Rising to the sustainability challenge

When we launched the latest ICONICA collection late 2022, the world had changed significantly since the arrival of the previous ICONICA collection five years ago. Of all the changes that have taken place, perhaps the most significant for our industry has been the evolution of the debate around climate change and the importance of sustainability.

Climate change has been on the radar for some time but rarely have businesses been taking as much action on the matter as in recent months. With a climate emergency a real possibility, businesses are now subject to increased scrutiny around their environmental activities, underlining the need to take meaningful action.

For many, our ICONICA collection of powder coatings is primarily a colour collection. While colour trends are an important pillar of our work in this area, sustainability is also a central consideration throughout the development process. Here we examine some of the ways in which sustainability factors are shaping the way powder coatings are specified and deployed.

Addressing the environmental impact of paint

As the contribution of the paint industry towards global pollution levels comes into sharp focus, it has become clear that some evolution is needed. Specifiers are now facing an important challenge – how to maximize the advantages of paint and coatings while significantly reducing the impact on the environment. Thus, sustainability has come to the fore in recent years and is an increasingly influential factor within purchasing decisions. 

A focus on longevity

Super durable coatings such as those within the ICONICA collection have responded to this need. 

In the past, inferior coating products began to decline within a much shorter timeframe. Aside from a noticeable degradation in terms of aesthetics and colour retention, this resulted in a need to replace coated items with much greater regularity, requiring more materials, time and labour. Worst of all, this approach uses more product, which inevitably leads to more microplastics and more damage to the environment.

QUALICOAT class 2 certified solutions such as ICONICA are inherently more sustainable in that they last longer, preserving the life of substrates for longer and maintaining superior aesthetics for longer. This allows for resources to be used more sparingly, making a positive impact towards the environmental goals of a project or organisation. Similarly, the improved scratch-resistance of such solutions entails less maintenance work.

There has been a notable mentality shift in terms of how people use products, with businesses more likely to prioritise extending the life of products or giving them a second life in favour of replacement, once again highlighting the importance of coating durability.

Product transparency

The need for greater durability and resilience within coatings has rightfully prompted specifiers to take a longer-term view of product performance and environmental impact in order to select the optimal solution. 

This development has seen manufacturers such as Axalta conduct a full life cycle analysis of their product ranges, in order to equip customers with the information they need to make an objective assessment based on reliable product data. In such circumstances, super durable solutions inevitably perform better than solutions with a shorter lifespan.

The formulation of products is also crucial from a transparency perspective. Coating performance is as important as ever but cannot be sacrificed for ecological reasons, or vice versa. As customers are becoming more discerning about the content of the products they use, solutions which eliminate the use of halogens and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) provide an important competitive edge from a sustainability standpoint. 

The growing importance of certification

Certifications which validate the environmental performance of a coating solution have existed for some time, serving as an independent indicator of quality. 

Since the use of super durable coatings was included as part of the LEED certification criteria, contributing a maximum of eight points towards the overall score, the importance of powder coatings has taken on a new dimension. 

Using a LEED certified coatings solution (such as ICONICA) on your project is a highly effective, yet often overlooked, way to strengthen its overall sustainability credentials. As we know, buildings with superior sustainability characteristics are more desirable on multiple levels and are increasingly becoming the required standard, rather than the exception.

The importance of sustainability is only going to increase in time, making it essential to select coatings solutions which enhance your overall certification score. As standards become more rigorous, we will see a greater focus on coating durability, meaning that solutions which offer better performance over the longest possible timeframe will be of greatest value from a sustainability perspective. 

About the ICONICA collection

The ICONICA collection of Alesta® SuperDurable powder coatings for metallic substrates identifies a palette of 40 key colours and finishes which capture the essence of our time. These are supported by research carried out by Axalta’s team of colour experts and its in-depth understanding of the global built environment landscape. Such findings provide architects and designers with clear, actionable insights to help inform designs that can withstand the test of time.

The collection is founded on the three pillars of sustainability, performance and trends, and with a formulation that is solvent- and VOC emissions-free, ICONICA provides a more environmentally friendly approach to surface coating. 

For more information on ICONICA, visit www.axalta.com/iconica