Standing together for more sustainability

Two chemical companies, one goal: They want to make the paint and coatings industry more sustainable. LANXESS and Evonik demonstrate how lower-emission paint formulations can be achieved. The focus is on Scopeblue® iron oxide pigments from the IPG business unit and bio-based additives from Evonik – a combination that perfectly combines environmental awareness and technical performance.

Industry under pressure

The paint and coatings industry is facing a crucial challenge: significantly reducing emissions in production and application. More and more manufacturers are setting themselves the goal of developing formulations that leave a smaller carbon footprint. The key to this lies primarily with the raw material suppliers. This is because raw materials account for over 80 percent of the emissions generated throughout the entire life cycle of decorative paints and coatings.

Two European chemical companies that are pioneers in the field of sustainable product solutions, LANXESS and Evonik, are demonstrating that progress is possible.

At a joint webinar with around 200 industry representatives, they demonstrated the contribution that new product solutions can make when used in combination.

For example, combining Bayferrox® Scopeblue® iron oxide pigments and bio-based surfactants from the Tego brand results in pigment pastes that save over 40 percent CO2 – while maintaining the same high color quality and functionality.

Looking ahead

The two companies provided the proof right away: They compared a standard formulation with a pigment paste produced using the two new “green” products. The product carbon footprint (PCF) was determined using a certified calculation method. “Thanks to more eco-efficient raw materials, our Bayferrox® Scopeblue® yellow pigment product line has a CO2 footprint that is up to 35 percent lower than regular product types,” explains Stephan Spiegelhauer, Head of Global Competence Center Paints & Coatings at the IPG Business Unit. Evonik supplements the pigments with fully bio-based surfactants that are based on fermentation and made from 100 percent renewable raw materials. “This helps our customers achieve their climate goals and position themselves in the market with sustainable solutions. At the same time, we are demonstrating the combined contribution of the product lines and how European companies are driving the development of more sustainable solutions,” emphasizes Christoph Schmidt, Head of Market & Customer Communications at IPG.

IPG is currently planning similar collaborations with other manufacturers of fillers and binders. Schmidt: “Such partnerships along the value chain can generate additional attention among customers for the marketing of our products.”