NGEN
H EINI
EV AN
SK N
RI
Five on Five Interview: Sustainability According to the Industry Players_Part III
MAR
T
CO
BE
TA N
O
BLA
N DA
N
EN
GA
E
C E CIL
IA SV
EN
N
RO
PE
REZ
S
SO
his issue concludes our second ‘Five on Five’ interview series. Launched a year ago on the pages of our magazine, these were conceived with the aim of providing our readers with a comprehensive overview of the sustainability-oriented strategies implemented by the main companies of our sector. The impact of industrial production on the environment is known: it is estimated that industrial and craft activities account for about 50% of the total VOC emissions, whereas some research es show that almost 80% of the plastic that ends up at sea comes from waste produced on land and transported by rivers. The consequences are there for all to see and media report on them on a daily basis – shocking images of a Pacific Ocean area invaded by debris and waste of all sorts, pictures of melting glaciers, and news about environmental disasters caused by climate change and their devastating impact on people, animals, and nature. It seems a race is underway to find the most suitable and effective solution to a blatantly unsustainable and complex situation. However, there is not only one solution. Actually, there exist many valid and applicable solutions. On the other hand, no one can act alone, from governments, companies, and organisations to research centres and civil society representatives. This explains the growing number of summits that have recently marked the international political agenda, of alliances between multinational companies to reduce pollution, and of public gatherings in squares and meeting places to raise awareness on this issue. “Designing a sustainable future” through the progressive achievement of objectives is the conclusion that everyone comes to; based on the answers we have collected so far, it is also the programme proposed by our sector’s players. The most difficult challenge is and will always be to meet the deadlines imposed by everyone’s increasingly demanding and less and less sustainable living conditions: the task that our magazine has given itself with its “Sustainability” project is to monitor the development of these programmes and report their results to our readers.
PE
D
ON
SERIES 2
SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY L TA EN NM O R VI EN
36
IC M NO O EC
AL CI SO
AN
M
HU
N. 61 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 - international PAINT&COATING magazine
For this second interview we were delighted to work with the following sector leaders: • Rinske van Heiningen – Director Sustainability Integrated Sustainability Team AkzoNobel • Marco Benen – BASF’s Coatings Division Sustainability Officer • Gaetano Blanda – Evonik Senior Vice President and General Manager Coating Additives & Stefan Silber – Evonik Senior Vice President Innovation Management Coating Additives • Cecilia Svensson – Perstorp Holding AB EVP Communications & Sustainability • Pedro Perez Vintaned – PPG EHS Director EMEA