AkzoNobel launches Sustainable Repair Network in Europe
June 29, 2023
AkzoNobel has launched the Sustainable Repair Network, a new program to help bodyshops 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 leading 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 bodyshop’s drive to reduce its carbon footprint.
In line with the objectives of the Automotive OEMs, insurance companies and the bodyshops 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 bodyshops. In a three-step process: measure, monitor and improve, AkzoNobel will analyze the bodyshop’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 bodyshop 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 bodyshops to set goals, calculate the effect of emission mitigating measures and monitor progress.
These innovative 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 bodyshop operation to identify where emissions are created and how they can be reduced. This might include both changes in equipment, process and choice of products. Critical to any recommendation is a holistic understanding of the bodyshop’s baseline.
Ignacio Román Navarro, Regional Commercial Director Vehicle Refinishes of AkzoNobel for EMEA, whose VR brands include Sikkens and Lesonal, says the new initiative helps to align AkzoNobel’s own sustainability goals with those of its customers: “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.”
AkzoNobel plans to roll out the program in the coming months in key markets in Central Europe.
Find out more about our initiative “Rethink Sustainability” here.
