Sustainable Products

Environmental stewardship has driven our research and development portfolio for more than a century. That rich history has embedded into our DNA the commitment to innovate products and processes that provide environmental and other sustainability benefits to our customers.

In 2016, 31 percent of our total sales were derived from sustainable products and processes. Our goal is to achieve 40 percent by 2020. We met our initial 30 percent goal five years ahead of schedule in 2015, underscoring the abilities and commitment of our people.

Our coatings, materials and technologies reduce corrosion, extending the life of our customers’ products. We also help our customers reduce energy usage and emissions, protect their employees and minimize waste and water consumption through the use of our products.

A key aspect of our product development process is selecting sustainable and safe materials to manufacture a product. We actively seek to avoid chemicals of concern, and we have committed to remove lead from our remaining non-consumer coatings formulations by 2020.

We publicly communicate transparent and comparable information about the environmental impact of our products through independently verified life cycle assessments (LCA) and validated environmental product declarations (EPD). We also provide transparency into product contents and associated health information through health product declarations (HPDs) and other disclosure tools used in the building industry.

Our current focus is developing these types of documents for products that can help end customers meet their green building initiatives, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification. Examples of LCAs, EPDs and HPDs can be found on our PPG PAINTS™ website.

Sustainable product innovation is more than a business strategy at PPG. It is a commitment to the environment, our customers and our people.

	Ice-release aircraft coating reduces drag, fuel consumption By helping ice, insects and other substances safely slide off an airplane’s wings and flight-control surfaces, our innovative ice-release aircraft coating, which is still in testing, helps prevent buildup that can create drag on the aircraft surface. This facilitates a smooth flow of air over airplane wings, which studies by NASA have shown can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 6 percent. More »
	Rapid-performance automotive clearcoat reduces energy consumption A new rapid-performance clearcoat for automotive refinishing reduces energy consumption without compromising the quality of the final appearance, ease of application or size of repair. Currently the fastest clearcoat available in the European market, the coating requires only five minutes to bake. For additional energy savings, the oven can be turned down or excluded completely from the curing process.
	Waterborne acrylic urethane extends life of building products Designed for exterior building products, our AQUACRON^® 200 Series coating offers robust protection for wood, fiber glass, plastic, vinyl and composite substrates. The waterborne acrylic urethane also can be formulated with heat-reflective pigments to add even higher levels of durability and environmental performance. More »
	STEELGUARD coatings minimize environmental impact Our STEELGUARD™ 601 and STEELGUARD 651 waterborne thin-film intumescent coatings minimize environmental impact and deliver up to 120 minutes of cellulosic fire protection. The coatings have very low levels of volatile organic compounds and low odor. More »
	PPG takes LEED on certifications At the end of 2016, we had 29 interior paints and primers that could help our building and construction customers earn points toward green building certification in the LEED v4 rating system, which was released in late 2016. Our SPEEDHIDE^® zero paint, for example, can earn LEEDv4 points across three categories—low-emitting materials, environmental product declarations and material ingredients.
	Solvent-free powder liner for aerosol cans reduces VOC emissions Our HOBA™ PURAIR™ packaging coating is an innovative Bisphenol A non-intent powder liner for the internal protection of aluminum aerosol cans. The product contains no solvent and helps brand owners and can makers meet environmental and sustainable technology goals, such as reducing VOC emissions, minimizing their carbon dioxide footprint and providing high utilization and recycling capability. More »
	Chrome-free structural primer reduces costs, safety concerns Our chrome-free structural primer offers corrosion resistance to protect loadbearing structures in an airplane. The interior primer system is completely free of hexavalent chrome, providing environmental and economic benefits that include cost savings associated with chrome waste treatment. The product also has low VOC emissions.
	Floor lacquer produced with recycled plastic Available in Europe, our DOMALUX^® Classic Silver floor lacquer contains a polyurethane resin that is manufactured using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. Production of the lacquer consumes approximately 15 metric tons of recycled PET annually.
	Lead Commitment We do not use lead as an ingredient in our consumer paints and coatings anywhere in the world. We have proactively eliminated lead from all new formulations for a number of years and will not use lead in new formulations in the future. We also develop plans to eliminate lead from products that become part of our portfolio through acquisitions as part of our integration process. We are committed to eliminating lead by 2020 from the small quantity of non-consumer coatings formulations that remain in our portfolio. These non-consumer products, which comprise less than 1 percent of our entire portfolio, include lead solely to meet the unique specifications of certain customers. In 2016, we eliminated 21 percent of these products. One example of our efforts in this area is within our global protective and marine coatings business, which eliminated lead from the manufacture of all product formulations in 2016. Our other businesses are following a similar path to meet the 2020 lead-free goal.

Sustainable Products

Ice-release aircraft coating reduces drag, fuel consumption

Rapid-performance automotive clearcoat reduces energy consumption

Waterborne acrylic urethane extends life of building products

STEELGUARD coatings minimize environmental impact

PPG takes LEED on certifications

Solvent-free powder liner for aerosol cans reduces VOC emissions

Chrome-free structural primer reduces costs, safety concerns

Floor lacquer produced with recycled plastic

Lead Commitment