Dialogue with the Public
Renovation of the Historical Potash Factory Site and Construction of the Heritage Center in Sdom
The first potash factory in Israel was constructed in the northern area of the Dead Sea in 1930, and expanded southwards to Sdom in 1934. It became the largest Zionist industry in pre-state Israel, contributing at its height more than 50% of exports from Mandatory Palestine.
In the pre-state days the phosphate factory was an exemplar of pioneering dedication, embodied in developing an industry out of nothing. The factory merged a unique mosaic of Jews, Arabs, Druze, kibbutz members and city-folk, who worked together to create and establish dynamic social and community life in nearly impossible conditions, and also played an important role in protecting the Dead Sea region during the War of Independence.
ICL is currently renovating the workers’ camp in Sdom, transforming it into a visitors’ center that will display the factory’s work in the past and at present. The historic buildings at the workers’ camp in Sdom will be renovated as a “cultural site”, displaying the history of the original Potash factory , and illustrating the uniqueness of the Dead Sea and the plants’ products. ICL Dead Sea Works take great pride in their heritage and consider it to be an integral part of the formidable industry established on the shores of the Dead Sea.
The project is carried out in cooperation with the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel and the Tzionei Derech project at the Prime Minister’s Office.
CAP – Community Advisory Panel Forum
ICLs’ companies in the Negev maintain mutual communication with environmental organizations, local authorities, government ministries, statutory authorities, universities, research institutes and the civil community on diverse topics related to the Company’s activities and its points of contact with residents and the environment, in order to promote positive and fruitful relationships. Communication with stakeholders focuses on several areas, one of these being the Community Advisory Panel – CAP, a joint forum for representatives of industries in the Negev, local residents and environmental organizations. The CAP holds regular meetings to establish informed, realistic discussions on environmental protection, based on reliable and professional data, and productive discussions between industry and the various stakeholders.
The CAP forum is based on joint meetings held once every few months, between ICL representatives in the Negev and residents living in the areas near the plants, green organizations, etc. Within the forum participants discuss problems and issues that are important to all parties, mainly environmental and economic issues, as well as cooperative initiatives between ICL and the community.
Examples of topics discussed over the last few years include: emergency preparedness, workers’ safety, environmental impact and performance, community involvement, impact on the community, and occupational possibilities.
Visits to ICL Plants
As part of its policy of transparency and openness, ICL opens its plants to visits of various audiences, providing visitors with professional guides who present the past, present and future of ICL’s production facilities. Tens of thousands of people visit ICL’s plants annually.
ICL places an emphasis on visits during the Israeli holidays of Sukkot and Passover, during which ICL partners with local hotels in the area. Guests are invited to visit the Sdom site, where professional guides – residents of the area and qualified by the Ministry of Tourism and also specially trained for guiding tours of ICL plants – show them around the site. ICL employees, based on their availability and the nature of the visiting group, also co-host these visits and add to it from their own knowledge and experience. ICL believes that such direct interaction and exposure of its work and discussions of core values are vital to creating a sense of shared communication and trust between ICL and the general public.
ICL also places an emphasis on visits by students studying subjects such as geography, environmental sciences, earth sciences, biology, ecology, geology, chemistry and others. ICL has developed special guided tours for these groups, based on research studies, discussion of dilemmas connected to the environment, economics, society, industry, etc., and examining various alternatives as solutions. Relevant course and program lecturers from universities are active partners in the organization, guiding and leading these tours.
