Moving towards more sustainable solutions
Easily access sustainable offer by using the dedicated sustainability filter
Use the “Sustainability” filter to easily explore our products through a sustainability lens across our entire portfolio. This feature allows you to quickly identify solutions that support the transition to lower carbon footprint, circularity, or even eco-label requirements—helping you find the right options for your applications.
For the world to change, we must change the materials we use.
In collaboration with our partners, we're consistently pushing the boundaries of innovation, providing our customers with a diverse array of options that prioritize both sustainability and performance. Our vision for a more circular and low-carbon future encompasses thoughtful product design and its subsequent downstream impact on our health and the planet. Beyond enhancing the safety of our materials, our dedicated team of experts are committed to developing lower carbon footprint solutions and reducing energy consumption during coating application and across the service life of the finished product.
Health and well-being are now central to consumer expectations, driving interest in safer and lower-impact materials. Arkema takes a proactive approach to assessing health, safety and environmental impacts, enabling the development of products with improved safety profiles that help protect consumers, workers and the broader community.
Consumers and brand owners are increasingly seeking lower-impact solutions and moving toward materials from circular and bio-based sources. This shift also drives change in the coatings industry, creating demand for more sustainable technologies. Arkema supports this transition by accelerating the development of high-performance resins and additives derived from bio-based and recycled feedstocks through both physical segregation and mass-balance approaches.
Volatile energy costs, stricter emission regulations and more sustainable manufacturing practices are accelerating the adoption of alternative curing technologies. Beyond performance, curing efficiency directly impacts productivity and operating costs. Arkema provides a wide range of materials compatible with major curing technologies and supports customers in transitioning toward lower-energy intensive solutions.
Greater durability and coating efficiency allow formulators to use less material while maintaining long-term protection. Direct-to-Metal systems consolidate multi-coat cycles into a single layer, while high-performance opacifiers help reduce TiO₂ content without losing hiding power. Arkema supports this shift toward more resource-efficient coatings by offering solutions that extend durability and optimize material use, delivering lasting performance with lower environmental impact.
Designing with end-of-life in mind is an integral part of our sustainability roadmap. Beyond ensuring that substrate recyclability is preserved, we are investigating innovative approaches such as deinking, debonding, and biodegradable technologies to support improved material recovery. While these concepts are still in early research and development phases, they illustrate our ambition to contribute to more circular systems and to anticipate future end-of-life challenges.
Arkema acts and innovates for the people and the planet
Our world faces multiple economic, environmental and social challenges. By 2050, the world population is expected to exceed 9.5 billion inhabitants, with the effects of increasing urbanization and changing lifestyles, strong consequences on the climate, an increased use of resources while accompanied by the emergence of new technologies. To help answer these major global challenges, Arkema strives to offer its customers sustainable and innovative solutions, which contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.
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Read moreTERMINOLOGY
- High solids: When applied to solvent borne products, the following thresholds are to be considered:
- For decorative coatings : Dry content > 70% in Americas and Asia Pacific, Dry content > 80% in Europe, Middle East and Africa
- For industrial coatings : Dry content > 70% worldwide
- NISO (Non isocyanate): Resins designed as replacement in traditional two-component (2K) polyurethane coating systems, where no isocyanate is intentionally used to provide the reactive curing function, enabling alternatives to conventional isocyanate-based technologies.
- Low aromatic: Solvent borne products with a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon content below 0.01% by weight, designed to reduce exposure in solvent-borne coating systems.
- Low VOC: Waterborne products with a Volatile Organic Compounds content below 0.1% by weight, contributing to the development of low-emission coating systems.
- Very low VOC: Polyurethane thickeners with a Volatile Organic Compounds content below 0.01% by weight.
- Low MFFT: Waterborne resins with a minimum film forming temperature below 5°C, enabling a reduced use of coalescents in the paint formulation.