AkzoNobel

Pioneering a sustainable future for paints and coatings AkzoNobel’s commitment to People. Planet. Paint.

Human activity has left an indelible mark on the planet. While centuries of growth and advancement have come at a cost, we have the insights, knowledge and expertise, along with collective responsibility, to limit our negative environmental impact and contribute to a sustainable future for all. Just as people, companies, and industries have contributed to increased global warming and its resulting environmental impact, the same people, companies, and industries can lead the change to a circular economy and a more harmonious coexistence with mother nature. As a leader in our industry AkzoNobel is committed to playing our part in pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life while empowering people and minimizing our impact on the planet through the launch of People. Planet. Paint. our approach to sustainable business.

A TRACK RECORD OF SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability is one of our core values and is integrated in everything we do. Whether it’s coatings that protect against bacteria, save energy usage or transform spaces through color, we’re experts in looking beyond the surface in order to bring them to life. Sustainability is integrated in everything we do, and it’s been in our DNA since 1792.

Over the years we’ve invested in a broad range of sustainability initiatives and practices designed to reduce our impact on the planet. From being the first company to remove lead compounds from our products to being the first in our industry to commit to the Science-based Targets Initiative that sets carbon emission reduction targets for scope 1, 2 & 3 we are determined to lead the way.

We believe that driving the sustainability agenda cannot be done by ourselves and this is why collaboration is important. It plays a key role to move things quicker. We engage and collaborate proactively with our stakeholders to identify opportunities to create shared value. Our key stakeholders, as reflected in People. Planet. Paint. are customers, employees, suppliers and communities, as well as society, industry associations and investors.

We’ve become a member in various associations and organizations, which align with our sustainability approach, namely, the World Green Building Council, United Nations Global Compact, Together for Sustainability, RE100, The Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, the Ocean CleanUp, SOS Children’s Villages and more.

Our efforts have also been recognized by Sustainalytics (assessed as low risk, the best possible rating in our industry), EcoVadis (Platinum rating placing us in the top 1% of all companies studied), MSCI (AAA rating for six consecutive years), Vigeo Eiris (first in our industry), Corporate Knights Clean200 and more.

PEOPLE. PLANET. PAINT: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABILITY People: We act with integrity and respect human rights across our operations and value chain, embracing diversity and inclusion, to transform the communities in which we operate. It’s about ensuring a safe and diverse work environment, developing our talented workforce, embracing our values and our approach to human rights. AkzoNobel supports the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labor Organization.

Through our AkzoNobel Cares and Let’s Color programs we ran over 1000 projects around the world and trained over 15,000 people in 2019. As an employer, AkzoNobel has been recognized as a Top Employer in multiple countries including the UK, China, Brazil, the US, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland.

By 2025, AkzoNobel expects over 30% of the company’s executives to be female and to have trained over 35,000 community members globally.

Planet: Our Planet ambitions are tangible and will enable us to continue making an important contribution to addressing the sustainability challenges faced by our company, customers and broader society. As well as working to cut carbon emissions and reduce waste to minimize impact, we’re also taking proactive steps to improve our ways of working to build better processes for the future.

For many years, we’ve been working to operate in a more sustainable way, and we continue to take steps to reduce our environmental impact through reformed value chains. We focus particularly on reducing energy use, carbon emissions, VOCs and waste, while increasing our use of renewable energy and materials.

Our aim is to reduce carbon emissions in our own operations by 50% by 2030 and by 42% across the whole value chain of a 2020 baseline, reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030, and use 100% renewable electricity by 2030. We also have an ambition to produce zero non-reusable waste and to recycle wasted water at our most water intensive sites. These ambitions are not only achievable but we’re on track to get there.

Lastly, we’re always looking for new ways to drive sustainable innovation that brings tangible benefits, delivers a positive social and environmental impact, and enables our customers to reach their own sustainability goals. That’s why we focus on developing our portfolio of paints and coatings with sustainability benefits in our value chain and offering our customers one of the largest portfolios of sustainable solutions in our industry.

Paint: We are committed to creating impactful sustainable solutions that bring interior and exterior surfaces of life while also empowering our customers to achieve their own sustainability objectives. From buildings to ships and everything in between, sustainable, highperformance paints and coatings are our lifeblood.

