SUZHOU, China, May 28, 2018 –PPG (NYSE:PPG) recently announced the completion of a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES™ project that helped revitalize a community garden and nearby buildings in the historic Shishan community in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. The
Colorful Communities program provides PPG volunteers and products along with financial contributions to bring color and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world, such as in Suzhou, where PPG has manufacturing facilities for packaging coatings and powder coatings, an aerospace application support center and a technical center.
The project brought together more than 120 PPG volunteers, who spent three hours revitalizing the community garden along with their families, local government representatives and community volunteers. The volunteers painted stone bridge railings, wooden fences and the external walls of buildings surrounding the garden. PPG provided more than $73,000 to assist with the project, including 150 gallons of MASTER’S MARK® exterior paint by PPG and 40 gallons of PPG’s light industrial coatings.
An ancient city with more than 2,000 years of history, Suzhou boasts a rich historical and cultural heritage. The Shishan community garden, which is in the old town of Suzhou and is a gathering place for residents' daily leisure and entertainment, was in need of renovation.
To maintain harmony with the surrounding environment and reflect the simplicity and subtlety of Suzhou architecture, the volunteers used a palette of five gray tones that reflect the minimalism of the Italian artist Giorgio Morandi, who is known for peaceful and soothing paintings. Suzhou is also the hometown of renowned architect I. M. Pei. PPG volunteers drew inspiration from Pei’s geometric pattern-based designs and decorated the building walls with strokes of solid colors.
The refurbished community garden creates a new landmark in the city that combines traditional aesthetics and modern elegance.
“Given the unique cultural heritage of Suzhou, we incorporated many traditional Chinese elements in this project to disseminate classic art to local residents while protecting and revitalizing old buildings,” said Cathy Yan, PPG general manager, corporate and government affairs, Asia Pacific. “Our employees have demonstrated great enthusiasm in protecting and beautifying their communities, which has encouraged us to promote the successful
Colorful Communities initiative to more areas in China.”
The
Colorful Communities program, PPG’s signature initiative for supporting communities, aims to protect and beautify the neighborhoods where PPG operates around the world. Through the
Colorful Communities program, PPG’s committed volunteers contribute their time and PPG paint products to help transform community assets – from painting classrooms, to bringing color to a maternity ward and redesigning a playground. Since 2015, PPG has completed more than 125
Colorful Communities projects, impacting more than 4 million people in 23 countries.
PPG and the PPG Foundation aim to bring color and brightness to PPG communities around the world. We invested more than $10.5 million in 2017, supporting hundreds of community organizations across 29 countries. By investing in educational opportunities, we help grow today’s skilled workforce and develop tomorrow’s innovators in fields related to coatings and manufacturing. Plus, we empower PPG employees to multiply their impact for causes that are important to them by supporting their volunteer efforts and charitable giving. Learn more at
www.ppgcommunities.com.
PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 130 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $14.8 billion in 2017. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit
www.ppg.com.
We protect and beautify the world and
Colorful Communities are trademarks and the
PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.
Master’s Mark is a registered trademark of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc.
PPG volunteers painting on the wooden fences of the community garden
James Yao, PPG general manager, packaging coatings, Greater China (right) and local government official at the COLORFUL COMMUNITIES™ project donation ceremony
Children of PPG volunteers participating the interactive activities
Group photo of PPG and community volunteers in front of the renovated building, along with their families