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 Over the past 113 years, Paint & Coatings Industry magazine has evolved from a small, western journal to a global publication. 

This month, the PCI sustainability blog is going outside the realm of paint to learn from a completely different industry that has relevance for all companies in the coatings industry. The lesson comes from a founding member of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) that has boldly announced a significant change to its business model, which embraces all three pillars of Sustainability.

 A PCI reader comments about VOC testing, and what formulators should be aware of. 

The world is getting increasingly interested in determining the most sustainable ways of meeting society’s requirements for materials, products and services. Some governments are getting very active in this quest and so are consumer-driven organisations that have increasing concerns about the current ways we are all living. 

Coatings Trends & Technologies (CTT) was held September 26-27 at the Westin in Lombard, IL. Co-produced by our magazine and the Chicago Society for Coatings Technology, the event is held each September in the Chicago area. CTT continues to grow – this year welcoming 275 attendees and 56 exhibitors.

Last month, this blog received a valuable comment from Jerry Turner of Vitro Minerals. He reminded readers that glass is one of those materials that is ideally suited to recycling over and over again. With glass powders now being used in industrial primers, roof coatings and various sealants, he points out that recycled glass gives coating formulators another tool to increase their sustainability. 

 Automotive coatings involve technology that is constantly evolving, for both manufacturers and applicators. Keeping current with color preferences is certainly a key interest to coatings manufacturers. 

ABRAFATI 2013, organized by The Brazilian Association of Coatings Manufacturers, will be held September 16-18 at the Transamérica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil. This year’s event, which is expected to draw 20,000 visitors, will include the 13th International Coatings Congress and International Exhibition of Coatings Suppliers.

We have learned that every element of the product life cycle has implications for the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability, and that all three elements need to be taken into account when new products are being developed.

Sustainable development in the United States went up several notches in political priority following the recent speech on Climate Change by President Obama.