Black Plague

Founded in 1883, PPG industries is a major global supplier of coatings, glass, fiberglass, and chemicals. In 2005, this Pittsburgh-based multinational operated more than 110 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates in over 20 countries and had global sales of $10.2 billion.

In keeping with its reputation as an honest, fair, and capable firm, PPG Industries had developed a multifaceted ethics program. At its core was the PPG Industries Blueprint, describing the company's values, statement of mission, and objectives. This document identified the company's critical values as dedicated to the customer; respect for the dignity, rights, and contribution of employees; recognition of the concerns and needs of society; commitment to integrity and high ethical standards; supplier relationships focusing on continuous improvement and shared responsibility; and responsibility to shareholders.

To put these values into practice through policies and programs, PPG management implemented a number of ethical safeguards and called on its employees to implement them through their personal conduct. Over a period of several years, PPG began issuing its Business Conduct Policies, which defined possible ethical issues encountered by PPG employees, as well as guidelines for handling their ethical issues. The policies concluded by stating, "It is the policy of PPG and its subsidiaries, its agents and employees, to make every effort to operate as good, responsible, and ethical corporate citizens and to comply with all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which they are present operating."

Although the Business Conduct Policies clearly set the ethical tone for PPG's operations, PPG management felt a need to include an explicit global focus since the firm had acquired several overseas businesses with cultures and histories that differed from PPG operations in Europe, Asia, and South and North America. It was charged with advising top management on ethical issues, making recommendations concerning company policies and codes of conduct, developing an ethics training program, and providing a forum for the review of ethical issues. In addition, it assured the role of the compliance committee after passage of the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines in 1991.

One of the most significant actions taken by the Global Ethics Committee was drafting PPG's initial Global Code of Ethics (GCOE) in 1898. In 2004, the Committee combined PPG's compliance-based Business Conduct Policies with the GCOE, creating a single unambiguous document that reaffirmed the importance of the company's ethical tradition and the high standards introduced new and prospective employees to the company's ethical tradition and the high standards to which PPG hold its people, and served as a primary reference document by drawing together main elements of PPG's ethical convictions. The global code covered PPG's relationship with customers, suppliers,