Blog

Sep 12, 2023

Collaboration Targets Advanced Sustainability in Paint Industry

A group of businesses and organizations is taking on several projects, including

A group of businesses and organizations is taking on several projects, including improving operational efficiencies and advancing sustainable materials, to lower emissions in the paint and coatings industry.

The effort is part of AkzoNobel's Paint the Future Collaborative Sustainability Challenge, and the group has formed five teams that will take on five projects. They include helping the coatings industry identify ways to measure sustainability and establishing a framework outlining the benefits of sustainable raw materials.

Dutch paint company AkzoNobel formed the sustainability challenge in May 2022 with 28 partners including suppliers, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. The projects are the result of the collaboration's first phase of work toward making sustainability improvements in the paint and coatings industry.

The partnership includes businesses and organizations that AkzoNobel says wouldn't usually work together, which will increase the opportunity to make sustainable impacts across operations in the industry.

"Multiple collaborations relating to sustainability have started among parties who wouldn't normally work directly together," says Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel's director of sustainability. "Now we’re transitioning to the next phase and we have the right parties in place to bring us closer to our mutual goal of reducing carbon emissions."

According to the American Coatings Association, the paint and coatings industry has made numerous sustainability improvements over the past several decades. The organization says the industry has increased the amount of waste it has recycled by 81%, 97% of waste solvents from paint and coatings manufacturing sites are reclaimed for future use, and hazardous air pollutants have decreased by 94%.

The EPA suggests sustainability improvements through recycling and takeback programs, using alternative paints such as earth-based materials like milk and clay, and eliminating toxic substances. The American Coatings Association says more than 90% of architectural coatings in the US are now from water-based paint.

Other projects as part of the sustainability challenge include healing the marine coatings industry develop products with minimal solvent applications that will help reduce emissions and helping raw materials suppliers with improved technologies. It also seeks to propose working models for suppliers that share sustainability risks throughout the supply chain.

Another project will help the industry in Europe reduce solvent emissions by publicly disclosing third-party data on solvent usage as input for lifecycle assessments.

AkzoNobel has its own goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and reducing emissions by 50% across the supply chain. The company has been active over the years in advancing sustainability in the industry, including with a powder coating plant in China and creating a tool to track the use of bio-based raw materials.