AkzoNobel and Solvay Partner with Ernst & Young to Monitor Raw Material Use

May 14, 2014

The companies will develop a monitoring system to track and quantify the use of renewable raw materials in paints, coatings and other applications.

AkzoNobel and Solvay have partnered with Ernst & Young to jointly develop a monitoring system that will track and quantify the use of renewable raw materials in paints, coatings and other applications. The partnership comes after last year's agreement between AkzoNobel and Solvay that has AkzoNobel progressively increasing the use of Solvay's bio-based epichlorohydrin, or Epicerol, in its coatings products.

Rather than buying Epicerol directly from Solvay, AkzoNobel obtains epoxy resins from a number of intermediate producers. The company then uses these epoxy resins as ingredients in various coatings. Under the new agreement, Solvay, AkzoNobel and EY will develop a "chain of custody methodology" to ensure that even in situations where no physical segregation of petro and bio-based materials is practiced, volumes may still be assigned and reported, according to AkzoNobel.

Epicerol has a substantially lower carbon footprint than fossil-produced epichlorohydrin and is already used in AkzoNobel's coating products worldwide. By 2016, the company aims to source 20 percent of its total epichlorohydrin demand as bio-based material.

For more information, visit: www.akzonobel.com