AkzoNobel’s UK Decorative Paints business has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for the third consecutive time since 2009, recognising a 12.9% absolute reduction in operational carbon emissions over the last two years.
Widely considered as the world’s leading certification for organisational carbon footprint reduction, the Carbon Trust Standard is awarded to businesses or public sector bodies that clearly demonstrate their commitment to reducing carbon emissions year-on-year.
Leading global paints and coatings company AkzoNobel recently unveiled a new sustainability strategy to reduce cradle-to-grave carbon emissions globally by up to 30% by 2020. The UK is a key location for the manufacture and retail of its decorative paints, including iconic brands such as Dulux, Dulux Trade, Polycell and Cuprinol.
The Carbon Trust Standard provides consumers with independent, expert certification proving that an organisation has genuinely acted on climate change. This award demonstrates AkzoNobel’s commitment to taking independent action to reduce the carbon emissions for which it is directly responsible.
Some of the projects undertaken by the UK Decorative Paints business over the last year includes:
· The installation of new LED lighting at its Stowmarket manufacturing site;
· A reduction in miles travelled as a result of improved transport logistics, route planning and new double stack trailers;
· Energy saving across the Dulux Decorator Centre store network as a result of the installation of an energy monitoring system.
The UK’s Decorative Paints business employs over 1,100 people in the UK, and its presence will soon be boosted by the opening of a new site in Ashington in 2014. This plant will exemplify the business’s commitment to sustainability through reducing energy consumption per litre of paint produced by 60% compared to today’s operations. This will be achieved by employing cutting edge manufacturing technology and by using the latest in building design to deliver large sustainability improvements such as the recycling and reusing of waste and water.
Commenting on the Carbon Trust Standard being awarded to AkzoNobel UK Decorative Paints for the third time in a row, Chris Cook, Global Sustainability Director for Decorative Paints, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised once again for our commitment to carbon reduction in our UK Decorative Paints business. Our businesses throughout the UK and across the world are all working hard to contribute to our ambitious sustainability targets, and this news allows us to demonstrate to our customers our commitment to working towards reducing our carbon emissions throughout the company.”
AkzoNobel is a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. We supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for our customers. Our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we are consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability. With operations in more than 80 countries, our 50,000 people around the world are committed to excellence and delivering Tomorrow’s Answers Today.
