PPG corporate sustainability report highlights green building products

Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries’ first corporate sustainability report highlights key accomplishments in several areas of interest to environmentally progressive architects and builders, according to a May 26 release.

In the green construction arena, PPG architectural glasses, including Solarban solar control, low-E glasses, are the first product in their industry to be cradle-to-cradle certified. Many PPG paints, including Pittsburgh Paints’ Pure Performance paint are Ecologo certified or CHPS-compliant as a low-emitting material, and Duranar Ultra-Cool coatings are Energy Star and Cool Roof Rating Council listed.

PPG’s corporate sustainability report supports products claims and certifications in that, as a manufacturer, PPG is responsible, transparent, and realizes necessary improvements to meet challenging sustainability demands. For instance, PPG was the first company to install oxy-fuel furnace technology on a float glass production line in North America, which can dramatically reduce the amount of natural gas required to melt glass, according to the release.

The company also integrated dispense cell technology to facilitate the production of small batches of liquid coatings, eliminating the need for cleaning solvents, cutting hazardous waste and reducing customer inventories by permitting more accurate order fulfillment.

The 32-page sustainability report, posted is self-declared to meet the G3 Application Level C requirements for the Global Reporting Initiative, a disclosure framework for corporate sustainability information. In addition to outlining PPG’s vision, values, ethics and corporate governance, the report provides information on the company’s recent business performance, global philanthropic activities and metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage and safety statistics, according to the release.