Partner power driving AkzoNobel initiative to collectively reduce carbon footprint

Value chain partners have joined forces with AkzoNobel in the fields of circular solutions, process efficiency and solvent reduction in a determined effort to collectively reduce carbon emissions in the paints and coatings value chain.

Five teams have been established following a recent Discovery Day, where results and learnings were presented from the first phase of the company’s Paint the Future Collaborative Sustainability Challenge.

This has now set in motion the next phase of the pioneering initiative, which was launched with 28 partners (including customers, suppliers, NGOs and academia) in May 2022. Since then, various teams have been working on possible solutions to a series of challenges that need to be overcome to help limit climate change.

A total of five agreed projects will now progress, with AkzoNobel involved in the following:

• Circular solutions – Help the coatings industry take sustainability into account by identifying potential value proposition-based metrics that could be used to measure sustainability of products and promote sustainable choices
• Process efficiency – Help raw material suppliers to realize disruptive new process technologies that enable sustainable product solutions by proposing working models that share risks along the value chain
• Solvent emissions – Help the marine coatings industry to provide products to the market with minimal solvent applications by campaigning for solutions for a faster decarbonization of the value chain
• The following two projects will also move forward:
• Circular solutions – Help the paints and coatings value chain to increase the share and trust in sustainable raw materials by establishing a framework to categorize and create a common understanding of the benefits and limitations of sustainable raw materials
• Solvent emissions – Help partners in the European paints and coatings value chain to advance the reduction of solvent emissions by publicly disclosing third-party assured data on solvent usage as input for Lifecycle Assessments

Commenting on the outcome of Discovery Day, Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s Director of Sustainability, says: “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve with partners from across the value chain. Multiple collaborations relating to sustainability have started among parties who wouldn’t normally work directly together. 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.” 

He adds that as well as identifying five projects to take forward, the company’s initiative has been a vital catalyst for connecting the value chain for more understanding and future carbon reduction opportunities.

About Paint the Future

Launched in 2019, Paint the Future is AkzoNobel’s global collaborative innovation ecosystem. It’s a bold initiative to accelerate, test, launch and scale ideas and solutions for the paints and coatings industry. Paint the Future runs a variety of programs to accelerate innovation. Initially open to startups, it was quickly expanded to embrace suppliers and other value chain partners. As the ecosystem continues to grow and build on the success of each program, it’s become the largest in the industry. All initiatives, and the implementation of the program and related projects generally, are compliant with competition laws at all times.

About AkzoNobel

We supply the sustainable and innovative paints and coatings that our customers, communities – and the environment – are increasingly relying on. That’s why everything we do starts with People. Planet. Paint. Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from a pioneering paints company that’s committed to science-based targets and is taking genuine action to address globally relevant challenges and protect future generations.