Community Service & Charitable Contributions
Avient’s long-standing dedication to community engagement remains integral to our culture. In 2023, our associates continued to prioritize making a meaningful difference in the communities we serve. They demonstrated unquestionable service and empathy for others by volunteering their time, talents, and treasures to support local organizations and causes worldwide.
We expanded our Global Giving campaign in its second year, partnering with local leaders to identify areas of need and support communities where we operate. Over 3,000 Avient associates participated, serving more than 110 communities and benefitting 60 non-profit and charity organizations around the world. Approximately $1.5 million was donated and more than 7,000 volunteer hours were given to initiatives ranging from mentorship programs to environmental cleanups and fundraising events.
Global Giving
United Way remains our most significant philanthropic endeavor, with our associates continuing to give generously. Since 2007, we have raised over $20 million for United Way chapters. Associates across our sites participated in fundraisers, volunteer events, and donation drives to support United Way and the local charities they partner with to meet critical needs in education, financial stability, and health. In addition, we contributed to numerous non-profit organizations where our leaders sit on boards of trustees, helping them advance sustainability in their operations and missions to serve.
Political Contributions
Avient does not fund political parties or members of government. In the United States, employees at Avient have made use of their right to establish a Political Action Committee (PAC), which is a voluntary, federally registered employee association that collects donations for political purposes and decides how these are used, in accordance with U.S. law. The Avient PAC Committee, comprised of Avient PAC Members, meets, discusses key topics and decides the annual budget. Avient PAC aligns with candidates who support laws and regulations consistent with sustainable business practices and Avient’s interests, represent a state or district where an Avient facility is located and/ or are active members or leadership of key committees/positions. Our discussions with legislators provide awareness on Avient’s role and contributions to the science that enables sustainability and a circular economy, as well as the importance of maintaining a cost and regulatory environment that allows companies to best operate, invest and grow. In 2023, Avient PAC contributed $6,500 to federal candidates in the U.S. and $6,000 to state candidates in Ohio. No political contributions are made outside the U.S. Avient PAC’s Federal Election Commission filings, including listings of contributions, are publicly available at www.fec.gov. State of Ohio filings and contributions are publicly available at www.ohiosos.gov.
Community Engagement
Stepping Up to Meet Local Needs
Our teams in Bangkok and Phan Thong, Thailand, organized an event to support the local Lorenzo Child Center. There was an outpouring of support for this activity among the teams as dozens of associates rushed to participate, performing various tasks to help refurbish the community center, such as planting, cutting grass, and painting the children’s playground.
Making Rania Greener
Avient associates from our site in Rania, India, put their passion for sustainability to work, by restoring natural resources, planting more than 100 trees and herbal shrubs during our Tree Plantation Drive. Participating associates were motivated to lead by example, inspiring their colleagues and neighbors to be environmentally conscious.
Upcycling Plastic for Children with Cancer
Associates in Santo Amaro, Itupeva, and Suzano, Brazil, launched a sustainability challenge for the collection of PET bottles and plastic caps. The recovered bottles were donated to the non-profit organization Fios Encantados to turn the PET material into wigs for children with cancer. Also, the caps benefitted 40 elderly dogs sheltered by Humanimal, a non-profit that sells recycled items to save canines.
Preserving Valued Community Resources
In partnership with United Way, Avient associates organized a cleanup event to remove trash from Turkey Creek in Birmingham, Alabama. During the activity, the team collected over 200 pounds of rubbish from the creek banks and donated new parking signs to improve this valued community resource. In addition, they again supported the Birmingham Zoo cleanup efforts, removing three tons of natural vegetation and structural materials from the Komodo exhibit.
Brightening up the Holidays for Our Neighbors
For the 18th consecutive year, our Community Service Team at the Avient Headquarters collected donations to support our neighbors in need during the holidays. Once again, our associates contributed generously, donating countless items for families, seniors, and children in distress and making financial contributions for the local infant home and homeless shelter. This generosity was replicated in other countries, like Brazil, where Avient “Santas” delivered gifts for children in underserved communities, and the Netherlands, where associates brought holiday meals to a shelter for young mothers.
Over 2,600 Avient associates participated in our inaugural Global Giving campaign, serving more than 100 communities and benefitting 70 non-profit and charity organizations around the world.
Avient offers a global benefit of Community Service hours. We encourage our people to help create more sustainable communities by providing 16 hours of paid time off each year to volunteer for a cause of their preference. These hours are used during the workday, and the activities can be done as a group of fellow Avient associates or individually. Since 2018, Avient associates have performed more than 10,500 hours of community service through this program.
Earth Day Photo Contest
In celebration of Earth Day, we held our annual photo contest, inviting associates to capture the beauty of nature through their lenses. For every submission received, we pledged to donate to One Tree Planted. In an inspiring display of collective action, over 350 trees were planted in honor of Earth Day, contributing to the restoration of forests and wildlife habitats.
The winner of the 2023 Earth Day Photo contest, Catherine Blackwell, R&D Chemist, CAI (United Kingdom) appears on this year’s Sustainability Report cover (and featured here: top, left). We also applaud Huma Khalil, Technology Lead, CAI (Pakistan) Photo: bottom, left; and Volker Dickfeld, Sr. Marketing Manager, CAI (Germany) Photo: right, for their outstanding entries securing runner up places.
