Globally, the economic downturn this year has been rather depressing, and the coatings industry has suffered through a year of contraction and discouraging news. We have two major coatings sectors that have been seriously impacted – automotive and new home construction, affecting the architectural and appliance coating markets. The industry has been doing all it can to look at alternate raw materials, processes and energy/cost saving measures while at the same time being innovative, green and sustainable. No easy task!

Globally, the economic downturn this year has been rather depressing, and the coatings industry has suffered through a year of contraction and discouraging news. We have two major coatings sectors that have been seriously impacted – automotive and new home construction, affecting the architectural and appliance coating markets. The industry has been doing all it can to look at alternate raw materials, processes and energy/cost saving measures while at the same time being innovative, green and sustainable. No easy task!

ABRAFATI 2009 quite successfully concluded its Coatings Show and Congress in Brazil. “The intense participation of the leading professionals and companies, and the focus on technological innovation and sustainability allow us to say that the event has made an important contribution for us to see the pathways and trends that will lead to the coatings of the future,” summarized Dilson Ferreira, ABRAFATI’s Executive President.

The atmosphere in Brazil was optimistic indeed, with emphasis on the industry’s willingness to innovate, seek new raw materials, processes, products, technologies and equipment that will provide the best results while reducing environmental impact. The Congress was marked by high-quality content with emphasis on sustainability and nanotechnology. Plenary sessions stood out, as Fernando Peres, Commercial Director of Sherwin-Williams, Luis Fernández, Global Vice-President of Dow Coating Materials, and Lewis Manring, DuPont’s Technology Vice-President, brought information and in-depth analyses about the future of coatings and the challenges for the production chain.

So just what does sustainable mean? The most widely quoted definition internationally is the “Brundtland definition” of the 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development – that sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (EPA’s Region 10 Sustainability website provides more information on definitions and history of “Sustainability.”)

The importance of sustainability is highlighted in this issue of PCI in a feature presented by DuPont. I would strongly urge everyone to read this article, as it stresses the importance and necessity of corporate sustainability for commercial success in the coatings industry. Environmental sustainability does not have to necessarily increase cost – it can often improve product quality and reduce cost. Sometimes our mindset is that all of these programs are only going to increase cost and have little productive benefit. That has been true in some cases, and quite often we have just market spin and jargon. But sustainability can be achieved, and sustainable companies will survive the bleak times and often grow much stronger. Do read this article for a great perspective on what we are facing in the challenges of today’s environment.