We are proud of all the good that our paints and coatings do – adding durability, longevity, aesthetic appeal and other positive impacts to architectural and industrial applications. Sherwin-Williams has a long and distinguished history of producing products with sustainability attributes.
Sustainability by Design
Sherwin-Williams incorporates sustainability attributes that are relevant for every stage of our products’ life cycles.
Our Sustainability by Design program is an element of our Stage-Gate product development and reformulation process, and its goal is to identify ways to incorporate sustainability attributes into our products while improving performance.
Important tools we use in this process include life cycle assessments (LCAs), which evaluate potential impacts of our products throughout their value chain. We begin by gathering detailed chemical information about the raw materials we source. Then, we calculate the environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing and transportation of products. Frequently, we model impacts beyond the manufacturing and distribution gate, up to and including the end of a product’s usable life.
After conducting an LCA for specific market segments, we develop environmental product declarations (EPDs) that provide information on a product’s environmental performance and eligibility for credit in green building programs such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®). EPDs help specifiers and users compare products across various sustainability attributes. Sherwin-Williams prepares EPDs for the architectural, building and construction industries, which are validated by third parties. We train product developers, formulators and marketing and sales teams on our Stage-Gate process, as well as on sustainability attributes we consider and certification programs in which we participate. Attributes we consider include:
Our Commitment to Formula Stewardship
Fundamentally, formula stewardship is about attempting to reduce a product’s impact, if any, on people and the environment and to ensure the product is compliant wherever sold.
As new products are introduced via the Sherwin-Williams Stage-Gate process, regulatory professionals review product formulas and key attributes. Sherwin-Williams employs dedicated product stewards across the globe who review product formulas according to applicable chemical regulations and standards. Our regulatory reviews encompass hazard communication, chemical restrictions, consumer product safety, import, export, transportation classification, extended producer responsibility and more.
We embrace a customer-centric mindset when we develop our products. Customers may desire paints or coatings with certain attributes such as low solvent content. We identify the formula-related attributes that our customers want and leverage our procurement and research and development teams to help find the right solution. Many of our products are certified by external third parties to meet customer sustainability, quality and performance standards.
To meet customer needs, we collaborate with suppliers to understand the character and nature of the raw materials we use, and we request information on physical and chemical properties. We use various restricted substances lists, including the European Union’s (EU)List of Substances of Very High Concern and the Stockholm Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants List, as a basis for screening new raw material