Varennes

Dow Canada’s Varennes, Quebec site is located in the greater Montreal area on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The 450-acre site is home to two manufacturing plants, producing STYROFOAM™ brand insulation and styrene butadiene latex. Varennes’ competitive advantage is built on skilled labour and easy access to markets in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.

The cereal box sitting on your kitchen table may contain styrene butadiene latex made at our plant in Varennes. Latex is used as a binder for fine paper coatings and consumer packaging. Other uses of latex include backing for carpets and as the basis for paints.

The most visible example of a Dow consumer product in Canada is STYROFOAM brand insulation. Thanks to these insulating products, Canadians enjoy more comfortable, warmer living environments, and lower energy bills through greater efficiency, thereby contributing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

As a Responsible Care^® company, we work toward eliminating injuries, preventing adverse environmental and health impacts, reducing wastes and emissions and promoting resource conservation at every stage of the life cycle of our products. The Varennes site is “off the river,” meaning that no water used in our production processes is discharged to the river. Rainwater that falls on the site is collected, tested and treated if necessary, before being returned to the St. Lawrence River.

The Varennes site is active in contributing to the well-being of surrounding communities. In 2007, Dow Canada partnered with Ducks Unlimited to support the rehabilitation of wildlife habitat on islands in the St. Lawrence River adjacent to our Varennes site. In addition, much of the site’s 450 acres is leased to our neighbors for agricultural activities.

^®Responsible Care is a certification mark of the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association and Dow Canada is a licensed user of the certification marks.