The role of  
coil coatings 
in building a 
sustainable 
environment

Regulatory landscape
In its 2021 report (AR6), The Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC – the UN’s 
body for assessing the science related to 
climate change) stated that human activity 
has without doubt warmed the atmosphere, 
ocean and land, resulting in unprecedented 
changes to our planet. It warned that unless 
there is a significant reduction in CO2 and 
other greenhouse emissions soon, the global 
temperature will rise by 1.5°C to 2°C (2.7°F) 
and lead to more extreme weather. The 
report indicated that these conditions would 
have dramatic adverse consequences for 
both human society and the wider planetary 
ecosystem. The IPCC also reported that this 
can be avoided through a concerted joint  
effort by humanity, particularly industry,  
to reduce greenhouse emissions.
In response, around the world, ESG 
reporting standards are becoming more 
standardized and mandatory. In Europe for 
example, the introduction of the corporate 
sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) has 
been introduced. By 2025, over 50,000 
organizations, including 4,000 non-EU 
organizations with large EU operations,  
must report and comply with the new  
ESG standards. Their sustainability data  
across the entire business value chain can, 
subject to materiality, include CO2 emissions, 
waste reduction, and the use of hazardous  
raw materials classified as substances of 
concern (SoC). 
In other regions, countries such as the US, 
Hong Kong, and Singapore currently have 
comply-or-explain policies. Additionally, 
the IFRS (International Financial Reporting 
Standards) Foundation has established the 
International Sustainability Standards Board  
to develop an ESG reporting framework  
which is likely to be adopted alongside its 
existing standards in 144 countries. 
To meet these new regulations at home 
and abroad, companies will have to choose 
better practices and processes to reduce 
their own environmental impact and review 
the environmental footprint of their upstream 
suppliers and downstream customers. 
There will also be a rising expectation of 
suppliers to inform their customers of less 
harmful solutions and guide them towards 
more sustainable products and business 
practices, there is a growing need to explore 
a path to achieving a more sustainable built 
environment without sacrificing performance
Governmental bodies around the world are increasing regulation to push the industry towards achieving net 
zero by 2050. Many companies in the construction industry, including architects and specifiers, now face 
the challenge of managing and measuring their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance 
so that they can provide regulators, customers and suppliers with crucial data. 
These companies also face the added complexity of key raw 
materials used in coil coatings being re-classified due to their negative 
environmental and societal impact. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 
such as PVDF and PVF fluoro-polymers, which coat roofs and metal 
components of buildings, may be partially or completely banned in  
some areas within a few years so alternatives will need to be adopted. 
There are many challenges to producers and consumers of metal 
building materials and acting as a good global citizen is no longer simply 
a competitive advantage for any organization; it is a business imperative 
that will ultimately decide who wins and who loses in business. 
This document aims to increase these stakeholders’ understanding of 
the current changes, the reasons for the change and what action can  
be taken to remain compliant and competitive. 
2
Introduction

3
Reporting and reducing 
CO2 emissions
Companies will need to report the annual 
reductions in carbon emissions based on 
carbon footprint calculations from cradle 
to grave and cradle to gate. Suppliers 
will need to provide their customers with 
emission data for all products sold. 
Coatings suppliers like AkzoNobel can 
provide coil and extrusion manufacturers 
with the carbon and emissions data 
for their coatings. Coil and extrusion 
manufacturers can then use these in 
reporting their Scope 3 emissions and 
share with architects, suppliers, and 
construction companies when asked. 
Fig. 1 – An illustration of the emissions reporting data AkzoNobel collects, 
reports, and provides its customers 
One tool used to understand the climate change impact of a product or product 
family is a Life Cycle Assessment. It provides an estimate of the expected  
greenhouse gas contribution as well as other environmental impacts like ecotoxicity. 
In 2019, CEPE (the European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink, and Artists' Colours 
Industry) published a life cycle assessment for 1 square meter of coated steel 
cladding. Figure 2 shows the amount of CO2 equivalents generated during its 
manufacture. What becomes clear is that 90% of CO2 emissions result from steel 
production (cradle to gate). However, the metal can be recycled at the end of the 
product lifecycle, and is recovered for new applications and avoids the high carbon 
footprint processes of virgin steel.
