“Green” Coatings Market is Growing
Manufacturers of low and zero VOC coatings are taking a holistic view when it
comes to developing greener coatings, focusing not only on what goes into the
can, but also on sustainable packaging and fuel efficiency.
BY KERRY PIANOFORTE
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Driven primarily by increasingly stringent environmental regula- tions, and to a lesser degree,
increasing consumer interest in buying
environmentally friendly products and the
growing popularity of green building standards, most notably the U.S. Green
Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) initiative, the market for low and
zero VOC has experienced growth.
“The 2009 market was definitely
improved for low and zero VOC coatings,”
said Rocky Prior, president of Mythic
Paint. “It is becoming more commonplace
to find these materials specified on proj-
ects, thus increasing their volume.”
“We have continued to see growth in
low VOC coatings,” said Steve Revnew,
vice president of product development
for The Sherwin-Williams Company.
“The reason for this growth is two-fold.
First, VOC regulations continue to
become more stringent and second,
more buildings are being built using
green standards.
“Going green has become popular
One of Benjamin Moore’s latest environmentally friendly offerings is Arborcoat, a
line of waterborne exterior stains, which
is comprised of five products formulated
for decks and siding applications.
with professionals in the painting indus-
try as well as with consumers across the
board, and professionals are keeping up
with the interest in green coatings from
all perspectives, both by acknowledging
the demand aspect as well as from the
perspective of meeting regulations by
specifying the appropriate product,” said
Revnew. “Traditional residential, multi-
family residential and commercial mar-
kets are all areas for continued growth
in green building.”
“The market opportunity is to identify
anyone who is concerned about the envi-
ronment or reducing their personal expo-
sure to VOCs,” said Carl Minchew, direc-
tor of product development at Benjamin
Moore. “Because this is a fairly complex
subject we see hospitality and health
care facilities as growth areas. There is
also an important consumer segment,
especially the so-called dark greens, and
it’s growing well.”
RIDING THE GREEN WAVE
Nowadays companies are taking a
holistic view when it comes to going
green. It simply is not enough to offer
low and VOC paints. They are also utilizing sustainable packaging and
implementing fuel efficiency in all
aspects of paint production.
“Today, many companies, including
paint manufacturers, are establishing
sustainability goals for themselves and
are implementing environmental initia-
tives within their business practices,”
said Revnew. “For example, leading paint
manufacturers are making great strides
to minimize waste and improve energy
systems in their facilities by minimizing
fuel consumption in distribution routes,
using renewable raw materials such as
soy and sunflower oil in paint formula-
tions, improving product packaging with
recyclable materials, and equipping
delivery trucks with biodiesel fuel.”
Sherwin-Williams is one company
embracing and practicing environmental
stewardship. “Above and beyond develop-
ing new and improving existing products
to meet demand for ‘green’ coatings,
we’re taking steps to manufacture and
package products in a responsible way,”
he said. “Products with our proprietary
GreenSure designation offer maximum
performance, long-term durability and
were designed and manufactured taking
steps to reduce environmental impact
and to meet or exceed the most stringent
regulatory requirements. The designa-
tion assures our customers at a glance
that the coatings were manufactured in
a way as to leave little ‘footprint,’ and
many come in recycled plastic contain-
ers. These sustainable containers are 100
percent recycled from post-consumer
resin, and their labels, printed with soy
ink, contain 75 percent recovered fibers
and 25 percent post-consumer waste.
What’s more, some of our products are
Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified
as well as certified for Greenguard for
Children and Schools by the Greenguard
Environmental Institute. The attention
to the process of creating and certifying
our coatings—beyond the products
themselves—goes a long way to build
consumer confidence, which is how we
are tapping into this resource.”
Benjamin Moore has also been on the
forefront of environmental responsivity.
“We have been there all along and we are
thrilled to see consumers catching up,”
said Minchew. “We introduced our first
zero VOC product, called Pristine, in
1994 and we have been in the market
ever since. In addition, we have long been
serious about the environment with an
environmental policy in place to make
