PPG announces the completion of a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® project at the Allgemeinbildende Walter-Wiederhold-Schule in Hilden.

The initiative brought together 30 PPG employees from the company’s automotive refinish site in Hilden and its architectural coatings site in Bochum, along with community volunteers, who together repainted the school’s interior spaces to create a warmer and more inspiring environment for more than 70 students and around 20 teachers and staff.

The project was carried out in partnership with the City of Hilden. PPG provided a grant of $51,000 (€44,000) to support the project, including 450 liters of SIGMA COATINGS® paints by PPG, including Sigma Coatings Resist Clean Matt paint, a high-performance, washable wall coating. Certified with the EU Ecolabel, the paint’s dirt-resistant formulation makes it ideal for use in schools and high-traffic facilities.

The Colorful Communities project refreshed the school’s previously all-white interior with color schemes designed to positively influence well-being and concentration. A color concept was developed in collaboration with teachers, including PPG’s Color of the Year 2026, Secret Safari, a midtone, muted honeydew green.

“This initiative shows how cooperation between the city, local partners and companies like PPG can make a visible and lasting difference for our schools and for our children,” says Claus Pommer, mayor of Hilden. “We are grateful for the exceptional support from PPG and its volunteers, who contributed their time, energy and expertise to create such a positive atmosphere for students and teachers.”

“Our business is about innovation and color, and projects like this show how those same strengths can improve people’s everyday lives,” says Jochen Kleemann, PPG director, Germany, Automotive Refinish. “Through the Colorful Communities program, we can connect what we do best at PPG with what matters most – helping to create brighter, more inspiring places for future generations.”

The Colorful Communities program, launched by PPG in 2015, aims to protect and beautify the neighborhoods where the company operates by combining the products, expertise and volunteer spirit of its employees.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the program, which has delivered nearly 600 projects globally – including seven projects in Germany – and has reached more than 10.2 million people in over 50 countries.

PPG is celebrating this milestone year through 10 flagship projects worldwide, including the project in Hilden, and will provide an additional $1 million in celebration grants to past and current community partners.