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PPG Helps Spruce up Conservatory for G-20

Thursday, September 17, 2009

PPG Industries has donated 23 gallons of paints and 12,400 square feet of ultra-clear glass to Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to help the site prepare for the upcoming G-20 Summit, to be held in the city on September 24–25.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will welcome the G-20 leaders and their spouses to Pittsburgh at Phipps on Thursday, September 24. Afterward, President Obama and the G-20 leaders will remain at the Conservatory for a working dinner.

The donated glass was used to replace several panes in the Phipps’ Tropical Forest, while the donated paint was used for touch-ups throughout the facility.

“Phipps Conservatory is one of the world’s greenest gardens due, in part, to some of the paint and glass from PPG which comprise our structure,” said Richard V. Piacentini, the conservatory’s executive director. “We’re very pleased to have such a strong relationship with PPG, and we’re grateful for the help as we prepare to host the G-20 leaders.”

“We want to make sure that Phipps – and Pittsburgh – shine during the G-20 Summit, and we’re pleased to be able to provide all of the paint, glass and other support that Phipps needs,” said Victoria M. Holt, PPG senior vice president, glass and fiber glass, and member of the board of trustees of Phipps Conservatory.

Among the donations was Pittsburgh Paints Pure Performance, a product with zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the first paint to receive Green Seal Class A Certification, the company said.

Built as a repository of horticultural excellence by Henry W. Phipps in 1893 at the height of Pittsburgh’s industrial prowess, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has evolved from the nation’s first teaching conservatory to a distinguished eco-champion among America’s 500 public gardens and an exhibit space ranked among the nation’s top conservatory experiences.

For more information, visit www.phipps.conservatory.org.

Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass and fiber glass. For more information, visit www.ppg.com.