• Pittsburgh Paints & Stains
products available at
MENARDS stores
The technology behind the new PPG
virtual room painter tool also will be
available through more than 30 PPG con-
sumer paint brands globally in the com-
ing months.
AkzoNobel Partners with
The Ocean Cleanup for
Largest Clean-up in History
The complete removal of plastic from the
world’s oceans has moved a step closer
after AkzoNobel joined forces with The
Ocean Cleanup to help turn the tide on
marine pollution.
The partnership involves AkzoNobel
providing advanced, biocide-free coatings technology for all the devices and
equipment used by The Ocean Cleanup
for the next five years. It represents a
major contribution to the organization’s
landmark efforts to clear plastic from our
oceans. The cleaning is due to begin in the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the next
12 months.
“Ocean pollution is a serious glob-
al issue impacting our society and our
planet’s future,” said AkzoNobel CEO
Ton Büchner. “As a world leader in the
marine coatings industry, we believe we
can make a meaningful contribution to
overcoming the problem by taking action
and supporting the fantastic work being
done by The Ocean Cleanup.”
The most high profile use of the com-
pany’s coatings will be on the specially
designed floating clean-up system which
will collect the waste plastic. These bio-
cide-free Intersleek products are already
being used to help make the shipping in-
dustry more sustainable by reducing fuel
consumption, cutting emissions and low-
ering the costs of operation.
“It is wonderful to add another big
name to our growing list of supporters,”
said Boyan Slat, CEO and founder of
The Ocean Cleanup. “Working together
with a true global force in sustainable
coatings technology will ensure that our
systems remain protected, even under the
most extreme conditions. Another benefit
of the partnership is team AkzoNobel’s
involvement in the Volvo Ocean Race,
which will help increase global awareness
of the urgent need to remove plastic from
our aquatic ecosystems.”
A perfect fit with AkzoNobel’s Planet
Possible sustainability strategy, the col-
laboration follows on from the recent an-
nouncement that the company will also
be an official sustainability partner of the
next Volvo Ocean Race. This will include
organizing a series of Ocean Summits fo-
cused on bringing science, politics, gov-
ernment and sport together in an effort to
act positively on the issue of marine litter.
Founded in 2013, The Ocean Cleanup
aims to remove half the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch in the space of just five
years. It employs U-shaped screens to
channel floating plastic to a central point.
The concentrated plastic can then be extracted and shipped to shore for recycling
into durable products.
AkzoNobel’s International brand is
the world leader in high performance
marine and yacht coatings, as well as
industrial protective coatings. The broad
product range includes antifoulings, foul
release systems, fire protection coatings
and above and below the waterline yacht
coatings and paints.
PPG Foundation Donates
$163,000 for Greater
Pittsburgh Educational
Initiatives
The PPG Foundation recently donated a
combined $163,000 to support educational initiatives in the Pittsburgh area,
where PPG maintains its global headquarters and several facilities. The grants highlight PPG’s commitment to supporting its
local communities and the foundation’s
top priority of increasing educational opportunities for youth in the areas of math
and technology.
The grant recipients and programs were:
•Historical Society of Western
Pennsylvania – $50,000 to support
Discovery Place, an interactive exhi-
bition and educational space at the
Senator John Heinz History Center
that inspires children of all ages to
learn about Pittsburgh’s history of
innovation through hands-on sci-
ence, technology, engineering and
math (STEM) activities
•Allegheny Intermediate Unit –
$27,000 for five STORYTIME
STEM-PACKS™ kits that will ben-
efit children served by 12 public li-
braries, 22 Head Start classrooms,
and Reading is FUNdamental pro-
grams, along with two days of re-
lated professional development
training for teachers
