AkzoNobel announced a new program to help vehicle refinish and collision repair centers in Europe reduce their carbon footprint.
By certifying the operations of its customers, AkzoNobel will partner with them to help measure, monitor and improve CO2 emissions. It will leverage its position in sustainability to deliver the tools, knowledge, support and experience for its vehicle refinishing (VR) coatings business to make a tangible, meaningful and measurable difference to a body shop’s drive to reduce its carbon footprint.
In line with the objectives of the Automotive OEMs, insurance companies and the body shops themselves, AkzoNobel is aiming to reduce carbon emissions by up to 50% across the value chain until 2030 and is actively engaging with its customers and partners to support them on their sustainability journey.
A key element of the support will be a new Certification program for body shops.
In a three- step process: measure, monitor and improve, AkzoNobel will analyze the body shop’s CO2 footprint, identify the steps it can take to reduce emissions across its operations and partner with the customer to support its execution.
A key enabler for this new program is the digital tools that AkzoNobel has developed specifically for this purpose. These deliver clear insight into the CO2 footprint of a body shop by converting gas consumption, electricity consumption, driven kilometers, and all relevant parameters from Scope 1, 2 and 3 into CO2 equivalents according to the latest emission factors. They enable body shops to set goals, calculate the effect of emission mitigating measures and monitor progress.
These new digital solutions add to the first certified CO2eRepairCalculator in the industry, that is focused on optimizing the refinish system to reduce emissions, energy cost and save valuable process time.
A sustainable repair is looking at all the steps of the repair process and the overall body shop operation to identify where emissions are created and how they can be reduced. This might include changes in equipment, process and choice of products. Critical to any recommendation is a holistic understanding of the body shop’s baseline.
Ignacio Román Navarro, Regional Commercial Director Vehicle Refinishes of AkzoNobel for EMEA, whose vehicle refinish brands include Sikkens and Lesonal, said, “All of us in the value chain, including the OEMs and the insurance companies, are focused on sustainability, and we will deliver on our targets by creating true partnerships with shared ambitions. In joining the new Sustainability Repair Network, and becoming a partner, our customers will be creating and promoting a more sustainable workplace that brings genuine financial and environmental benefits to all.”