Employee Q&A: Helping Tlaxcala Embrace Inclusion and Diversity

Our people making a difference is a series featured throughout Owens Corning’s 2023 Sustainability Report.

As a leader in both Human Resources and EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety), Victor Garcia believes he has the best job at Owens Corning — as he puts it, he has people in his hands and in his heart. Victor is also the head of the Latin American Inclusion and Diversity Council, so he has the opportunity to help ensure that the plant in Tlaxcala, Mexico, is truly living our company’s core values. The plant’s commitment to caring is exemplary, as evidenced by the fact that they were recently recognized by the Human Rights Commission of Tlaxcala.

On receiving recognition from the Human Rights Commission of Tlaxcala 

It’s a milestone for us because we’re talking about human rights at a higher level than the sense of paying wages or not hiring children. The award recognizes that we care for our employees and our communities, and we make sure that inclusion, equity, and diversity are part of our policies and part of our culture. We went through an audit, so they could see documents, walk our floors, and hear testimony demonstrating that our company is actually beyond just complying with the law — we’re making the employee experience something better than normal. In the employee life cycle, from being a candidate to retirement, Owens Corning Tlaxcala offers the possibility for people to make a future for themselves and their families while creating the materials that make the world a better place for our children.

On initiatives designed to increase equity in manufacturing 

We have what we call Pink Coffee on a weekly basis, where the Plant Director and I sit with frontline employees and have a friendly conversation where they can speak freely without fear of retaliation. Once a month, those Pink Coffees are just for women, where we ask them how they feel they’re being treated by the men in the company. Their standard answer is that it’s a good environment, and they feel they are treated well. This is important to me because we have had an ethics program in place for the last five years, making sure that the message is sent that we must have a positive culture without discrimination or harassment.

On taking steps toward a better future for everyone 

We can start by educating our children — or nieces, cousins, or friends if we don’t have children — and disseminate the message of respect as an act of consciousness and the love of everybody. We are all on the same rock called Earth, and the things we do affect other people. If I do something good, that small chain reaction can create a wave where everyone benefits. With education, we can drive our values, and eventually maybe society will be in a very different shape than it is today. I am sure the younger generations will do better than us. They’re thinking in a good direction toward respect and a better planet for everybody. We can continue to teach them by example the importance of doing something, because doing nothing is the same as going backwards.