PPG commits to setting science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

PPG has announced that it has committed to setting near-term company-wide emission reductions in line with climate science through the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), which is an organisation that helps companies define their decarbonisation strategy and reduce the impacts of climate change.

PPG has an existing goal to reduce GHG emissions intensity by 15% by 2025 from a 2017 baseline, achieving a 9.7% reduction in 2021. The company has long reported emissions intensity from its own operations (Scope 1 emissions) and purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling (Scope 2 emissions) and plans to unveil its new 2030 goals over the coming months. Moving forward, PPG is prioritising evaluating indirect emissions that are from sources outside of the organisation that PPG does not own or control, including raw materials, use of sold products, and product end-of-life (Scope 3 emissions).

"In this critical moment for climate change, we are committed to further evaluating and reducing emissions throughout our value chain,” said Diane Kappas, PPG Vice President, Global Sustainability. "We are working across our organisation to define additional actions we can take to help prevent the earth from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Following our validation work with SBTi and an emissions analysis, we intend to announce new, aggressive 2030 goals that will define our decarbonisation strategy to help protect the planet for current and future generations.”

PPG also released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which details advancements in its sustainable innovations, board governance of ESG, efforts to reach its 2025 sustainability goals and further actions to support customers’ sustainability goals. The full report is available at sustainability.ppg.com.

"Sustainability is at the heart of our purpose to protect and beautify the world,” said Kappas. "Our employees’ hard work and dedication helped us meet and surpass several of our near-term 2025 goals, and we continue to look for additional ways to reduce our emissions and overall environmental impact. While we are proud of our achievements, we recognise that now is the time for further action. We look forward to unveiling science-based targets as we complete the validation process.”

The latest report highlights PPG’s environmental actions and innovations globally. Key highlights include:

• Introduced PPG ERGOLUXE™ powder coatings, which offer first-pass transfer efficiency rates of up to 85% and the ability to reuse overspray. PPG ErgoLuxeEco contains up to 13% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET). Since 2017, PPG has used more than 6 million pounds of rPET to manufacture its coatings.
• Launched COMEX® TOP paint by PPG, which contributes to the circular economy by incorporating recycled tires, saving more than 270,000 tyres from landfills since the product was introduced in 2021. The product is intended for application on roofs and provides thermal insulation, resulting in emissions reduction through energy savings.
• Implemented the Zero Discharge Project at Architectural Coatings facilities in the U.S. and Canada, enabling PPG to recycle and reuse more than 1.7M gallons of water in its manufacturing process over the past two years.
• Installed a combined heat and power (CHP) unit at the Caivano, Italy, facility, creating an efficiency improvement equating to an annual reduction of approximately 1100 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Invested more than US$8.7M between 2015 and 2021 in PPG’s global COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® initiative.

In 2021, PPG reduced process waste, increased renewable energy use in its facilities and increased sales from sustainably advantaged products. Highlights include:

• 38% of sales from sustainably advantaged products against the goal of 40% by 2025;
• 24% of electricity usage from renewable energy sources against the goal of 25% by 2025;
• 40% of manufacturing and research and development facilities with zero process waste to landfill, above the goal of 35% by 2025; and
• 37% reduction in waste disposal intensity from the 2017 baseline, above the goal of 25% by 2025.

To create strong and equitable communities, PPG worked to engage employees and diversify its recruiting and talent pools. Efforts focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) include:

• Unveiled new DE&I commitments:
  • Achieve 34% to 36% representation of non-frontline global female professionals by 2025. PPG achieved 30% as of December 31, 2021.
  • Increase representation of Black, Latino and Asian employees by 45% to 55% across our non-frontline, U.S.-based employee population (using January 1, 2021, as our baseline). At the end of 2021, PPG increased non-frontline Black employees by 13%, Latino employees by 9% and Asian employees by 8%.
  • Achieve total global employee resource network (ERN) and DE&I capability-building participation of 50% by 2025. As of the end of 2021, PPG achieved 33% of this goal.
• Published the first PPG DE&I Report.
• Grew eight global ERNs to include more than 7000 employee members across more than 60 countries.
• Invested US$7.4M through 2021 to advance racial equity in the U.S. by funding educational pathways for Black communities and people of colour.

PPG’s 2021 reporting disclosures align with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) chemical standard. The company also strengthened its reporting against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and reported qualitative climate-related risks according to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

To learn more about ESG at PPG and explore the report, visit sustainability.ppg.com