Currently, AkzoNobel generates approximately 40% of our revenue from sustainable solutions, which is the highest in the industry. However, it is not enough. AkzoNobel continues to focus on innovation and pioneering new products that have a sustainability benefit. By 2030, AkzoNobel aims sustainable solutions to make up more than 50% of the company’s revenue.

A team of 3,000 scientists works closely with customers to develop innovative, sustainable solutions to →

We believe that driving the sustainability agenda cannot be done by ourselves and this is why collaboration is important. It plays a key role to move things quicker. We engage and collaborate proactively with our stakeholders to identify opportunities to create shared value.

→ real-world concerns and challenges. All sustainable solutions are developed with four innovation drivers in mind, productivity, asset protection, surface enhancement, and environmental protection.

In order to measure the positive and negative sustainability characteristics of our product portfolio we have the developed our Sustainable Product Portfolio Assessment (SPPA) framework together with several leading chemical companies in the world and the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).

This SPPA framework takes a holistic view of product portfolio sustainability, with a focus on developing sustainability advantages that AkzoNobel can offer to customers. The SPPA was instrumental in developing a broad range of sustainable solutions (products and services) that deliver sustainability advantages downstream and now account for 40% of the company’s portfolio. Prime examples are the Eco-premium solutions that offer clear sustainability benefits and outstrip competitors, leading to best-in-class designations.

Within our SPPA framework, products are characterized as sustainable for their ability to bring sustainability benefits in one of the following areas: • Health and well-being • Reduced carbon and energy • Less waste • Longer-lasting performance • Reduce, renew and reuse.

These sustainability criteria are embedded in our innovation programs. Based on these criteria we focus on creating innovative paints and coatings to reduce fuel consumption, limit heat transfer, amplify light emission, and more, all with minimal VOCs, waterbased products, and other carbonreduction methods.

Waste reduction throughout the company’s production cycle is also vital. Waste and water can be reused and recycled, including overspray. High-solid products help reduce packaging waste while powder coatings have a 99% reclamation efficiency rate. Of course, all of these goals must be reached while still ensuring the best possible performance and durability for customers.

To ensure that we’re able to anticipate changes in legislation and remain at the forefront of pioneering innovative solutions we’ve developed, our priority substance program. This multi-award-winning priority substance program is focused on proactively removing hazardous substances from existing products and formulations ahead of legislation, as was the case with removing lead compounds from our products.

AKZONOBEL’S SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS We take our responsibility as an industry leader seriously and we are committed to applying these lessons throughout the supply chain to address both energy use and air quality.

We have made an ongoing commitment to invest in sustainability, innovation and society. The foundations of our work are built on a review of the risks and opportunities within the context of our key market segments to 2030.

This has demonstrated to us the need to leverage the latest knowledge across science and society, identify and mitigate our challenges, and develop strategies to make the future better.

For example, South East & South Asia is a market experiencing robust economic and population growth. This demands high levels of construction to meet the demands of a new middle class and rapid urbanization. However, as our research identified, this also means that there is a vast opportunity to pioneer new solutions.

Today, AkzoNobel has committed to tackling climate change and helping the company’s customers reduce their own carbon emissions through intelligently designed products and solutions. These include the following:

Reduction of Urban Heat Island effect: Cities experience the “urban heat island effect”, especially those cities that are subject to temperatures of 35°C and above throughout the year. This results in growing energy consumption, which is needed to cool down buildings. What many people are unaware of, however, is the fact that the materials used on exterior façades can have a significant impact on the temperature inside a building.

When infrared radiation from the sun strikes the surface of a building, some of it is reflected and some is absorbed in the form of heat. This causes the exterior wall of the building to increase in temperature, and this heat is subsequently transmitted to the interior of the building. Thanks to innovative technology and smart formulation modelling software, our researchers have developed strategies to increase the solar reflectivity of our coatings. We’ve carefully managed the pigments we use in our paints to

We have made an ongoing commitment to invest in sustainability, innovation and society. The foundations of our work are built on a review of the risks and opportunities within the context of our key market segments to 2030.

create striking colors while at the same time significantly increasing the amount of infrared radiation which is reflected by building façades. The result is a difference of up to 5°C between a façade coated with a normal exterior paint and one coated with our Dulux Weathershield Keep Cool products. Computer simulation modelling has also demonstrated energy cost savings of up to 10 to 15 percent, depending on the type of building. And this is achieved simply as a result of less energy being required to cool the inside of the building. This type of cooling effect is available in a variety of decorative paints, coil coatings and powder coatings within the AkzoNobel portfolio.

