Steelcase, a global leading designer and manufacturer of innovative workspace furniture and solutions, is one of PPG’s largest buyers of protective powder coatings and has been for decades. This partnership extends beyond supplier-customer relations, rooted deeply in shared sustainability goals and environmental responsibility.
Steelcase’s Commitment to Carbon Reduction in Metal Office Furniture
In response to rising concerns about the climate crisis, Steelcase established ambitious carbon reduction targets, achieving carbon-neutral operations and aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
Recognizing that tackling climate change requires collective action, Steelcase actively engages its entire supply chain to meet these goals.
“We were the first in our industry to set ambitious science-based targets and to become carbon neutral in our operations,” said Derek Ludwig, Steelcase vice president and chief procurement officer. “Because we know that addressing climate change requires collective action, we count our suppliers among our most important partners.”
In 2020, Steelcase took on a leadership role within the industry through a new program that encouraged suppliers to establish their own science-based carbon reduction targets by 2025.
At the 2024 Suppliers Forum, Steelcase honored PPG as a Carbon Reduction Leader for exceeding key sustainability performance metrics.
PPG’s Science-Based Carbon Reduction Targets
In 2023, PPG became the first U.S.-based coatings manufacturer to have science-based greenhouse gas emissions targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). These targets align with the Paris Agreement and cover scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
PPG is striving to achieve the following sustainability targets by 2030 with a 2019 baseline:
- 50% of sales from sustainably advantaged products
- 25% reduction in waste intensity
- 15% reduction in water intensity at priority sites in water-stressed communities
- 50% reduction in GHG emissions from our own operations (scope 1 and 2), validated by SBTi
- 30% reduction in GHG emissions in our value chain (scope 3), validated by SBTi
“It’s an honor to partner with an organization like Steelcase, a company that shares our values and our commitment to sustainability practices to help address the complex and global climate change challenges,” said Michael Stucky, PPG global customer sustainability business partner for Industrial Coatings.
Steelcase’s efforts to prioritize carbon reduction have not gone unnoticed. Steelcase is the only organization in the industry to earn a top score of A- from the CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project.