AkzoNobel and partners from across the extended value chain have established a “boundary-pushing” approach to confronting carbon reduction challenges, following the company’s first global Collaborative Sustainability Challenge.
During 24 hours of discussion at the event in Amsterdam, a series of “high impact” exploration teams was established. The people involved will continue to work together to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions in the paints and coatings industry.
The participants, represented by senior and ‘next generation’ leaders, focused on four key areas: energy transition, process efficiency, solvent emissions, and circular solutions. It resulted in 27 partners ‘signing up’, including suppliers, customers, and end-users, as well as representatives from finance, government, service providers, and consultancies.
“We all have ambitious targets when it comes to addressing climate change, but we won’t achieve them in isolation,” said Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of AkzoNobel. “So, it’s fantastic to see everyone come together, exchange ideas and make a real commitment to jointly explore what’s possible as we strive to collectively accelerate our sustainability journey.”
Jan-Peter Balkenende, Chair of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition and former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, said the event was extremely productive.
“We’ve witnessed the passion and creativity of a determined group of industry partners who are committed to making the necessary step changes across the value chain. By having one clear goal, working together to reduce carbon emissions, there’s a clear opportunity to take collective action and accelerate effective solutions for tackling climate change,” Balkenende said.
AkzoNobel said it set science-based sustainability targets to halve its carbon emissions across the value chain by 2030. Achieving that ambition will rely heavily on collaborating with partners and challenging each other to find innovative ways to overcome unprecedented challenges, which the exploration teams will endeavour to accomplish.
“We’re off to a really encouraging start,” Vanlancker said. “What we need to do now is keep the momentum of the last 24 hours, harness all the energy and creativity, and develop a networked ecosystem which will help to shape the sustainable future of our industry.”