Fig. 2 – CEPE’s Emissions Life Cycle Assessment  
of steel cladding
The relative energy consumption of coatings is also 
comparatively small, much of it coming from the curing 
process. AkzoNobel continuously strives to reduce the 
energy consumption in all areas of coatings manufacturing, 
which reduces its own Scope 3 downstream, and a coil 
coater’s Scope 1 and potentially Scope 2.
Majority of energy used to create steel, but recovered  
at end of life when recycled.
Fig. 3 – How Coil Manufactures can reduce their Scope 1 emissions  
now and in the future.
In the short term, to reduce the Scope 1 emissions, coil coaters can increase the 
energy efficiency during production and minimize the amount of coating that is 
wasted. In the medium term, AkzoNobel is developing products that can be cured 
at lower peak metal temperatures to save energy. Coaters can reduce energy 
consumption by switching to infrared and induction-type ovens. In development 
over the longer term are coatings that could be cured using electron beam radiation, 
which is estimated to reduce energy consumption by 5-9 times compared to thermal 
ovens. (See figure 3).
*Radtech Report 2012.
2019 CEPE Life Cycle Assessment
1m2 of insulated cladding panel applied in a building.
Energy Reduction Options

4
Despite the looming regulations, energy 
consumption is, however, not falling. In fact, 
according to the UN's Environment  
Programme 2022 Global Status Report1 in 
2021, the buildings and construction sector 
had its largest total energy consumption and 
CO2 emissions increase in 10 years, and 
unless things change, it is unlikely to achieve 
decarbonization by 2050. 
The route to more sustainable building 
practices should begin at the design stage. 
Yet a 2022 study by the Architects’ Council 
of Europe2 found that only 16% of architects 
frequently use almost zero energy designs,  
and only 12% incorporate ‘circular’ design. 
Circularity is focused on reducing, reusing,  
and recycling materials. Metal substrates  
can be infinitely recycled, but the coating on  
them cannot. So, reducing the amount of  
coating used and wasted at all stages of 
constructing metal building components is 
critical to keeping the environmental footprint  
of coatings to a minimum.
Coatings manufacturers like AkzoNobel, for 
example, strive for a ‘right first time’ approach, 
using accurate dosing units, reusing excess 
material, and implementing digital tools to help 
assess and improve efficiencies. Coil coaters are 
seeking advances in digital inventory tracking, 
to help with just-in-time delivery. This will help 
reduce the need to over-order, store and 
potentially discard or waste excess coating. 
Many of these advances involve digitizing  
color. AkzoNobel’s coil and extrusion coatings 
can be viewed on its Canopy app. The colors 
can be reliably tested on various surfaces,  
and buildings and using different finishes.  
This digital process replaces the early stage  
of finding the desired color and reduces  
the need to make physical panels for the 
customer to review. Currently, AkzoNobel 
makes thousands of color matches every  
year and creates sample panels for customers. 
As the color sampling technology improves, 
color scans will replace all the physical panels 
currently used and shipped, not only reducing 
waste and emissions but also time.
Sustainability and circularity 
of the built environment
1. https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction. 2.The Architectural Profession in Europe 2022 Sector Study.
3. https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/cities-are-often-10-15-degc-hotter-their-rural-surroundings-2022-07-25_en
Creating cool buildings to reduce CO2
Coated metal components can also help the built environment 
achieve net zero in situ. Modern cool chemistry coatings,  
such as those designed by AkzoNobel, use heat-reflective 
pigments to help insulate buildings against hot or cold weather. 
Cool chemistry coatings lower the temperature of a typical 
roof, for example, by around 20°C/36°F. The insulating effects 
minimize the use of air conditioning or heating, lowering energy 
consumption and CO2 emissions and consequently helping  
coil coaters, specifiers, building and construction industry 
reduce their Scope 3 downstream emissions. AkzoNobel’s  
cool chemistry coatings comply with the sustainability ratings 
for the United States Green Building Council’s LEED (leadership  
in energy and environmental design) green building certification 
developed by the United States Green Building Council's.
