Our product innovation and development processes begin with design — and with the intentional consideration of sustainability. Our Sustainability by Design program is an element of our stage-gate new product development process. This identifies ways to incorporate sustainability attributes into our products while improving product performance. Important tools we use in this process include life cycle assessments (LCAs), which consider potential impacts of our products throughout

their value chain. LCAs evaluate products' environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle, from raw materials, to their transformation into products, the transportation, use and disposal of the product. We consider improvements we can make on our own and what might be possible by collaborating with our suppliers, distributors and customers. Sherwin-Williams has performed LCAs for more than a decade, with in-house LCA practitioners whose expertise sets us apart. After conducting an LCA and identifying opportunities for improvement, we develop EPDs for specific market segments, which provide information on a product’s environmental footprint and eligibility for credit in green building programs such as LEED ®. EPDs help specifiers and users compare products across various sustainability attributes. They may include information about improved product performance and durability, for example, which are often correlated with reduced global warming potential. We train product designers, formulators and marketing and sales teams on our stage-gate process, as well as on sustainability attributes we consider and certification programs we participate in.

Our legacy of product stewardship is the foundation that enables us to pursue our Sustainability by Design program across the enterprise, serving as our proactive, foundational process to aid the growth of our portfolio of products with sustainability attributes. We are committed to delivering world-class products that are safe and effective when used as directed.

We have a proactive product stewardship strategy that guides all phases of our product development and is rooted in continuous improvement. It prioritizes recognizing and addressing the potential impacts of our products throughout their life cycle, from design and development through use and disposal and steps in between. We assess ingredients in a product formulation in terms of human health, product safety, environmental impact and physical and chemical properties.