Cleaner Air: In our work to purify the air around us, we can now use photocatalysis to trigger chemical reactions. In this process, photoactive titanium dioxide absorbs sunlight and reacts with oxygen and moisture to generate highly reactive free radicals, which in turn can contribute to the abatement of noxious emissions from motor vehicles, and decompose harmful gases like nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and VOCs. We closely monitor the cradle to grave lifecycle of our raw materials and finished products to reduce Volatile Organic Compounds, the impact of transportation and other environmental fallout.

Reducing Environment Footprints: Reducing the environmental footprint of our coatings is a clear focus of our research programs. We are striving to increase the use of renewable materials and optimize our use of lower carbon footprint raw materials. Another, and perhaps less obvious, way to reduce footprint is through increasing the durability of exterior wall paints. Enabling longer maintenance and repainting cycles helps to reduce building maintenance costs and environmental impact. This is achieved by lowering the use of resources for the paint itself (which will last longer), as well as reducing water use due to less need for cleaning.

Both climate and human activities alter the appearance of building façades through UV- driven color fading, erosion, cracking, flaking, dirt and dust pick-up, fungal and algal growth. In tropical urban environments in particular, most exterior wall paints currently last around five to eight years. We are developing solutions to extend this durability to at least ten years and beyond. Our research programs are focused on developing new polymer technologies to best balance weatherability and softness to create products with a longer durability than standard products used on building façades. In combination with durable pigments that do not fade under strong UV, and smart formulation modelling, we can deliver extended repainting cycles. Resource Use: In addition to encouraging the use of renewable materials, AkzoNobel offers wood coatings that increase manufacturing efficiency.

Reduced Temperature Curing: Powder coating traditionally requires baking at very high temperatures to cure. Achieving those temperatures requires immense amounts of energy. However, AkzoNobel’s specially engineered powder coatings can cure at much lower temperatures, reducing energy consumption significantly.

Marine Products: AkzoNobel manufactures solvent-free, VOCcompliant, universal primer designed specifically for marine environments. These are critical as international shipping relies more and more heavily on cargo ships and sea-bound trade continues to grow.

COMMITMENT IN ACTION AkzoNobel takes the lead in sustainability initiatives.

While AkzoNobel has invested in a robust range of sustainable solutions and products, the organization is also committed to creating change across its own operations and broader society.

Solar Power Projects To achieve our ambition of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 AkzoNobel is investing in solar energy generation. Recent significant installations include over 1600 panels in Garcia (Mexico) and Barcelona (Spain) as well as more than 5,000 at the Shanghai site and almost 3,000 in Guangzhou (China). Two major projects in China will see the company accelerate its ambition of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030.

We currently use 100% renewable energy (RE) in several different countries, including the UK, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, and Estonia and will complete the transfer to 100RE in Europe by 2022. →

→ Green Building Projects AkzoNobel is a proud member of the World Green Building Council (WGBC). According to that organization, 38% of global energy related to carbon emissions comes directly from buildings – 27% of operational emission from heating, cooling, and powering buildings and 11% of embodied carbon in the form of construction materials and activities.

As a solution to this challenge, AkzoNobel is focusing on green building design and construction. According to the WGBC, “a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.”

AkzoNobel promotes the development of the green building market through its membership in the WGBC. The organization provides multiple solutions to increase sustainability in the sector, including the use of reflective coatings for building envelopes to reduce heat transfer and drive down climatecontrol-related energy use. Longerlasting paints and coatings for building interiors and exteriors further reduce energy and resource consumption, as well as the need for repair, cleaning, and repainting. Biobased pollutantabatement paints for air purification as in Dulux Better Living Airclean and primer-cum-topcoat 2in1 paints, Dulux Professional Express, promotes productivity via increasing efficiency by 30%.

