Water

We track water use across our operations and work to reduce our total impact on the water system. We asses our impacts on the entire water basin, taking into account the local environmental, regulatory and socioeconomic context of each of our sites.

Mapping water usage and risks

Our water management approach is based on a global mapping process that enables us to identify relative water withdrawal and discharge risks in our portfolio.

Our operations withdraw water from varying sources, depending upon availability in the areas in which they are located. These sources include municipal water, surface water and groundwater. We use the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas to evaluate water risks at our locations globally. Water risks considered by the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas include the frequency and severity of flooding, drought and water stress.

Other factors that we consider are:

• Seasonal rainfall variability
• Water quality
• Local water restraints, especially in water stressed regions
• Regulatory and financial impacts, including constraints from other water users, the ability to obtain water rights and permits and regulatory restrictions

We rank our sites based on water usage, scarcity risk and other factors. Rankings are updated annually to reflect operational changes and sites that are acquired or sold.

Reducing and reusing water

Our water reduction strategy involves updating our production facilities and processes to reduce and reuse water. We focus our reduction efforts on the sites with the highest absolute water use and those that have been judged to have high water risk through our global water risk mapping process. 

We achieved our 2030 water reduction goal by concentrating water efficiency initiatives on 23 priority sites, which were identified based on high water use and proximity to water stressed regions. For each priority site, we performed an in-depth review of water usage, identified water-intensive production processes, and developed action plans to limit water use and water waste. 

Many of the tactics that we use to reduce water use are specific to a single facility or business, but we share best practices and lessons across the company to identify scalable improvements. For example, in sites located in water-stressed areas, we invest in submeters to measure the water used for different production processes, rather than relying on facility-level water meters. These submeters helped us to identify the specific production processes that used the most water so we could develop strategies to reduce our usage. This detailed view of our water usage also helps identify water lines in need of repair or replacement, further reducing water waste.

Most of our operations have low water use and are not subject to usage constraints. However, we use water in many stages of our production processes, including cleaning and cooling machinery and as an ingredient in our products. As part of our sustainability efforts, we have increased our production of water-based products for customers, while balancing our efforts to conserve water. Water consumption is closely managed and monitored at the site level and periodic reports that evaluate this progress are shared with executive leaders, including PPG's Board of Directors and sustainability committee. Water consumption metrics are included in each plant’s environmental scorecard to encourage continuous improvement.

At many PPG sites, equipment cleaning makes up a significant percent of water use. We focus on improving processes to minimize equipment cleaning and water use while maintaining high quality production standards. We also replace older water-cooled equipment with newer technologies, where feasible. These improvements can have an outsized impact on a site’s water use while also providing cleaner, safer environments for our employees.

Recycling wash water lowers the cost of paint production by reducing raw material waste and water treatment and disposal costs, without impacting the end product's performance. We share best practices from this program across our businesses, with the intention of finding opportunities to reduce water use in our other business units and geographic areas.

Wastewater treatment and discharge

We discharge our wastewater to municipal treatment facilities in compliance with local regulations. We monitor and report water quality as needed. In some cases, we are required to treat discharged water prior to release. We look for opportunities to reduce discharge across our product formulations and entire production process.

We ensure each location complies with our internal water discharge management guidelines, which include:

• Identifying, characterizing and documenting all water discharge sources according to regulatory requirements
• Identifying and documenting regulatory requirements for water discharge
• Demonstrating compliance with all regulatory requirements at the facility
• Identifying and documenting operational control procedures and maintaining a written preventive maintenance program for all critical water management equipment at the facility
• Training personnel in accordance with regulatory requirements and facility compliance
• Maintaining documentation and records pertaining to the water discharge management program according to regulatory requirements

Some of our operations are located near waterways, such as rivers or streams. To address and mitigate pollution risk, we focus on spill elimination and spill control and response.