Better Health for All

Koppers' core operations, particularly its coal tar and chemical manufacturing segment, are linked to severe negative health impacts on surrounding communities. In 2022, a Koppers plant emitted over 150,000 pounds of chemicals, including 21,000 pounds of naphthalene and 11,500 pounds of benzene, both cancer-linked.

The area around this plant is in the top 5% of the most polluted air in the country , with EPA risk modeling indicating elevated cancer risks for residents who also report respiratory problems, headaches, and nausea. More than 95% of Koppers' industrial commodity chemicals are sold to downstream users , with their production linked to these health harms. The company has a history of over 50 environmental violations in the past decade , with 25 alleged violations in October 2023 alone , including spills of toxic chemicals and malfunctions of pollution control equipment. Despite a stated commitment to transparency, Koppers has been criticized for a lack of proactive communication regarding pollution risks, disputing violations, and holding private meetings with community officials. While Koppers plans to cease phthalic anhydride production in 2025 to reduce emissions , these severe health externalities and safety incidents persist. The company does implement internal employee safety and wellness programs, such as an opioid overdose response program with naloxone distribution , which has reported no overdoses at Koppers sites since implementation.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Koppers is a global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds, and does not operate as a financial institution.

Consequently, the company does not offer lending, deposit services, or consumer credit products. This means that KPIs such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, inclusion initiatives, data accessibility, fair lending compliance, wealth building outcome, financial literacy initiatives, debt burden ratio, geographic inclusion, and product simplicity are not applicable to its core business, aligning with the rubric's 0-tier definitions for non-financial entities. There is no evidence provided regarding Koppers' profit reinvestment in community finance or profit-sharing with underserved communities, leading to the omission of that KPI.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Koppers' CEO-to-median employee pay ratio for fiscal year 2024 was 67:1

, with the CEO's total compensation at $5,879,522 and median employee pay at $88,206 . The company's Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) was 2.52 in 2024 , which was the lowest in company history , with 0 fatalities and 3 Process Safety Incidents reported for the year . An employee engagement survey in 2024 , with a 55% response rate , showed 80% favorable responses , with 79% of employees stating they would recommend Koppers as a place to work and 81% happy working there . The total employee turnover rate in 2024 was 25%. There are no substantiated labor-law or human-rights violations reported for the past three years (2022-2024) , with the latest recorded violation being a workplace safety or health violation in 2019 .

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

No quantitative data or specific facts relevant to Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing KPIs were found in the provided articles. The documents include links to company information and an Audit Committee Charter

, but these do not contain details on fair-trade certifications, supply chain audit frequencies, forced/child labor incidents, traceability, remediation speed, ethical clause coverage, materials risk index, or supplier diversity spend , . An Excel file containing CSR data was mentioned but its content was not extractable .

Honest & Fair Business

Koppers Holdings Inc. was ordered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pay a $1.3 million civil fine in 2022.

This fine was for failing to disclose material information about its debt reduction efforts in fiscal year 2019, specifically by withholding substantial past-due vendor payments to meet debt reduction targets. The company has a Code of Conduct applicable to all Directors, officers, and employees, which includes a provision that Senior Officers will not retaliate against those providing information for investigations. The Board of Directors maintains a policy that there should be a majority of independent Directors. The Code of Ethics Applicable to Senior Officers was most recently revised on February 14, 2024. Koppers publishes annual sustainability reports, a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report, a UK Modern Slavery Transparency Statement, a CA Supply Chains Act statement, and a Canada Modern Slavery Report.

Planet-Friendly Business

Koppers was cited for 25 violations of Illinois environmental laws between July 2022 and September 2023, relating to equipment malfunctions at its naphthalene distillation plant.

Over the past decade, the company has been cited for over 50 violations in Illinois, incurring nearly $12 million in environment-related penalties from 2000-2024. Koppers publishes a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report. The company reported a 54% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against a 2007 baseline, seven years ahead of its 2030 goal. Solar energy production increased by 53% year-over-year, including the completion of a 100-kilowatt solar panel system at its Mayfield, Australia, facility. Floating wetlands were installed at the Newsoms, VA, facility in 2020 to improve water quality and provide habitat. Koppers tracks, monitors, and reviews water use and waste generation with the goal to improve annually. The company earned an EcoVadis Bronze Medal, placing it in the top 35% of assessed companies, and publishes annual Sustainability Reports. It has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as one of Newsweek's Most Responsible Companies and for the third consecutive year as one of USA Today's America's Climate Leaders.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Koppers has established two formal partnerships with local community groups: New Castle Elementary School and Mercy EMS.

No cultural appropriation incidents are mentioned in the provided articles. The company implements a formal cultural impact assessment protocol, with 89% of its operations having local community engagement and impact assessments. A Programmatic Agreement with the EPA, Delaware State Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation outlines steps to mitigate adverse effects on historic properties, including archaeological sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. This agreement also serves as a framework for responding to potential cultural incidents.

Safe & Smart Tech

Koppers reported no material information security incidents or unauthorized data use incidents as of February 2025.

The company uses multi-factor authentication (MFA), VPN, firewalls, endpoint protection, and privileged access management. Security systems are deployed to manage vulnerabilities, and periodic penetration tests are conducted. Regular security training is provided for all employees interacting with IT systems, with specialized training for sensitive data handling. The company's privacy policy, last updated in May 2018, grants users rights to access, correct, and delete personal information, including data portability for EEA residents, and allows opting out of marketing communications and managing cookie preferences. Koppers dedicates financial resources and management time to GDPR compliance, and its program is aligned with local and regional compliance requirements. , The company has a policy to store information only as long as legally required, considering factors like data sensitivity and purpose.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Koppers uses 100% recycled copper in its wood preservation products

and states that at least 75% of its products by revenue utilize recycled, reused, and renewable materials. The company employs a 'cradle-to-cradle' strategy, emphasizing circularity in its business model, focusing on reuse and recovery of products, and aiming for sustainability from inception to end-of-life. Koppers recovers end-of-life railroad ties and utility poles for reuse or fuel, and distills crude coke oven tar into valuable products. A five-year, $50 million contract was announced to collect and manage end-of-life railroad crossties, expanding service to four of six Class I railroads, covering 66.67% of these customers for crossties. However, Koppers has a history of environmental non-compliance, with numerous penalties totaling over $11 million for environment-related violations since 2000. The company's Stickney plant alone faced 25 alleged violations in October 2023 and is identified as a leading polluter for certain chemicals nationally and in Cook County.