How we contribute to resource efficiency

Our strategic focus is to not only use finite resources efficiently during their whole life cycle – from raw material production, transport, production and consumption to the disposal of waste – but to also increase the degree of circular flows to reduce climate impact.

Paint manufacturing relies on raw materials and natural resources and creates various by-products that can have negative impacts on people and the environment. Our production therefore has the risk of causing environmental damage and resource depletion.

Raw materials, energy and waste are major environmental topics in our industry and must be managed properly and efficiently. By optimizing our raw materials, energy and waste management, we promote resource efficiency in our business and minimize our negative impacts.

We set near- and long-term emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and are committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, we initiated the supporting work for our climate action plans, which align with the SBTi. The efficient use of resources is a key prerequisite for achieving these climate goals, making it a strategically important sustainability priority for us.

The management of water as a shared resource

We respect water as a shared resource and take our responsibility to use it wisely at all our sites. It is used primarily in facility amenities such as showers, sanitation and food preparation, but also as a minor component in manufacturing, such as for cooling and cleaning. As the impacts from our direct water usage occur at a local level where we operate, our measures and initiatives are individualized for our sites.

Ten of our 25 locations are situated in water-stressed areas, where we have initiated several projects to reduce water usage. Our water management work focuses on optimizing how we work with water from different perspectives. We have initiatives to reduce overall water consumption. We monitor and prevent groundwater contamination, and control wastewater discharge.

Rainwater is harvested at some of our sites and utilized for different purposes. This includes landscape irrigation, fire protection reservoirs, and watering employee vegetable gardens.

To further develop our targets and actions, we assess where our main dependencies on water occur in our value chain. The materials we purchase may also have a significant water footprint.

Efficient waste management

Our operations have a negative impact through the generation of both hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

The waste produced by our operations includes chemical residues, used cleaning solutions, packaging materials, items contaminated by chemicals, and various manufacturing by-products.

Compliance with relevant regulations is mandatory for all our waste management practices, including the handling of hazardous waste generated from our production processes.

By adopting a comprehensive waste management strategy, we aim to reduce landfill and incineration, improve our waste efficiency, and promote circularity across our operations and the value chain.

Toward greater circularity

To avoid waste, we work together with our suppliers and customers to promote circularity by using closed loops and finding ways to produce paint from paint waste. When waste is unavoidable, we focus on reducing, repurposing, and ensuring it goes to incinerators that recover energy. These efforts enabled us to reduce incinerated waste without heat recovery by 20 percent compared to 2023. For example, we reduced our packaging needs by reusing intermediate bulk containers. We encourage our customers to return containers for refilling, which enables us to nudge them toward more circular habits, while still maintaining our high product quality. We also work with recycled paint suppliers, to understand how we could close the loop on our core products.

In addition, we promote closed loops by collaborating with suppliers that refurbish drums. Some of our sites work with 100% refurbished drums and others will phase out new drums as soon as their current restrictive contracts expire. Drum refurbishment suppliers do not exist in every country, and when a new collaboration commences, we always assess the CO₂ emissions from producing new drums compared to refurbishing and transporting existing drums.