Media
Joint News Release:
BASF, AkzoNobel and Arkema team up to lower carbon footprint of architectural powder coatings
- Partnership designed to drive lower carbon emissions in the paint and coatings industry
- BASF will supply neopentyl glycol (NPG) with a product carbon footprint of zero to Arkema
- Partners have published an industry case study offering further insights into the transition to lower carbon footprint powder coatings
The carbon footprint of superdurable1 architectural powder coatings supplied by AkzoNobel’s Interpon brand is up to 40%2 lower, thanks to an ongoing value chain partnership with Arkema and BASF. It means the superdurable Interpon D range can now make an even bigger impact in helping to reduce embodied carbon over the whole lifecycle of a building.
The improvement has been made possible through a combination of using supplier-specific product carbon footprint (PCF) data and sourcing bio-attributed3 raw materials. Previously, the carbon footprint calculations were made on the basis of generic industry averages for polyester resins. By using supplier-specific PCF data instead, these calculations are now more accurate, as they better reflect important variables, such as investments made in process efficiencies and the use of renewable electricity by the partners involved.
Further benefits are gained by using bio-attributed raw materials from BASF, which have a PCF of zero4. Arkema transforms these bio-attributed raw materials to reduce the carbon footprint of low and standard temperature cure superdurable powder coating resins for AkzoNobel. The three partners have published an industry case study to offer further insights into the transition to lower carbon footprint powder coatings, including details of the methodology and calculations used.
“This initiative reflects our commitment to offering more sustainable solutions through innovation and collaboration,” explains Vasilios Galanos, Senior Vice President, Intermediates Europe, BASF. “Our vision is to be the preferred partner for sustainable intermediates for our customers. By supplying NPG in a biomass-balanced version manufactured with renewable electricity (NPG ZeroPCF), we’re supporting our value chain partners in advancing their sustainability objectives while at the same time contributing to achieving our own vision.”
Jeff Jirak, Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business, adds: “This collaboration is a major step forward for the paints and coatings industry. Our customers require solutions that support their environmental goals and green building certification. By working across the value chain, we’re taking meaningful steps towards carbon footprint reduction, while also demonstrating our unwavering commitment to sustainability.”
Richard Jenkins, Senior Vice President Coating Solutions and Member of the Executive Committee at Arkema, continues: “By leveraging renewable bio-attribution via mass balance and sustainable innovations, we enable continuous improvement in low temperature cure and higher durability solutions. Even more is achievable in terms of mainstream decarbonization along the value chain. Together, we’re developing next generation powder coating solutions with lower carbon emissions for the building and construction sector.”
The color collections5 and Low-E architectural powder coatings produced by Interpon in Europe – all of which are superdurable – now use reduced emission bio-attributed material. This means they can play a major role in helping to lower the carbon footprint of the built environment.
The three parties are planning more collaboration across the value chain and welcome a broader network of partners to accelerate the paint and coatings industry’s transformation towards a more sustainable future.
For more information about the value chain partnership and to download the industry case study, visit Industry_Case_Study_BASF_Arkema_AkzoNobel.pdf.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €65.3 billion in 2024. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
About AkzoNobel
Since 1792, we’ve been supplying the innovative paints and coatings that help to color people’s lives and protect what matters most. 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 use our expertise to sustain and enhance everyday life. Because we believe every surface is an opportunity. It’s what you’d expect from a pioneering and long-established paints company that’s dedicated to providing more sustainable solutions and preserving the best of what we have today – while creating an even better tomorrow. Let’s paint the future together.
About Arkema
Building on its unique set of expertise in materials science, Arkema offers a portfolio of first-class technologies to address ever-growing demand for new and more sustainable materials. With the ambition to become a pure player in Specialty Materials, the Group is structured into 3 complementary, resilient and highly innovative segments dedicated to Specialty Materials - Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials, and Coating Solutions - accounting for some 92% of Group sales in 2024, and a well-positioned and competitive Intermediates segment. Arkema offers cutting-edge technological solutions to meet the challenges of, among other things, new energies, access to water, recycling, urbanization and mobility, and fosters a permanent dialogue with all its stakeholders. The Group reported sales of around € 9.5 billion in 2024, and operates in some 55 countries with 21,150 employees worldwide.
Media Relations:
BASF Intermediates
Kerstin Hoffmann
Phone: +49 151 17456842
AkzoNobel
Hugo Stienstra
Phone: +31 (0)88 969 7833
Arkema
Mike Crisp
Phone: +1 864 525 9307
1: Superdurability means a demonstrated material protection benefit and meets industry standard requirements of Qualicoat Class 2 and GSB Florida 3.
2: Versus the former carbon footprint calculated for these products. Calculated according to ISO 14067 and Together for Sustainability (TfS) guideline V3 PCF methodology at cradle-to-gate, including biogenic removals (around 5%), and compared with industry average data from the CEPE V4 database for polyester resins (up to 35%). For more information, see page 12-15 of the industry case study.
3: BASF feeds renewable raw materials into its Verbund in the very first steps of chemical production and attributes a corresponding share of the renewable raw materials to specific sales products by means of a certified mass balance method. For further information, please visit The Biomass Balance Approach.
4: PCF calculation at BASF is cradle-to-gate including biogenic carbon uptake, calculated according to ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067 and in line with TfS guidelines. A PCF of zero is achieved by the use of The Biomass Balance Approach and renewable electricity. For further information, please visit ZeroPCF Intermediates.
5: The color collections refer to Interpon D2525 Futura, Anodic, Stone-Effect, Natural Metals and Terracotta; and Interpon D2015 Precis Ultra-Matt.
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