Summary/Description:
In this presentation you’ll hear from representatives from Dow and The Nature Conservancy on Dow’s commitment to identifying $1B in net present value through the Valuing Nature Goal, tools and work processes developed to support the goal, as well as challenges and successes in driving culture change. The team will also present on two projects in the goal portfolio including a remediation project that transformed a coal ash pond into a municipal stormwater wetland in Midland, Michigan and Dow’s ongoing efforts to transition to zero freshwater intake via watershed level engagement and green and gray infrastructure at its site in Terneuzen, The Netherlands.

What people are saying:
“Thank you so much for this presentation! This has probably been the best one I've ever seen. I agree with what one person said that this is very similar to how public agencies like State Parks etc works. I'd love to send this presentation to my coworkers if it can be made available. If this is ever presented again, I'm going to get them to all attend. Great job to you all!!"

“Wow -- what a tremendous improvement!! As a former Dow employee, I remember the before picture well. Great work and what a terrific initiative and a great demonstration of the tool.”

• Flyer and Bios (PDF)
• Seminar Video (mp4, 82 MB)

• “Value Case for the Nature Goal: Tools, Work Processes, and Culture Change” by France Guertin, Dow Environmental Technology Center
• “Dow & TNC Collaboration” by Jennifer Molnar, The Nature Conservancy
• “Riverside Wetlands and ESII Tool” by Betsy Witt, Dow Environmental Remediation and Restoration
• “Dow Terneuzen Water Management – Zero Freshwater Intake by 2025” by Neils Groot, Dow Environmental Technology Center

Resources:

1. Dow Riverside wetlands as a business case applying nature goal work process
   From ash pond to Riverside Wetlands: Making the business case for engineered natural technologies - ScienceDirect
2. Seadrift Wetlands retrospective financial analysis and LCA
   A Financial and Environmental Analysis of Constructed Wetlands for Industrial Wastewater Treatment - DiMuro - 2014 - Journal of Industrial Ecology - Wiley Online Library
3. Early study completed with TNC and other collaborators
   Building A Case For Green Infrastructure (nature.org)

Summary/Description:
The University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering With Nature Initiative have formed a partnership. N-EWN will be a clearing house for tools, products and outreach for nature-based solutions and natural infrastructure projects. Today we’ll learn more about how N-EWN will work to prepare the engineers, ecologists and social scientists of the future and to advance our capabilities to deliver infrastructure solutions for communities and ecosystems.

Summary/Description:
Natural infrastructure offers a promising, soft-path solution to water security challenges, but the scientific framework for siting and measuring the efficacy of such restoration projects is nascent. In this study, we addressed this research gap in the Brazos River basin, the largest river basin in Texas, USA, and a basin undergoing intensifying extremes (drought and flood). Our analysis is motivated by the tension between changing extremes and the resilience of coastal manufacturing in the region, but with an eye for guiding corporate water stewardship “beyond the four walls” of manufacturing facilities and towards a broader basin-scale view of water stewardship. To this end, we developed a scientific framework and financial toolkit for quantifying the potential impact of constructed wetlands on streamflow (water outcomes) and cash flow (investment outcomes) compared to a purely built, or hard path, infrastructure project heightening an existing dam.