PPG announced the launch of a digital lesson created by partner Centrum JongerenCommunicatie Chemie (C3), a Dutch education nonprofit which introduces children and young people to chemistry and life sciences. The “Green paint factory” lesson allows students design a factory and make choices that affect sustainability and cost.

The lesson covers six subject areas: energy, packaging, binders, pigments, transport and waste. In designing their factories, the students make decisions and compromises, revealing the cost and sustainability consequences of their choices. The lesson aligns with the chemistry curriculum for third-grade students aged 14-15 and can be used in a classroom setting by chemistry teachers.

“This lesson is a perfect tool to introduce students to the complexities of sustainability. But above all, it shows that there are always choices to be made and you can influence the outcome,” said Maurice de Wit, PPG director manufacturing and logistics Netherlands, Architectural Coatings. “Together with C3, we want to build the next generation of innovative leaders in science and technology.”

“Students have to choose a study path at an early age when their perceptions are often still far removed from a study subject, let alone a profession,” said Jeroen Sijbers, C3 director. “That is why this lesson is so valuable – it makes chemistry tangible and shows how they can contribute to social and technological innovation within this field.”