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2020 Sustainability Report

ESG Report

Human Rights

ESG Report

We respect the dignity and human rights of all people

As stated in our Global Code of Ethics, we are committed to compliance with all laws pertaining to freedom of association, privacy, collective bargaining, immigration, working time, wages and hours in our operations throughout the world. We also uphold laws prohibiting forced, compulsory and child labor, human trafficking and employment discrimination.

We are committed to valuing differences among us in experience, perspective, background, race, age, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, culture, interests, geography and style. We strive for a collaborative environment in which everyone is embraced for their differences and has the chance to succeed. (See our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report.)

We base employment decisions on job qualifications and merit, which include education, experience, skills, ability and performance. We give equal employment opportunity to – and will not discriminate against – individuals on the basis of any status protected by applicable laws.

A key PPG value is to ensure our people return home safely each day. We are actively working toward a goal of zero injuries by engaging with our employees to improve our operating practices around the world, investing in a safe work environment and running our business with sound operating practices. (See the Safety and Health section.)

This commitment extends into the communities where we operate. We dedicate financial contributions, apply our products and use the power of our employee volunteers to address the needs of our local communities and transform lives. (See the Community Overview section.)

We are also committed to preserving and protecting the environment in which we operate at all our locations around the world. Minimizing the footprint of our operations is an ongoing focus, and our locations are guided by our sustainability goals. (See the Environment Overview section.)

Our vigorous product stewardship program aims to minimize the human health and environmental impacts of our products throughout their entire life cycle and to eliminate substances of concern from our products. We have standards and processes in place to help ensure our products are developed, used and disposed of safely. (See the Product Stewardship section.)

Our Business Partners

We expect all of our contractors, suppliers and other business partners to respect and uphold our commitment to human rights in their operations. In particular, our suppliers are a core focus of our human rights due-diligence process. We evaluate their commitment and adherence to human rights through our supplier onboarding process, assessments of our high-risk suppliers globally and annual audits of selected suppliers.

Our Global Supplier Code of Conduct clarifies our expectations in the areas of business integrity, labor practices, employee health and safety, and environmental management. Specific requirements relating to human rights include:

  • Treating employees fairly, including with respect to wages, working hours and benefits;
  • Prohibiting all forms of forced or compulsory labor;
  • Prohibiting the use of child labor;
  • Respecting employees’ right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, consistent with local laws;
  • Providing safe and healthy working conditions;
  • Conducting operations with environmental diligence and complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations; and
  • Delivering products and services meeting applicable quality and health and safety standards.

With the launch of our global eProcurement (ePro) platform beginning in 2021, our suppliers now use the ePro supplier portal to do business with PPG. This includes completing an electronic acknowledgement of our Global Supplier Code of Conduct and Supplier Sustainability Policy and indicating compliance with data privacy laws as they pertain to any relationship with PPG. Since the launch in the United States and Canada, and in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, over 10,000 suppliers, more than a third of our supply base, have acknowledged that they adhere to the aforementioned policies.

We expect our suppliers to immediately report any suspected violations of our Global Supplier Code of Conduct through the PPG Ethics Helpline or other specified channels. In the event of any non-compliant activity or violation of the Code, the supplier may be required to provide a detailed corrective action plan to address the deficiency. We reserve the right to terminate our relationship with any supplier that cannot demonstrate compliance with the Code.

Our Supplier Sustainability Policy builds upon our Global Supplier Code of Conduct by establishing expectations for sustainability within our supply chain. This policy reinforces our expectations that our suppliers, as well as their subcontractors, will comply fully with applicable laws and adhere to internationally recognized environmental, social and corporategovernance standards.

Each supplier must evaluate and maintain sustainable processes and raw material sources throughout their supply chain and supplier base. We also encourage our suppliers to innovate and develop new products requiring less intensive material and energy consumption, along with leveraging their collective strengths to help us meet our sustainability goals.

To support this, we engage with ECOVADIS, a leading global corporate social responsibility and sustainability ratings company, to leverage assessment processes, tools, resources and insights to drive sustainability standards and practices throughout our global supply base. Key assessment areas include labor and human rights, which cover employee health and safety, working conditions, child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, diversity, discrimination and harassment.

EcoVadis sustainability intelligence provides broadscale supply chain risk screening and mapping, supplier sustainability metric scorecards with actionable ratings, and audit and improvement management capabilities. The average score of PPG suppliers who have had their labor and human rights programs rated by EcoVadis through December 31, 2021, was above EcoVadis' market average score. This information will help us ensure our suppliers around the world are equally committed to sustainability as we are.

Our high standards for supplier sustainability is embedded in our acquisition integration process. For all of our recent acquisitions, we are incorporating their supply base into our processes, which includes our expectations that these suppliers comply with PPG's Supplier Sustainability Policy and ethics standards. We are also planning to merge the PPG and Tikkurila platforms hosted by EcoVadis to create additional synergy. The transitioning of acquired companies' suppliers into our process is a standard part of our integration approach and a critical strategy to ensure all PPG suppliers understand and meet our standards.

We are also a founding member of the RESPONSIBLE MICA INITIATIVE® (RMI), which aims to mobilize the supply chain to eradicate child labor in India's mica mines through traceability efforts and community building activities. RMI's holistic approach implements three program pillars simultaneously:

  • Mica supply chain mapping and workplace standards for mica collection and processing;
  • Community empowerment, including improved educational resources and alternative means of livelihood, in villages that provide the mica workforce; and
  • Legal frameworks for the mica sector.

See the Supplier Sustainability section for additional details on how we address human rights as part of our procurement process.

Additional information about the steps we have taken to ensure human rights are respected in our own operations and within our supply chain also can be found in our California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Statement and Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement.

Reporting Human Rights Violations

Employees, suppliers and other third parties can anonymously report suspected human rights violations within our operations and those of our suppliers through the PPG Ethics Helpline. The helpline is managed by an independent, third-party firm, and we investigate each allegation thoroughly and fairly.

Additional information on the helpline and our expectations for a high standard of integrity and professional conduct for employees and business partners can be found in the Governance Overview section.

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