AkzoNobel Works With BASF to Reduce High-Volume Paint Products CO2 Footprint

Akzonobel Ashington manufacturing site in the U.K. Source | AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel (Reading, Pennsylvania) is purchasing significantly reduced carbon footprint raw materials from BASF Corp. (Southfield, Michigan) for its decorative paints production in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), demonstrating the shared commitment of both companies to drive down Scope 3 emissions.

Signaling AkzoNobel’s intent to deliver more lower carbon products into the mainstream, the agreement involves the company using BASF’s biomass balanced (BMB) ingredients, which don’t require any new formulations or changes to existing paint manufacturing processes. The end result of this approach is an AkzoNobel paint with exactly the same quality and performance, but with a reduced carbon footprint of at least 5%.

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BASF replaces the fossil-based feedstock in the ingredients it supplies to AkzoNobel with renewable resources such as bionaphtha and biomethane via a mass balance approach. This mass balance approach is certified by an independent third party. It means AkzoNobel can purchase BASF’s acrylic binder (one of the main ingredients in decorative paints) with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

AkzoNobel in the U.K. is already preparing to launch its upgraded Dulux Easycare range — using the reduced CO₂ ingredients — during Q2 2025. It’s the first time the company has used certified mass balanced products (replacing fossil fuels with renewable raw materials) for an acrylic binder.

“We can’t drive the reduction of Scope 3 carbon emissions by ourselves, that’s why collaboration is so important,” says Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s director of sustainability. “Partnerships like this play a key role in making change happen quicker and teaming up with BASF will help us create a scalable approach to more sustainable solutions.”

AkzoNobel is also working to achieve RedCert certification for all relevant production sites in Europe, a recognized mass balance standard for the chemical industry.