Sustainable paint concept

Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs according to the McGill University (Canada). Thus a sustainable approach avoids draining (depletion) of natural resources in order to maintain ecological balance and keep up the quality of life. Sustainability can be regarded as a journey leading to opportunities for improvement in such areas as human health, environmental impact and material circularity.

By focusing specifically at the paint and coating product sustainability, the main issues are the use of toxic ingredients, VOC emissions, use of non-renewable raw materials and life-cycle carbon footprint.

The following 6 principles can be used to support the development of sustainable paint products:

Reduce or stop the use of hazardous substances.
Reduce negative environmental impact from the manufacturing of raw materials. Increase the use of renewable raw materials.
Increase & maintain performance of paint and coating products.
Decrease carbon emissions from raw material and ready made paint product logistics & distribution.
Reduce negative environmental impact associated with the paint disposal.
Reduce emissions from the paint and coating products during their use.

By making the paint products more sustainable, we explore opportunities to reduce their negative impact.

The paint industry claims that 3% of the VOC’s released into the atmosphere in Europe come from decorative paints.
From the human health aspect, high levels of VOCs can lead to asthma, nausea and other allergic reactions. The professionals having longer exposures to these products on a daily basis are among the risk groups. The World Health Organisation suggests that professional decorators are 40% more likely to contract lung cancer than the general population.
Environmental aspects also raise serious concerns as for every litre of paint that is produced, up to 30 litres of toxic waste can be created, according to the Guardian.

How do the ecolabels in Europe and the practice of Green Public Procurement (GPP) support the idea of sustainability?

This analysis is designed to provide an overview of how the ecolabels in Europe and Green Public Procurement (GPP) correspond to the criteria of sustainability. Namely, what are the prerequisites for using the ecolabels in Europe on the paint and coating products or for the products being eligible to participate in GPP. These requirements are analysed from the perspective of sustainability, assessing the extent to which they meet the six sustainability criteria. It should be noted that the GPP criteria are indicative. The EU member states have the rights to apply and adjust them individually.

Updated on the 9th August, 2021

	EU Green public procurement criteria (2018)	EU EcoLabel (2018)	Nordic Swan (2021)	The Blue Angel (2019)
Limit the use of hazardous substances
Limit the emissions from paint and coating products, when using them
Require performance standards from paint and coating products
Limit negative environmental impact from the use of specific raw materials
Limit carbon emissions from raw material and ready made paint product logistics
Limit negative environmental impact associated with paint disposal

* only specific raw materials are indicated

Paints For Life do not take any responsibility for the accuracy of the information collected and represented in the table. To make sure the information is correct, please visit data sources indicated below.

The analysis and assessment in the table is based on the following conclusions:

Limit the use of hazardous substances - The same approach is used in all the documents (standards) in question. Namely, restrictions are laid down on the use of hazardous substances and mixtures in accordance with the rules set out in their sub-criteria for hazard classification and risk phrases, very dangerous substances and specific other listed substances.
Limit the emissions from paint and coating products, when using them - The criteria specified in these documents set out the maximum limits for the content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). The VOC and SVOC content should be determined for the final product and it should include all recommended additions before use, such as colorants and/or diluents.
Require performance standards from paint and coating products - In all documents indoor and outdoor paint compliance is assessed by similar methods using performance standards, such as resistance to wet friction, dispersion rate, resistance to the weather conditions, resistance to fungi and algae, etc.
Limit negative environmental impact from the use of specific raw materials - With regard to the paint components, manufacturing of solvents, binders and TiO2 (white pigment) have significant environmental impact associated with the raw material extraction. The common position of the standards is focused on reducing the impact of manufacturing by addressing specific ingredients and doses. Namely, not using the substances classified as hazardous to the environment with risk phrases H410, H411 and/or H412 in accordance with CLP Regulation (No) 1272/2008 or minimising their use. The permissible dose depends on the chosen standard. All standards define the acceptable limits of the VOC and SVOC depending on the type of final product. All standards allow for minor deviations in the use of in-can (isothiazolinone) products, which is their limited concentration in the final products.
Limit carbon emissions from raw material and ready made paint product logistics - The EU Green Public Procurement criteria do not contain information on material manufacturing. EU EcoLabel, Nordic Swan and Blue Angel request submitting documents in relation to the manufacturing of TiO2, if the product contains more than 3,0% w/w titanium dioxide. The standards have the same specified limit values for the manufacturing units of TiO2. None of these four standards have a limit on carbon emissions from other raw materials and on the logistics of ready-to-use paint products.
Limit negative environmental impact associated with paint disposal - Only the EU Green Public Procurement criteria have limitations on negative environmental impacts associated with the disposal of paint. The other three standards do not mention such requirements.