When the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) launched its employee engagement program -- AFPM EMpower -- in 2016, the first thing the association did was talk to industry employees about what they most wanted the public to know and what facts they thought were missing from the prevailing narrative of the fuel and petrochemical industries. Since then, AFPM has created a suite of resources employees can use to have better conversations with their families and in their communities on how the industries operate and the value of the products they bring to people's daily lives.
As a follow-up to BIC Magazine's December/January 2019 article about the program, here are some highlights of the new resources and how to access them:
- Refining and petrochemical facility virtual reality (VR) tours: Site-based employees stressed that when a community has concerns about a facility, the most effective thing to do is to bring them to the site. This is not always possible or safe. AFPM created two virtual reality tours that can be viewed online, on a phone using Google Cardboard or with a VR headset. The tours demystify what goes on at these facilities and allow the viewer to meet some of the fantastic people who work there.
- Refining and petrochemical customizable community/school presentations: Employees indicated that presenting at schools and community meetings were their preferred method of educating others about the industries. AFPM created two presentations that can be tailored for a particular company and audience.
- Videos and infographics that can be shared easily: Many myths about the industries are propagated online, and most companies have guidelines about what can and cannot be shared online. Where there is an opportunity to correct misinformation with facts, AFPM has them in easily digestible formats, including videos, infographics and fact sheets.
- Training: AFPM is touring facilities throughout the U.S. to introduce the program and offer free training opportunities to AFPM members on how to have these conversations -- particularly the more difficult ones. Non-AFPM members can learn more by emailing empower@afpm.org. "I wish the environmentalists knew we were environmentalists," said one refinery engineering manager. AFPM's "Constructive Conversations Toolkit" offers strategies for getting messages like this across.
Find these resources and more on the EMpower website at empower.afpm.org and sign up to be notified when others are available. If you do not find what you are looking for, there's a place to send questions directly to AFPM for answers.
AFPM is asking that you help start a new conversation about the fuel and petrochemical industries. EMpower resources can be customized and adapted as needed to meet the needs of a company's employee engagement goals. While these industries have made great strides in telling its people's stories over the past couple of years, there is still more work to do. AFPM EMpower is here to help.
For more information, visit http://empower.afpm.org.
