Grade C-
ChemScore report card 2024

Sherwin-Williams

About the company

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Sherwin-Williams Company is the largest paint and coatings company in the world. The company’s products are sold to professional, industrial and commercial customers, but also directly to retail customers primarily in North and South America. Sherwin-Williams has additional operations in the Caribbean region, Europe, and Asia.
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Total score
15 out of 48 points
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Product Portfolio
2 out of 18 points

To reach a final score in this category, we assess the company’s transparency in chemical production. Lower transparency makes it harder to achieve a good score. If the product portfolio transparency is very low, a company producing just one or even zero toxic chemicals (according to available data) might receive the same poor score as one producing 50.

Visit the methodology to delve deeper into the ChemScore ranking.

Number of registered hazardous chemicals 25
Number of chemicals on the EU’s Candidate List 9
Number of chemicals on the EU’s Authorisation List and/or POP substances 4
Number of persistent chemicals 3
Product portfolio transparency 80%
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Development of Safer Chemicals
9 out of 12 points
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Management & Transparency
2 out of 12 points
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Lack of Controversies
2 out of 6 points

Action points 🔍

1. Increase transparency

Although Sherwin-Willaims has responded to our request for more information regarding the company’s chemicals management, much is still unknown about Sherwin-Williams’ production and use of hazardous chemicals. To demonstrate a commitment to transparency, Sherwin-Williams should disclose both the share of revenue and production volume of products that are, or contain, hazardous chemicals. This information should cover all operations, including subsidiaries, worldwide. Sabic provides a good example, as it has disclosed its full chemicals portfolio, including production volumes and locations.

2. Map and phase out persistent chemicals

Sherwin-Williams is responsible for placing at least three persistent chemicals on the US/EU market, including several PFAS substances. The risks linked to these “forever chemicals” are becoming increasingly clear, not only for human health and the environment, but also for companies and their shareholders. The regulatory tightening, high-profile lawsuits, and rising consumer awareness make business models based on persistent chemicals increasingly risky. Sherwin-Williams should, first, identify all uses and the share of total revenue derived from products that are or contain persistent substances. Then, the company should publish a time-bound plan to phase out persistent chemicals from each product group or business segment. Sika and LyondellBasell have both published the share of revenue that is generated from products containing PFAS. 3M has also published those numbers and committed to exiting the manufacture of PFAS by 2025.

3. Develop safer solutions

Sherwin-Williams currently lacks a strict policy for limiting hazardous chemicals in its new product development. As a result, both its existing and future product lines are dependent on substances that run the risk of becoming regulated. Therefore, Sherwin-Williams may face growing challenges in maintaining profitability in the long term. The company should set a 2030 target for the share of revenue generated by products free from hazardous chemicals and develop a strategy to achieve it. A first step should be to, similarly to Lanxess, publicly state that it will not develop or market new end-products containing more than 0.1% of substances that have the characteristics of a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHCs).

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Company facts
Founded
1866
Headquarters
Cleveland, USA
Revenue
23.1 billion USD
Market capitalization
79.8 billion USD
ISIN
US8243481061
Category
Paint & Coatings
Other years
Year Rank Total score
2024 18 / 51 15 / 48
2023 20 / 50 15 / 48
2022 36 / 54 11 / 48
2021 12 / 50 17 / 48
2020 11 / 35 15 / 48