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April 21, 2009

PPG’s Carbon Emissions Fall, Ozone-depleting Emissions Rise

PPG, a global supplier of paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass, reduced nitrogen dioxide emissions by 5 percent and particulate emissions by 6 percent.

But the company’s ozone-depleting emissions rose 12 percent, according to the firm’s 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report (PDF).

In 2008, PPG saw $3.8 billion in sales of “green” products, which PPG defines as those that have energy or environmental attributes. That figure is up 24 percent over the past two years.

Here are some of the green products PPG is involved with:

• PPG sells reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) paints and coatings.
• It also sells lightweight sealants and composite cockpit windshields to the aviation industry, helping reduce the weight of planes, and thus reducing the carbon footprint of overall aviation, according to the report.
• The company also makes parts and materials that reduce the weight and improve the performance of cars.
• PPG’s Solarphire glass is used in solar arrays around the nation.

To improve its own manufacturing processes, PPG is:

• Implementing waste management programs for water, recycling and recovery.
• Using dispense cell technology, which facilitates production of smaller batches of liquid coatings, thus reducing the need for cleaning solvents and reducing waste via more accurate order fulfillment.
• Shipping liquid coatings in reusable shipping containers.
• Using reusable steel racks to ship architectural glass products, reducing disposable packaging for the items 65 percent over the course of a year.
• Reducing mercury emissions. Since 2004, the company has reduced its mercury emissions by nearly 75 percent. At a chemical facility in Lake Charles, La., a membrane cell technology eliminates mercury used in chlorine production, at the same time using 25 percent less electricity.
• Implementing a five-year target to reduce spills from 3.2 per 1,000 employees in 2008 to 1.6 by 2013.
• Evaluating supplier partnerships based on their energy efficiency, packaging optimization, recycling and other CSR practices.

PPG, which had 2008 sales of $15.8 billion, has more than 140 manufacturing facilities in more than 60 countries.

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