Human Rights

We respect the dignity and human rights of all people.

We have a comprehensive strategy to protect human rights throughout our operations and work with suppliers to uphold human rights across our supply chain.

Respecting human rights in the value chain

PPG has a suite of policies in place to communicate our expectations to uphold human rights in our own operations as well as in our supply chain, including our Human Rights Policy, Global Supplier Code of Conduct, Supplier Sustainability Policy, and Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy. In 2024, PPG also published a Canada Forced Labor Statement, drawing on existing modern slavery statements that we have published in other jurisdictions such as the UK and Australia. All of our human rights statements are available on PPG.com.

Our procurement policies are reviewed annually by our procurement Center of Excellence, and updated to ensure we stay ahead of evolving stakeholder expectations and industry best practices. The chief procurement officer is responsible for human rights oversight, with support from our procurement Center of Excellence and regional directors.

We continue to collaborate with a leading third-party ratings system to evaluate our suppliers' human rights practices and partner with our most critical and highest risk suppliers to improve their scores.

PPG has a structured process for responding to credible allegations of human rights issues in the supply chain. In severe cases, PPG immediately removes the supplier and transitions to alternative providers. In situations involving critical or difficult to substitute suppliers, PPG may strategically reduce procurement volumes while conducting follow up investigations, including physical site audits in some cases. If the allegations are less severe, PPG establishes corrective action plans and monitors performance over time. Learn more in the supplier sustainability section.

Respecting human rights in our operations

PPG's commitment to respecting and upholding the human rights of all people is embodied in our Global Code of Ethics. As further stated in the PPG Human Rights Policy, PPG does not use forced labor or any other form of human trafficking; does not hire employees who are less than 16 years old; follows all laws and regulations related to work hours, wages and benefits; respect employees’ freedom of association and their ability to join or refrain from joining labor organizations or other worker organizations or to engage in collective bargaining, consistent with applicable laws; respects the rights of indigenous people.

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. We are committed to providing a safe, professional work environment that is free from verbal, sexual or physical harassment of any kind.

For more detailed information about our approach to managing human rights in our operations and value chain, see the bottom of this web page.

Our approach to human rights

Upholding human rights in our operations and value chain

We respect the dignity and human rights of all people. Our Human Rights Policy sets forth our commitment in the areas of workplace health and safety; forced labor; child labor; anti-discrimination and anti-harassment; work hours, wages and benefits; freedom of association and collective bargaining; and indigenous and minority rights a safe and healthy working environment, At PPG, we understand that upholding human rights extends beyond commitments that address such issues, and requires a comprehensive strategy protect human rights throughout our operations and along the value chain. Key components of our strategy include:

Safety and health: A key PPG value is ensuring 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.

Equal opportunity: 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.

Inclusion and belonging: We aim to champion all employees, encouraging them to bring their best to their role and empowering everyone to reach their full potential. We are committed to valuing differences in experience, perspective, background, race, age, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, culture, interests, geography and style. These people strategies provide the foundation for our team members to thrive, deliver and grow, enabling them to deliver exceptional performance and live our purpose.

Community support: Our commitment extends into the communities where we operate. We dedicate financial resources, apply our products and use the power of our employee volunteers to address the needs of our local communities and transform lives.

Environmental impact: 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 targets.

Product stewardship: 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.

Upholding human rights in the value chain

We expect all of our contractors, suppliers and other business partners to respect and uphold our commitment to human rights in their operations. 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.

Policies

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
Complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, and having processes in place to sustainably manage waste, air emissions, energy consumption and water
Delivering products and services that meet applicable quality, health and safety standards

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 with applicable laws and adhere to internationally recognized sustainability standards. Each supplier must evaluate and maintain sustainable processes and raw material sources throughout their supply chain. We encourage our suppliers to innovate and develop products that require less material and energy to produce.

Additional information about the steps we have taken to ensure human rights are respected in our own operations and our supply chain also can be found in our California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Statement, Canada Forced Labor Statement and Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement. All of our human rights statements are available on PPG.com.

We incorporate the supply base of our recent acquisitions into our vendor management processes. Our standard acquisition integration process includes having suppliers attest to the Supplier Sustainability Policy and ethics standards. This approach ensures that all PPG suppliers understand and meet our expectations.

Our supplier sustainability and ethics policies are reviewed annually by PPG's procurement Center of Excellence and updated, as needed, to ensure we remain ahead of evolving stakeholder expectations and industry best practices.

Supplier engagement and management

Suppliers use our global eProcurement (ePro) platform’s 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.

We engage with a leading third-party sustainability assessment organization to leverage the processes, tools, resources and insights needed to drive sustainability standards and practices throughout our global supply chain. Key assessment areas include labor and human rights, which cover employee health and safety, working conditions, child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, discrimination and harassment. The organization's sustainability intelligence provides broad-scale supply chain risk screening and mapping, supplier sustainability metric scorecards with actionable ratings, and audit and improvement management capabilities. This information helps us align our suppliers' practices with PPG's sustainability commitments.

Industry collaboration

Many human rights risks stem from industry-wide challenges. We participate in many industry collaborations to support a collective approach to upholding human rights around the world.

We are 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 focuses on three program pillars:

Mica supply chain mapping and implementing workplace standards for mica collection and processing
Community empowerment, including improving educational resources and alternative means of livelihood, in villages that provide the mica workforce
Legal frameworks for the mica sector, including advocacy for laws and regulations that support workers and operators of mica mines, processors and exporters

Ensuring supplier compliance

We expect 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.

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.