts comprises a combination of financial and human capital, determined by dedicated individuals and teams at the local sites.

To see more detail, please visit Around Dow - December 2007 Edition.

These are just a few examples of how the Human Element at Dow is contributing solutions through innovative thinking and collaborative effort.