AkzoNobel and Solvay have signed a three-year agreement whereby AkzoNobel will increase the use of renewable raw materials in its paints and coatings, building on an existing partnership between the two companies, said Akzonobel.
Under the terms of the deal, AkzoNobel will progressively increase the use of Solvay’s bio-based epichlorohydrin, or Epicerol, which is already contained in many of the company’s resins for its coatings products. The agreement underlines the commitment of both parties to play a key role in sustainable development and expand the use of renewable raw materials.
Developed and patented by international chemical group Solvay, Epicerol is the innovative process used to produce bio-based epichlorohydrin from renewable glycerol. Epicerol has a substantially lower carbon footprint compared with most fossil-produced epichlorohydrin. By 2016, AkzoNobel aims to source 20% of its total epichlorohydrin demand as bio-based material.
Jean-Luc Preat, Head of the Epicerol business in the Solvay Emerging Biochemicals Global Business Unit, said: "This agreement illustrates the necessity of a lifecycle approach to sustainability, where all levels of the supply chain team up. This is the best way to minimize our global footprint and meet the environmental challenges our industry has to cope with. We are proud to be among the pioneers in this field together with AkzoNobel."
New to this type of agreement is the partnership model between two chemical groups on the one hand, and their suppliers and customers on the other. It builds on a supply agreement for renewable solvents which both companies announced three months ago, with the project outlined to take more than three years of collaborative work in the value chain, starting immediately.
Epichlorohydrin is a chemical intermediate to make epoxy resins, which are base ingredients for certain coatings. AkzoNobel and Solvay will work closely with their respective suppliers and customers to facilitate the use of Epicerol to produce AkzoNobel’s resins, and ensure this is done in a verifiable manner and according to the highest current sustainability standards.
As MRC wrote earlier, Akzo Nobel is currently working to boost efficiency to improve operating results in line with its financial targets for 2015. An important element is centralizing back-office functions. In the past decade, Akzo Nobel expanded through several acquisitions, most notably U.K. paint maker ICI in 2008 for 8 billion pounds (USD12.2 billion). The current improvement program is set to deliver EUR500 million in structural cost savings by the end 2013.