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Cooley Group, a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of high-performance engineered membranes for advertising, chemical containment, military, environmental protection and roofing initiatives, has announced additional developments that underscore the company’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
- Dan Dwight, Cooley president and CEO, has been named to the board of directors of Family Service of Rhode Island, a Providence-based nonprofit that helps approximately 9,000 children and adults annually live independently, advocate for themselves and better their own lives. The appointment highlights Cooley’s leadership commitment to local communities.
- Deb Bedrosian, a Cooley Group human resource leader, has been promoted to director of human resources and social responsibility. Committed to attracting, maintaining and growing Cooley’s talent, Ms. Bedrosian’s new role includes identifying opportunities to support local communities and broader social responsibility initiatives, as well as to ensure that Cooley’s vendors and strategic partners adhere to the same level of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Cooley’s social responsibility commitment is demonstrated through its people, products and processes. Well-known community service initiatives include partnering with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) for the last five years on their annual holiday gift-giving and school supply campaigns. Other initiatives include working with the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Centers to collect and donate more than 120 cell phones to victims of domestic violence, and working with HOPE of Lancaster, S.C., on a clothing drive, among other community service efforts. Also, through a truly unique initiative, select Cooley employees and their families make winter scarves by hand throughout the year. In 2011, 550 scarves were provided to DCYF and Crossroads—a nonprofit that provides basic emergency needs and services to homeless families and individuals in Rhode Island.
From a product standpoint, Cooley has implemented a number of best practices that help preserve the world’s natural resources and improve human health. Cooley is continuously upgrading and improving its manufacturing facilities; most recently replacing manufacturing facility lighting with more energy-efficient lights. By the end of this year, Cooley will have used almost 25 million pounds of recycled product that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. The company also has reduced its gas energy consumption by 75 percent and its material waste generation during production by 70 percent.
“Cooley’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility has been part of our DNA for more than 85 years,” said Mr. Dwight. “It begins with the actions of the senior leadership team and manifests through every person we employ, product we develop and process we improve,” said Dwight.