AkzoNobel is also dedicated to reducing the amount of embodied carbon in the company’s products. It will achieve this through low-bake/UV/ ambient cure coatings, low-VOC/ water-based products, and the use of renewable materials in decorative interior wall paints, metal coatings, and liquid protective wood and coil coatings.

Some impacts occur beyond the scope of our processes, with our suppliers and customers. For example, in paints and coatings, more than 98% of our carbon footprint comes from upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer) activities.

According to the WGBC, “a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment.

Upstream, we know that the emissions from raw materials such as pigments, resins and solvents are our greatest impact, so we have joined forces with suppliers to drive the use of bio-based materials, recycled content, or raw materials produced with renewable energy.

Through these initiatives, the company will work towards achieving the World Green Building Council’s three primary goals, which are climate action through the proliferation of net-zero buildings; health and wellbeing to provide healthier places for people to live, work, and play; and resources and circularity to better manage natural resources.

AKZONOBEL’S PAINT THE FUTURE CHALLENGE In 2019, AkzoNobel launched the Paint the Future Global Startup Challenge. The mission is simple – to change the world of paints and coatings. The challenge features five themes that paints and coatings should embody, including:

Enhanced Functionality: Paints and coatings should provide more than basic protection and aesthetics. They should also be more durable than previous formulations.

Customer Experience: Paints and coatings should deliver an excellent end-customer experience, including better adhesion, protection, colorfastness, and more. Smart Application: Applying paints and coatings should require less energy and (when possible) rely on innovative techniques and technology.

Circular Solutions: Circular solutions help manage resource use and consumption while focusing on renewables/reusables.

Smart Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Paints and coatings should be manufactured, distributed, and applied through an intelligently designed process and robust supply chain. ◆

About Akzonobel We’ve been pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life for well over 200 years. As experts in making coatings, there’s a good chance you’re only ever a few meters away from one of our products. Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from the most sustainable paints company, which has been inventing the future for more than two centuries. About the Author Pamela Phua has been General Director of AkzoNobel Decorative Paints Vietnam since 2017. At the beginning of 2021, she was appointed to be Product Management Director, Decorative Paints - SESA, being instrumental in developing and maintaining a product portfolio that satisfies market demands and maximizes margins at competitive costs.

Before moving to head Vietnam Paints business, Pamela was the BU R&D Director & Global Director, Exterior Walls. In her 18 years stint in R&D, she has driven the business with new technology development and product implementation across the region, especially in Vietnam market and has successfully launched many innovative products including Dulux Weathershield / Powerflexx, Dulux Pentalite, Dulux Wash & Wear / EasyClean, Dulux Inspire/ Catylac by Dulux and Aquatech.

In her global capacity, Pamela implements the functional and production innovation strategy for exterior wall paint. She spearheads the RD&I functional excellence, standards and capability, and the efficient delivery of processes as the approved standards and processes across the globe.

Together with a special passion for sustainable development, she has led her teams to innovate paintings products and solutions through increasingly sustainable benefits for AkzoNobel customers and the environment. She also actively gets involved in sustainable activities in projects to create inspiring living spaces for local communities and to promote green architecture trends.

Pamela’s expertise and experience has been instrumental in the setting up of industry standards in Singapore. She is the President and Technical Chairperson for the Singapore Paint Industry Association and a management member in the Chemical Standards Council of Singapore. She contributed to the development of various Singapore Standards such as SS 345 (Specification for emulsion paints for decorative paints), SS500 (Specification for elastomeric wall coatings), SS150 (Specification for Emulsion Paints for Decorative purposes), SS 579 (Specification for water- based sealer for interior and exterior uses) and many others. Pamela currently leads Working Group for Fine Ceramics (for photocatalysis) and Waterbased Standards and participates in the Working Group for Energy Efficient Coatings. She is also an A*Star certified auditor for accredited laboratories in Singapore.

With a special passion for sustainable development, Pamela is actively involved in projects to create inspiring living spaces for local communities and to promote green architecture trends. She is an author for the G7&G20 summit publication advocating green developments. She is also a keynote speaker in United Nation climate Change Conferences.

Email: Pamela.phua@akzonobel.com Mobile: +65 90279663 Address: AkzoNobel House, 3 Changi Business Park Vista, #05-01 SDingapore 486051