I’m a problem-solver. I like to get to the bottom of issues and figure out the
best ways to solve them. It’s what drives my work in sustainability. I started
my career in environmental consulting, where I basically cleaned up
environmental messes; and switched to studying environmental policy in graduate
school, because I wanted to get ahead of the problem instead of just dealing
with the aftermath.
The drive to find solutions then led me to Texas, where I worked at a
nonprofit to launch sustainability-focused initiatives including bike shares,
solar panel installation and electric vehicle charging stations. In this work at
the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), I saw firsthand how
challenging it can be for nonprofits to find funding and get attention from
companies big enough to help. And as I advanced into the role of program
director of energy efficiency and environmental sciences, I dug deep into the
community as I talked with the mayor’s office, sustainability office and other
elected officials to find out what constituents really needed from us. We did
the work to understand our communities so we could find real and lasting
sustainability solutions.
After eight-and-a-half years with the HARC, I got the opportunity to work on
another interesting and important problem: plastic pollution. The desire to get
closer to that solution and create a more circular economy drives my work every
day as the senior sustainability manager of packaging and specialty plastics,
North America, at Dow. And my work at the HARC gave me a
good idea of how to find some of the most effective on-the-ground solutions in
sustainability: through partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Digging to the root of the problem
In my role at Dow, I focus on building bridges with nonprofits to hear from
people on the ground what communities need and how we can help them get it. Dow
is leading the charge in materials science, but we can’t do that science in a
box without thinking about communities and the people within them. Nonprofit
partnerships help us dig to the root of the most pressing problems in
sustainability, find the best solutions and gain public buy-in to create real
impact.
For example, a plant worker in Louisiana once called me up and said,
essentially, “You’re talking about the circular economy and recycling all the
time, but I can’t even recycle at my house.” Louisiana has one of the lowest
recycling rates in the country, and
much of the problem lies in access. Many neighborhoods don’t have recycling
carts or curbside pickup.
In the past, Dow has collaborated with the Recycling
Partnership
to donate resin for creating recycling carts for other neighborhoods. I called
up the nonprofit to see if we could make it happen again in Louisiana; but it
saw deeper into the problem and started a much bigger conversation about the
local recycling landscape.
First, the Recycling Partnership pointed out the state’s lack of recycling
sorting facilities. I figured that Dow could help solve that issue by providing
funding for these resources; but then we learned that we couldn’t invest in
sorting equipment if no material is being collected. It was essentially a
“chicken or the egg” situation.
We’re still working on the solution in Louisiana; but if Dow had simply
parachuted in with resin donations for bins, we wouldn’t have solved anything.
Local areas would still lack the necessary infrastructure for curbside
recycling. Only through working with a nonprofit, which was much closer to the
issue, was Dow able to understand the full scope. Now, Dow has joined the
Recycling Partnership’s work to determine the best investments to stop losing
material to Louisiana landfills — and it’s going to take a lot more than just
resin donation.
Meaningful change requires trust and community buy-in
According to the 2021 Trust in Civil Society Report,
84 percent of consumers have confidence that nonprofit organizations can
strengthen society and contribute to the overall greater good for local areas.
Nonprofits tend to work directly with communities, developing acute
understanding and earning community trust. This trust is essential to gaining
the buy-in it takes to create solutions with lasting impact.
In my five years at Dow, I’ve seen the company trying to authentically engage
and improve communities many times; but at the end of the day, we are still a
for-profit company. Nonprofits, on the other hand, are entirely purpose-driven.
The public sees these organizations demonstrating support for communities’ best
interests time and time again. They are uniquely positioned to create the buy-in
that is essential in ensuring solutions will actually work.
For example, Dow works with the Galveston Bay Foundation to improve
sustainability efforts in the community through initiatives such as the recent
World Oceans Day
cleanup
— but an individual cleanup or even series of
cleanups
would have little lasting impact without the continued data collection,
education and other programs that GBF provides the community.
“Our education programs get students of all ages outdoors and connected with
nature through hands-on STEM curriculum, helping to inspire youth to become the
future stewards of the Bay,” says the Galveston Bay Foundation
website. Instilling
knowledge and passion for sustainability work will ensure the staying power of
sustainability in this community.
The best solutions start with conversations
Thoughtful collaboration is the key to real impact, and the power of
conversations can’t be overstated. Nonprofits must have conversations with
community members to understand their sustainability needs and discover which
solutions will be truly viable; and for-profit organizations must have
conversations with these nonprofits to know where they can have the most
valuable impact.
Organizations exist to connect these pieces of the sustainability puzzle and
foster vital conversations. Future
500,
for example, is a nonprofit consultancy that “builds trust between companies,
advocates, investors and philanthropists to advance business as a force for
good.” Pyxera Global is another organization
looking to reinvent how public, private and social interests engage in solving
global challenges.
For-profit organizations might have funding along with technical and other
resources to help drive change, but non-profits can inspire trust and develop
understanding in communities in a new way. For Dow, nonprofit partnerships are
an essential part of our process to keep plastic out of the environment,
increase global recycling and circularity, and lead toward a more sustainable
future.
Sr. Sustainability Manager, North America - Packaging & Specialty Plastics
Dow
Published Sep 29, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST