AkzoNobel's Two Factories Awarded Green Factory Title

AkzoNobel recently announced that two of its decorative paint factories—AkzoNobel Paints (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and AkzoNobel Paints (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd.—have been awarded the title of "National Green Factory." These two factories have been included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's list of green manufacturing for 2024. This achievement follows the recognition of the Chengdu decorative paint factory and sets a new standard for sustainable development in the paint industry.

In promoting sustainable development, AkzoNobel actively plans the green transformation of its factories in China. The company has achieved significant results through measures such as energy conservation, emissions reduction, resource recycling, and waste management. The Shanghai and Guangzhou decorative paint factories have implemented a strategy combining self-generated and purchased renewable electricity, laying a solid foundation for achieving 100% renewable electricity operation by 2030. Additionally, both factories focus on the recycling of water resources and packaging materials through automation and digitization, thus achieving effective resource utilization and waste management.

The Shanghai decorative paint factory has installed photovoltaic power generation systems, with over 45% of its electricity sourced from clean energy, and plans to increase this proportion to over 90% by 2026. The factory has also introduced globally leading fully enclosed integrated high-speed filling production lines and performance testing laboratories, significantly enhancing capacity and reducing raw material waste. Furthermore, in 2024, the Shanghai factory established an Energy Management Center, Energy Portal, to monitor and analyze energy usage in real-time, further improving energy efficiency.

After completing two phases of solar power projects, the Guangzhou decorative paint factory's solar energy now accounts for over 55% of its total electricity consumption. The factory is currently installing new energy storage projects to further enhance its green energy usage rate by 2025. It has also pioneered advanced intelligent production processes, such as smart feeding production lines and high-speed automatic color-matching lines, significantly reducing wastewater and waste generation.

AkzoNobel's decorative paint brand, Dulux, is committed to launching innovative eco-friendly products aimed at creating healthier living spaces. In recent years, Dulux has introduced several eco-friendly products, including high-bio-based content plant paints, the first sleep-care wall paint in the paint industry, the SVOC near-zero series, and sensitive children's paints. These products come from the Shanghai and Guangzhou decorative paint factories, which focus on producing environmentally friendly low-VOC water-based paints, ensuring safety, cleanliness, and low carbon emissions during production. Both factories have obtained dual certifications for ISO 50001 energy management systems and ISO 14001 environmental management systems, fully promoting the use of 100% renewable energy.

Zhang Xudong, AkzoNobel's Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director for North Asia, stated that the addition of the two national-level green factories marks a new step for the company in its green supply chain efforts. Yin Tao, President of AkzoNobel China, emphasized that sustainable development is the company's core driving force, committing to integrate sustainable concepts into every aspect of corporate operations. By the end of December 2024, AkzoNobel will have five green factories in China, including three national-level green factories and two local green factories. The company will continue to focus on sustainable development strategies, leveraging technological innovation and model transformation to achieve a win-win situation for economic and ecological benefits, contributing to building a green, low-carbon, and circular future.