Dow staff bring Olympic spirit to work
On April 18, about 100 days before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Shanghai Dow Center ( SDC), which is also the Greater China headquarters of The Dow Chemical Company, kicked off its own countdown to the Games.
As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, Dow organized a company sports competition called “Let’s Move!” in which employees participated in sports, such as miniature golf, dragon boat racing and tug-of-war, within a one-hour period.
Despite being nearly 10,000 kilometers away from London, Dow employees in Shanghai felt the Olympic spirit as they upheld such values as excellence, respect and friendship by participating in the competitions.
Dow strongly advocates health and fitness among its staff.
Opened in 2009, SDC is considered a model of humanistic design and function in the Zhangjiang High- tech Park due in part to its world-class fitness facilities.
Covering 2,600 square meters, the facility includes a cycling room, a basketball and badminton court. Staff can use state-of-the-art equipment or join fitness classes in one of several studios. Through their “Sports Club”, they also organize weekly basketball, football, tennis and badminton games as well as swimming sessions.
Since Dow became a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games in 2010, the idea of exercise has become extremely popular among its employees and has lifted company morale to unprecedented levels.
At the beginning of this year, Dow introduced the “Your Choice, Your Balance” campaign to enhance the company’s unique, flexible working conditions.
Staff members are encouraged to improve the balance between work and life by integrating fitness activities and rest into the eight-hour workday. Dow believes that physical and mental health leads to greater productivity from staff.
Officials from the Chinese Olympic Committee visited SDC last year and were impressed with the facilities and culture of integrating physical fitness into the workplace. They commended the company for exemplifying the principles of China’s National Fitness Program, which was launched more than 10 years earlier.
CSR initiatives
Dow also incorporates the Olympic spirit into its corporate social responsibility projects in China.
Employees volunteered their time to organize two sports competitions for students at the Yongtai Hope School in Ziyang City in Sichuan province. The students played such games as tug-of-war, rope jumping, relay races and quiz games to understand the importance of teamwork and physical fitness while experiencing Olympic culture.
Jus t re c ent ly, Dow announced the launch of “Dow Media Club for Sports Solutions” specifically for the Chinese media.
The club will serve as a platform for the media to learn how Dow’s scientific innovation and solutions are improving the development of sports and the Olympic Games. It will also help the general public gain a better understanding through media reports about the relationship between materials science and the Olympics.
Dow also desires to cooperate with local government and non-governmental organizations to promote the Olympic spirit and advance the National Fitness Program in communities around China.
As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games from 2010 to 2020, Dow Chemical is proud to provide innovative and sustainable solutions for the Olympic Games.
At the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Olympic Stadium, the Riverbank Arena, the International Broadcasting Center, the Olympic and Paralympic Village and the Westfied Shopping Center, among others, all use Dow products and solutions.
Athletes, spectators and TV audiences around the world will be able to experience and see how materials science truly improves their performance and our daily lives.