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Report

• GRI Index
• Scope of Reporting
• Message from our Chairman
• Stakeholder Dialogue
• Highlights
• Economic Sustainability
• Environmental Sustainability
• Social Sustainability

Stakeholder Dialogue

 _{Photo courtesy B4E Global Summit/Global Initiatives}

Nalco is committed to interacting with all of its stakeholders in order to share perspectives, build mutually beneficial relationships and improve our performance as a company.

Communities

We take our involvement in the communities in which we do business seriously. Our community outreach efforts involve local schools, business associations such as chambers of commerce and local emergency responders, among others. Several of our major locations in the United States (Carson, Clearing, Freeport, Garyville and Sugar Land) are active members of local Community Advisory Panels. Advisory panels provide regular, on-site meetings among industry and community representatives to discuss our operations and identify and respond to community concerns. Details about specific community involvement activities can be found under Social Sustainability.

Customers

Hearing the direct voice of Nalco customers is an important factor in increasing loyalty and retaining their business. We conduct thousands of individual surveys annually looking at customer loyalty and customer feedback. These global surveys, administered in 17 different languages, provide a comprehensive study of all the touch points that our customers experience.

These survey results are analyzed and validated by an independent research firm with expertise in customer loyalty. Our sales engineers then share feedback survey results with individual customers and mutually establish a plan to respond to any gaps and concerns. Our customer loyalty surveys identify key drivers across multiple customers that impact loyalty to Nalco. We analyze these drivers in combination with local environmental, economic and cultural issues to identify the best ways to respond, retain and grow with that customer. A sharper understanding of customer perceptions of these critical value drivers enables Nalco to continuously improve our offerings and services to better meet customer needs.

Employees

The talent, experience and abilities of our people are important components of the solutions Nalco provides to customers. Our employees are our essential expertise. In the fall of 2010 we conducted an initial sample of an employee engagement survey as part of the follow up to a global employee survey in 2009. Full, annual surveys are planned with the 2011 survey already underway. Results of these surveys are driving our latest employee improvement efforts including an even greater focus on employee training and development, leadership development and organizational structure changes to improve innovation, marketing and sales interactions.

Investors and Analysts

Note: Effective December 1, 2011 Nalco merged with Ecolab Inc. The information below is provided for historical purposes and will be updated as Nalco integrates with Ecolab.

Our outreach efforts with our shareholders included more than 500 calls and meetings with investors and prospective investors during the year. In May of 2010 we held an Investor Day at our Naperville headquarters that was attended by more than 50 analysts and investors with more than 100 more listening to the event both live and through replays available on our Investor Relations website. In addition to formal presentations from a number of senior Nalco executives, there were opportunities for question and answer sessions throughout the event.

Each quarter both our Chairman and our Chief Financial Officer conduct a conference call with analysts that is also available as a live webcast and for later replay through our website. Nalco executives presented at more than a dozen investor conferences during the year with many of those presentations available globally through our website.

Our shareholders or any interested party can always communicate their concerns about Nalco directly to our Lead Director, currently Mr. Rodney Chase, or by contacting our Corporate Secretary as described in our annual Proxy Statement to our shareholders.

Legislators and Regulators

Business can play an important role in providing government officials and regulators with an industry perspective to help develop the most effective policies. Sharing Nalco’s expertise in industrial water, energy and air applications can contribute to policy debates in water and water-efficient technologies, enhanced oil recovery and oil and gas production, air quality, energy efficiency, climate change and other related energy and environmental issues.

Our interactions with government officials at all levels and in all countries comply with the law and with all Nalco ethics policies including our Code of Ethical Business Conduct which guides all Nalco officers, managers and employees in creating and maintaining an ethical work environment.

Non-Governmental Organizations

In recent years Nalco has expanded our engagement with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in recognition of the need for open dialogue and cooperation to find sustainable solutions for the global water and energy challenges we face.

We continue to deepen our commitment to Water For People (WFP), a global nonprofit humanitarian organization that focuses on increasing access to safe drinking water and preventing water- and sanitation-related illnesses. The partnership ranges from grants and in-kind contributions to employee volunteerism and board participation by Nalco executive Mary Kay Kaufmann. Nalco’s technical expertise was also brought to bear on Water For People’s new internal audit and rebranding initiatives. More information about our support of Water For People can be found in the Social Sustainability section.

Nalco and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s foremost conservation groups, formed a partnership in 2010 to develop best practices to protect and conserve water. Nalco is applying our global experience in safe and efficient industrial water use to help define the needs of priority areas facing water scarcity, poor water quality, and degradation of freshwater habitats.

We are also providing financial support to the Global Water Roundtable, which is being organized by WWF and the Alliance for Water Stewardship, to develop credible water stewardship standards for fair and sustainable management of fresh water.

Since committing to the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, Nalco has provided ongoing support to the Mandate. Mike Bushman, Nalco Division Vice President, Global Policy and Stakeholder Engagement, was a member of the group that developed the Mandate’s Principles for Responsible Water Policy Engagement. Nalco was also one of five endorsing companies sponsoring the Mandate’s November 2010 working conference in Cape Town, South Africa that addressed water scarcity, quality and availability both in southern Africa and globally.

Our Chairman and CEO, Erik Fyrwald, is active in the World Economic Forum (WEF), an independent international organization that brings together business, political, academic and other leaders to share ideas on global and regional issues. In 2010 he participated in WEF’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China. He was part of a panel of government and business representatives discussing the challenges of doing business in the “Next Frontier,” countries that will present the next generation of opportunities beyond current emerging markets like the BRIC countries.

Nalco also co-sponsored and participated in the fourth Business for Environment (B4E) Global Summit, held in Seoul, South Korea, in conjunction with Earth Day. The summit brought together 1,000 people from business, government, international agencies and NGOs to discuss a variety of environmental challenges and help identify solutions.

In October 2010 Nalco organized its first Water Stewardship Forum to provide an opportunity for sharing best practices in optimizing industrial water use. The two-day event featured participants from NGOs including WWF, the Alliance for Water Stewardship and the Pacific Institute along with representatives from a variety of companies including Nestlé, USG Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Pepsi, Dow and Archer Daniels Midland.

Attendees shared practical, tangible ways to build a business case for making water conservation and efficiency part of a broader sustainability-driven agenda. They learned how market-leading companies manage water risks and ultimately improve their water use. Companies also shared operational best practices on managing water risks by using a cascading approach of water conservation, reuse and recycle.