Sustainability Index Pushes for More Sustainable Approaches in Coatings Industry

Coatings supplier Beckers Group (Beckers) is rereleasing its Beckers Sustainability Index (BSI). With the improved version of the index, Beckers is pushing for a shift toward a more sustainable approach within the coatings industry.

In the past, indexes used in the industry have either concentrated on specifics, such as raw materials and chemicals, or have been designed for use in other industries, such as construction. With the BSI, Beckers incorporated current indexes into a tailor-made index that intends to help the industry develop more sustainable products, specifically for the coatings industry.

“We asked ourselves how we could take a more holistic approach to the sustainability of coil coatings that goes beyond carbon footprint,” says Gavin Brown, Beckers CTO. “Our answer, Beckers Sustainability Index uses existing indexes, but is designed specifically for coatings, including how they add value when applied to a surface.”

BSI was originally developed by Beckers to measure the progress toward its own sustainability targets, and to address questions from customers about various sustainability aspects of its products. With access to the BSI, stakeholders can assess every product’s performance in terms of sustainability, including life cycle analysis and carbon footprint, down to formulation level.

The idea behind BSI is to transparently map and measure the sustainability of coating systems by assessing the materials and processes used to make the coatings and how they add sustainable value to the surface where it is applied. How each product performs in two sustainability dimensions — the material and the functional — is important when rating its overall sustainability. The coatings receive a score for both dimensions, and the combined score then determines what specific sustainability category it falls into — Achiever, Improver, Qualifier or Concern.

“The categories are a clear way of illustrating the impact different products have on people, the environment and the climate,” says Christophe Perin, VP global marketing. “The ambition for everyone in the industry should be to encourage Achievers, develop Qualifiers and Improvers, and phase out Concerns.”

The methodology used for the index is based on a scientifically derived coating formulation and performance data. This confirms the BSI analysis is thorough and provides results that are consistent, accurate and reproducible. All formulation data used in BSI is also determined according to well-established, international or national scientific standards and controlled methodologies that have been used by Beckers for many years as part of its organization, management and communication of product characteristics.

The Beckers Sustainability Index has been verified by an international auditing firm. The decision to initiate a third-party review and evaluate the methodology was made in order to increase transparency and credibility.