EDITOR’S LETTER
Sustainability and surfaces Richiedi la versione in italiano a info@ipcm.it
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onventionally defined as a practice that «meets the needs of the present without compromisingbthe ability of future generations to meet their own needs», sustainability is an issue of great relevance and interest for everyone.
Understood as emission reduction, operational performance improvement with a view to energy saving, and functionality and service life enhancement, sustainability is currently an unbeatable USP (Unique Selling Proposition, that is, the sales argument of a product). There are many ways to be sustainable: the start of “green” projects, the search for natural alternatives to synthetic products, the implementation of operational and energy efficiencies, or the creation of projects for the community and about training, health, and safety. Sustainability practices are becoming a part of modern companies’ mission so much so that they are not just in an investment – they generate profits. The environmental profit value allows a company to assess the costs and benefits created for the environment with a monetary unit and, therefore, to make more sustainable operational decisions. In order to determine the real footprint of a productive activity, it is necessary to consider carbon emissions, the use of water resources and the rate of water pollution, air pollution, the amount of waste produced and their disposal operations, and even the amount of land occupied. These elements should be analysed for the entire value chain, from raw materials to retail stores. The surface treatment and coating industry, in particular, was one of the first to embrace this trend towards sustainability and it is now one of the most active sectors in terms of environmental, social, and economic projects. The coating industry can be sustainable for the end user: by making products more durable, paints increase their efficiency of use and reduce the disposal operations at the end of their service life. The supply of raw materials, energy, and water combined with production efficiency can have a significant impact on the environmental footprint of paint formulations. Improvements in the performance and functionality of coatings, in turn, can have a major impact on the sustainability of the whole life cycle of products. This issue of ipcm® inaugurates a new section on sustainability. Already widely discussed on our website www.myipcm.com and on our social channels (as I write this, the MyIpcm Coatings Community on LinkedIn has 9504 members),bthis topic will be dealt with in an even more organic and in-depth way on our publications. The brand new section will collect exclusive interviews, comparisons, projects, and activitiesbdevoted to environmental, social, and economic
Alessia Venturi Editor-in-chief Direttore Responsabile
sustainability. I will see you in September with an even richer content.
international PAINT&COATING magazine - JULY/AUGUST 2018 - N. 52
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