First global Sustainability Report published

BCF’s Tom Bowtell officially launched the first ever World Coatings Council’s Sustainability Report for the global paints and coatings industry at the Coatings Summit in Miami on December 6th.

The report sets out to demonstrate how the paints and coatings industry contributes to the nine most important United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to the coatings industry. This work started back in February 2020, at an interactive World Coatings Council sustainability workshop in Brazil.

This comprehensive report, independently produced by German sustainability consultants :response, sets out for each of the nine selected SDGs which targets are applicable for coatings, and how the industry contributes.

For example, SDG number three, Good health and well-being. The most relevant SDG3 target is 3.9: “By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination”. The coatings industry has examples of low VOC coatings, the global alliance to eliminate lead paint, anti-microbial paint in hospitals and biocidal protection as proof points for this SDG. This work has also led to the creation of a KPI toolkit, for members of WCC associations. This includes 22 indicators covering the nine selected SDGs, and a core set of 11 essential indicators. These will be shared with BCF members in due course.

Commenting on the report, Tom Bowtell, BCF’s CEO and current President of the World Coatings Council said “I’m thrilled we’ve got the inaugural WCC Sustainability report launched. Paints and coatings contribution to sustainability is really significant, but often overlooked. This new report will help shine a light on our importance to society. However, we still have work to do, so mustn’t be complacent”.

The Council will plan how to follow up on this excellent foundation report at the next WCC annual meeting in Istanbul in March 2023.

World Coatings Council Sustainability Principles 1. Contributing to value creation worldwide through long-term economic performance 2. Committing to ethical business practices and responsibility throughout the supply chain 3. Providing good employment and ensuring a safe workplace 4. Producing and developing safe and sustainable products 5. Supporting education for STEM and applied sustainability 6. Engaging with stakeholders and local communities 7. Working to maximize efficiency and reduce the impact of manufacturing processes

To download the report, please visit: https://worldcoatingscouncil.org/WCC-Sustainability-Report/