Modern coatings and digital technologies can help significantly reduce CO2 emissions and increase circularity (i.e., reduce, reuse, and recycle) within the built environment, but the pace with which they can be introduced and the detail of future regulation will decide who wins and who loses future building contracts.

(Photo courtesy of AkzoNobel)

This is one of the key themes explored in a new White Paper from AkzoNobel that also examines traditional PVDF and FEVE coatings and their future use as protective metal coatings.
As governmental bodies around the world increase regulation to push the industry towards achieving net zero by 2050, coil manufacturers, along with their customers and suppliers are likely to be affected. Both have a business imperative to improve the sustainability of the built environment.

Amanda Paterline, Americas Commercial Marketing Manager, Coil and Extrusion Coatings at AkzoNobel, said that coatings contribute to the circularity of the built environment in two ways: “On the one hand they insulate buildings against the cold and the heat, and on the other they protect metal building components from corrosion for years so that they can be recovered and reused.”
“Modern cool chemistry coatings can reduce the temperature of a building’s roof by around 20°C/ 36°F,” Amanda adds, “which significantly lowers energy consumption, and consequently, Scope 3 downstream emissions.”

Amanda said that even though metal substrates can be infinitely recycled, there are many ways that coating manufacturers can help contribute to circularity: “Our focus is reducing the amount of coating used and wasted and striving for a ‘right first time’ approach, using accurate dosing units, reusing excess paint, and implementing digital tools which assess and improve production efficiencies.
“The tools support coil coaters with just-in-time delivery to reduce over-ordering, storing and waste, and enable us to move to digital color sampling and matching instead of traditional painted panels, which also reduces waste and emissions.”

AkzoNobel’s white paper, The Role of Coil Coatings in Building a Sustainable Environment, is part of the company’s ongoing campaign to help its partners and coatings customers navigate the changing sustainability landscape and the reporting requirements; and help them make more informed decisions about how best to contribute to achieving net zero.