Feb. 4, 2021 — PPG and the PPG Foundation recently announced a commitment to invest $20 million by 2025 to address systemic racism and advance racial equity in the U.S. by funding educational pathways. The financial commitment will have a positive impact on the optical industry by advancing education and career development at PPG.
“We aim to reach diverse students and communities to champion change and empower historically underrepresented populations with greater opportunities to achieve brighter futures,” says Malesia Dunn, executive director of the PPG Foundation. “Through this important commitment, we will prioritize equity and justice within education to close the racial gaps in STEM learning and careers, and help our society meet collective challenges quickly, creatively, and effectively.” 

PPG has shared specific items that the investment will support:

• Advanced STEM education and career development: Supporting Black people and people of color who are pursuing advanced studies in engineering, chemistry, and data science by funding scholarships, and academic and career counseling programs. PPG will focus on programs that promote inclusion, provide professional development, and build bridges that enable middle and high school students to successfully pursue advanced learning opportunities and STEM careers.
• K-12 STEM education: Encouraging interest among more Black students, and students of color, through hands-on STEM experiences in after-school programs, camps, and in-school settings, as well as mentoring and career exposure.
• Social justice: Supporting new partners dedicated to social justice that were identified in collaboration with PPG’s employee resource networks. PPG will support a range of social justice initiatives that focus on civil rights, criminal justice reform, and the cultural heritage of Black communities and people of color.
• Beautifying diverse communities: Increasing the number of PPG Colorful Communities projects that impact diverse communities.
• Ongoing impact opportunities: Funding additional opportunities impacting Black and people of color populations that will be identified in collaboration with PPG employees, leaders, and community partners, on an ongoing basis.

The company has shared that its foundation will direct at least 25% of diversity funding to organizations serving the community of Pittsburgh, PA, where its global headquarters is located. It will also continue to invest more than 50% of its U.S.-based grant-making to support causes that focus on Black communities and people of color, veterans, women, LGBTQ+ populations, economically disadvantaged individuals and families, and people with disabilities.

“These concrete and measurable actions support and encourage equity and justice in education, bringing more Black people and people of color into STEM education and, in turn, into the optical industry,” says Keith Cross, PPG’s co-leader & global director of strategic marketing, optical monomers and coatings. “PPG is committed to addressing systemic racism in all forms to advance our society.”

In 2020, PPG continued to focus on DE&I, including the its foundation’s investments in the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Center for Policing Equity, and the Equal Justice Initiative in response to the death of George Floyd and the widespread civil rights movement that followed. In addition, PPG appointed Marvin Mendoza to design, lead, and execute the company’s global DE&I vision and strategy, and leverage data-driven insights to accelerate the company’s DE&I agenda. PPG also relaunched and expanded its ERNs, providing employees with more opportunities to share ideas, learn from one another, and leverage the unique skills, experiences, and perspectives of the PPG team.

“At PPG, we believe in DE&I and have long upheld these values throughout our company and community engagement efforts to create stronger, more sustainable communities,” says Mendoza. “Our new community engagement commitments build upon PPG’s purpose to protect and beautify the world and align with our practices to create an equal and just society.”