AkzoNobel has launched an initiative to reduce the collective carbon footprint of the body repair industry. The Vehicle Repair (VR) Sustainability Challenge brings together strategic partners from across the vehicle repair value chain, including insurance companies, fleet and lease operators, body shops and original equipment manufacturers (OEM).
The 24-hour event will take place in Amsterdam from 21 to 22 November 2023.
“Collaboration will play a fundamental role in helping to safeguard our world far beyond tomorrow,” said Patrick Bourguignon, Director of AkzoNobel’s Automotive and Specialty Coatings business.
“It’s about joining forces so we can push boundaries and find inventive ways to make a positive contribution to an ever-changing world. By investing 24 hours, we’ll endeavour to collectively accelerate progress towards reducing our carbon footprint. I look forward to the outcome.”
The VR Sustainability Challenge is part of AkzoNobel’s Paint the Future programme, which aims to develop a shared approach to tackling climate change. It will focus on three topics:
- Energy transition: Enabling faster decarbonisation of the vehicle repair industry as it transitions to renewable energy sources
- Process efficiency: Making key improvements across the industry
- Circular solutions: Increasing circular use of materials throughout the value chain
“Everyone has a part to play in reducing our carbon footprint and collaboration is vital if we’re to make this happen and achieve our ambitions,” said Wijnand Bruinsma, Director of Sustainability at AkzoNobel. “By bringing people together and fostering collaborative discussions in this challenge, we hope to spark innovative ideas for solutions that will make a real difference to our collective carbon footprint.
“Ultimately, this will also help create transparency and move us towards our science-based goal of achieving a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions across both our own operations and the entire value chain.”
Launched in 2019, AkzoNobel said Paint the Future has established a collaborative innovation ecosystem with startups, suppliers, customers and other value chain partners.