Coatings World - April 2016

Europe

The main drivers behind the sustainability trends are the larger companies in the construction sector and the big corporations which are their customers, many in which are consumer product businesses.

“The leading companies in terms of
revenue are the ones which are setting
the pace at the moment,” said a market-
ing executive at one coatings company at
the exhibition. “Then there are relatively
large group of smaller companies which
are committed to the aims of sustain-
ability or have sustainability technologies
with commercial potential. Finally there
are the consumers, who are the least in-
terested in sustainability but are still open
to hearing about its benefits.”
At the corporate level, nonetheless,
companies reckon that sustainability
strategies will have long-term benefits as
worries about issues like climate change
will inevitably sooner or later spread to
consumers. Many coatings producers are
following similar strategies.

Some of the coatings companies exhibiting green products at Ecobuild were already benefitting from rapid rises in demand.

A sprayable, cork-based coating made by Kolmer S.A. of Spain and displayed at the exhibition by its UK distributor Ecovia Build is currently doubling sales each year across Europe despite being more expensive than petrochemical-based competing paints.

“In the UK our product is probably around 10 percent more expensive than the petrochemical coatings with similar functions,” explained Justin Hyer, Ecovia’s co-founder. “But we argue we have a superior product with a high level of flexibility and low thermal conductivity so that it prevents build-up of heat.

At the same time its permeability ensures
that any moisture quickly dries out. “
The coating is sold mainly as an in-
sulation product with a level of breath-
ability which is not provided by its
petrochemical-derived rivals, according
to Angel Ruiz, Kolmer’s chief executive.
“It is a natural product but our customers
are buying it because to the efficiency of
its insulation properties,” he said.

Other companies at the exhibition with biocoatings or ones with a high bio content stressed the importance of the services they provided to offset higher prices.

“We don’t need to sell on price,” said Mark Bruchez, UK technical director o Kemper Systems of Germany which was showing a polyurethane roof-protection coating derived from castor oil-based polyols. “We put a lot of emphasis on the quality of the product and our services, such as the collection and analysis of con-Eco-friendly materials in green coatings are not necessarily biological. Graphenstone, a joint venture between the Spanish coatings company EDISA and graphene supplier Grapheno of Spain, was introducing at the exhibition a coating technology comprising lime and nanoscale graphene fibres. The porosity of the coating eliminates moisture, preventing the formation of mould.

Calcium oxide is hydrated to be mixed with the graphene. Once the coating is applied to the substrate it absorbs CO2 to become calcium carbonate or limestone so that it does not leave any carbon footprint.

“This is a 100-percent natural prod-
uct and in respect to its properties it has
no competitors at the moment,” said
Degroodt Calvin, a Graphenstone ac-
count manager. “Besides being an ab-
sorbent of CO2, it emits zero volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) and has no
toxic heavy metal elements. It also im-
proves air quality in interiors by being
a natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungi-
cidal agent.”
The product has also been given
cradle-to-cradle (C2C) certification be-
cause of the reusability of its materials.
Accreditations like these are becoming
increasingly important in the European
construction sector.

AkzoNobel, Europe’s market leader in decorative paints, announced at the exhibition that it had become the first paint company globally to be awarded with a major accreditation for responsible sourcing, which a growing number of construction companies are now requiring their customers to obtain.

“(The accreditation) provides reassurance to our customers that our products are formulated not only with quality in mind but that the environmental and ethical aspects of all ingredients are fully considered too,” said Susan Kendall, AkzoNobel’s sustainability director for UK and Ireland.

Certificates issued by bodies like the UK-based research institute Building Research Establishment (BRE) confirm that a company has been sourcing its raw materials responsibly.

The BRE’s BES 6001 standard for responsible sourcing lays down tracing criteria to ensure not only proper environmental management in production of materials but also compliance with labour rights stipulated by the United Nation’s International Labour Organisation (ILO).

AkzoNobel’s accreditation was given to its plant for large-volume water-based white and pastel paints at Stowmarket in eastern England.

With the inclusion of areas like business ethics, welfare of local communities, labour rights and conditions, accreditations like BRE’s indicate how sustainability in sectors like construction has been extended beyond health and safety and the environment so embrace social responsibility. CW