New Sustainability Campaign Launched by AkzoNobel in Asia
The “It all adds up” campaign by AkzoNobel is now encouraging wood producers across the Southern Asia-Pacific region to recognize sustainability as a practical series of incremental actions, ranging from minor process adjustments to the adoption of renewable raw materials and advanced coatings within their operations.
By focusing on manageable measures that are designed to collectively reduce waste, save energy consumption, and lower overall carbon output, AkzoNobel aims to demonstrate to manufacturers exactly how they can simultaneously improve both their environmental performance and their operational efficiency across their entire value chain.
The comprehensive campaign is built upon three foundational core pillars, each reinforcing the central message of cumulative impact.
The first pillar, titled “Taking the Lead,” clearly reflects AkzoNobel’s deep-seated drive to establish new industry benchmarks in sustainable manufacturing, primarily by embedding environmental responsibility across all of its own extensive operations worldwide.
The second pillar, “Exploring New Options,” focuses on relentless and continuous innovation, urging the embrace of cutting-edge technologies that are proven to conserve energy, drastically cut emissions, and significantly raise efficiency standards across the entire wood finishes sector.
The third and final pillar, “Sharing Responsibility,” underscores the vital concept that achieving true sustainability is a collective journey, one that relies fundamentally on open partnerships, mutual knowledge exchange, and the collaborative development of solutions across the industry.
Together, these three pillars powerfully reinforce the core philosophy that while significant change often requires time, the aggregation of many seemingly small, deliberate steps can ultimately add up to a truly transformative, lasting impact on the environment.
Guiding Principles for Transformative Industry Change
Guided by its three strategic pillars, AkzoNobel is not only meticulously aligning its operations with major global sustainability goals but is also proactively shaping the entire coatings industry’s approach to environmental responsibility, viewing this commitment as a fundamental business imperative for long-term success.
For AkzoNobel, the concept of sustainability transcends being merely a slogan or a marketing term; it is recognized as a core business imperative that actively fuels research and development, strengthens the critical resilience of the supply chain, and is essential for building long-lasting trust with both customers and the communities in which the company operates.
This profound commitment is strongly supported by AkzoNobel’s ambitious, company-wide goal to achieve a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions across its entire value chain by the year 2030, a target that drives strategic decision-making.
Beyond simple operational improvements, this bold vision is being realized through continued and significant investment in specialized research and development teams, the intense exploration of revolutionary new materials, and the strategic creation of smarter, cleaner technologies that aim to anticipate and meet the evolving sustainability needs of tomorrow’s global market.
Sarah Skinner, product marketing director of AkzoNobel Wood Finishes, articulated this vision, stating, “With our Wood Finishes solutions and expertise, we believe we can help customers unlock sustainability benefits in their business,” emphasizing the role of the company’s products in client efforts.
Product Innovation and Collaborative Customer Education
AkzoNobel is focused on continuous product innovation that reduces waste and supports lower energy usage, while its educational campaign aims to encourage customers to adopt a multi-level perspective on sustainability, integrating responsible choices into both their product selection and their everyday manufacturing processes.
Sarah Skinner further detailed the comprehensive scope of the “It all adds up” campaign, stating that it “will encourage customers to think about sustainability on multiple levels – from the products they choose to the processes they follow,” indicating a focus on holistic change.
She acknowledged the significance of the company’s output, affirming, “We know that paint matters, and as a business, we are consistently exploring new ways to make our products more sustainable.”
This dedication translates directly into a commitment to supplying advanced coatings that not only reduce material waste but also contain significantly lower volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and actively support lower energy usage throughout the entire application process.
To achieve these goals, AkzoNobel is heavily investing in key innovations such as advanced UV technology, next-generation waterborne solutions, and specialized low-formaldehyde coatings.
As the Southern Asia-Pacific region manages the inherent challenge of balancing rapid industrial growth with the increasing expectations for environmental sustainability, awareness campaigns like “It all adds up” become crucial.
They highlight the indispensable importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing between major industry leaders like AkzoNobel and local manufacturers.
The company’s overall approach effectively demonstrates that when sustainability is seamlessly integrated into everyday choices—from the fundamental decisions made on the factory floor to the strategic planning in the boardroom—even the smallest cumulative changes can and will result in a profound and lasting impact that ultimately helps shape the coatings industry’s future.
