Corporate Social Responsibility

Our Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility

Axalta is committed to helping sustain communities through partnerships and initiatives that connect to our business. As part of our commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen, the initiatives we undertake and the organizations we support reflect the nature of our business as a technology-based manufacturing company. Subsequently, we focus our support in three areas: education with a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM focus, sustainability initiatives, and community service where our employees and customers live and work. Additionally, our CSR partnerships are with companies and institutions that share our interest in safety and health, environmental stewardship, and quality products and services.

Education Initiatives

Education — particularly the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) — makes a substantial contribution to the economic growth of the communities in which we operate and to the future of Axalta. A well-educated population is essential for Axalta’s growth, and given the technologies that drive our innovation and manufacturing platforms, nowhere is education more critical than in the sciences. A number of Axalta initiatives foster education projects that benefit high school and university students, institutions, and events that develop and promote STEM-related initiatives with a special focus near our home towns.

Throughout the United States, we have hosted college students at events sponsored by Axalta Racing that promote STEM-based learning. In 2015, Penn State University business and engineering students joined us at the company’s entitlement race, the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway. While at the event, students saw first-hand the impact that engineers have on racing, learned about the disciplines needed to support automotive engineering, and were educated on the business skills needed to operate a racetrack year-round.

Penn State student guests at Pocono Raceway surround Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS.

Axalta’s collegiate racing program began in 2014 in conjunction with the Engineering School at Texas A&M University where we unveiled a special paint scheme, Aggie Brilliance, which raced in the Duck Commander 500, another major race in the U.S. NASCAR circuit. Engineering students joined Axalta at the race and met with the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS driver Jeff Gordon and his pit crew. This collaboration also kicked off the start of an internship program between Axalta and Texas A&M that continues today.

In addition to our collegiate racing program, Axalta also supports STEM-based programming in countries around the globe. In Sabanci, Turkey, Axalta offers internships that provide Sabanci University Business School students with opportunities to apply their education in a work environment. An internship program affiliated with Oviedo University in Oviedo, Spain offers students positions in Finance, Procurement, and Human Resources at Axalta's offices in nearby Carreño, Asturias. And, in Mexico, the Axalta Mexico Science Award is presented at the State of Mexico’s annual Science and Engineering Fair to students with outstanding scientific projects. Additional support was provided to a number of hometown schools throughout North America, including the Science Learning Academy, based in Philadelphia, PA, which received funding to outfit its technology center with new computers and software programs that encourage STEM-based learning.