Cooling buildings and infrastructure in this way also helps to 
reduce the urban heat island effect. Built structures absorb 
and re-emit the sun’s heat, raising the temperature in towns 
and cities 10-15°C/18-27°F higher than the surrounding 
countryside3. The higher temperature heats up water run-
off from buildings and streets, which warms rivers, harming 
biodiversity in the local environment and secondly the higher 
temperature increases energy consumption and CO2 emissions 
of buildings.
But the most significant potential contribution to sustainability 
and achieving net zero is reducing the amount of new buildings 
and new building material being used, created by renovating 
and reusing buildings and materials. International Resource 
Panel (IRP) suggests this is the most urgent priority, along  
with designing new building stock to last as long as possible. 
The metal substrates in buildings can be recycled repeatedly  
if they are protected during the lifetime of the building.  
Coatings systems help to do that. 
But herein lies a fundamental conflict to achieving sustainability 
in the built environment. The IRP also recommends 
policymakers encourage greater use of non-toxic, sustainable, 
renewable materials and processes. Traditional coil coatings, 
the very thing that prevents the corrosion and collapse 
of metal building structures for up to 40 years and allows 
metal substrates to be recycled and reused, are made 
using Fluoropolymers (FPs), which are SoC’s (substances of 
concern). Coil and extrusion manufacturers will need to advise 
their customers on selecting the best solution based on SoCs 
and their sustainability ambitions.

5
Traditionally, the best-performing coatings 
are Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) based. 
These fluoropolymer (FP) coatings can protect 
buildings in extreme environmental conditions 
such as salty marine or hot sandy desert 
locations for up to 40 years or more. It is why 
FP-based coatings are a popular choice with 
architects and building specifiers alike.
However, PVDF and another common 
resin, Fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE), are 
PFAS—a broad class of chemicals being called 
into question due to the potential hazards 
they pose to the environment. PFAS can 
bioaccumulate over time in humans, animals, 
and the environment. 
Restricted use was first seen in 2016 
when the National Toxicology Program 
concluded two classes of PFAS chemicals, 
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), and PFOS 
(Perfluorooctane Sulfonate) were harmful to 
the human immune system. Today, in the US 
all PFAS are being banned in food packaging 
and their future is under scrutiny by numerous 
agencies such as the EPA (Environmental 
Protection Agency). 
Fluoropolymers 
are enduring 
The discussion on PFAS
There are between 9,000 and 10,000 
chemicals categorized as PFAS. They are 
called ‘forever’ chemicals because they can 
bioaccumulate over time in the human body 
and in the environment. But opinions differ 
about whether all PFAS are harmful. Different 
formulations and chemical compositions mean 
some molecules are less enduring and less 
toxic. Also, how people are exposed to them 
alters how harmful they can be; chemicals in 
the drinking water are more potent than paint 
on a roof, for instance.
In 2016 the National Toxicology Program 
concluded two classes of PFAS chemicals, 
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), and PFOS 
(Perfluorooctane Sulfonate) were harmful to  
the human immune system, and today their 
use is restricted or banned worldwide.  
In the US all PFAS are being banned in food 
packaging and water, and their future is under 
scrutiny by numerous agencies such as the 
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).  
The National Institute of Environmental  
Health Sciences' (NIEHS)4 and the EPA are 
currently analyzing 100 PFAS to find common 
toxicity patterns and identify which chemicals 
are hazardous.
The European Commission is planning to  
go a step further and ban the whole class  
of PFAS chemicals. If it does, it would be 
among the most radical chemical legislation 
ever proposed. The American Chemical 
Council says Europe's approach disregards 
individual chemistries’ unique properties.  
Some suggest fluoropolymers (aside from 
the already restricted PFOS or PFOA) which 
are included in the broad definition of PFAS 
have not been shown to be harmful. Other 
manufacturers like 3M have already declared 
they will stop all PFAS and fluoropolymer 
manufacturing or use by 2025.
The ECHA’s scientific committee is consulting 
and will advise the EU Commission on how 
wide the ban should be or whether, for certain 
uses, 12-year exemptions could be allowed. 
Those exemptions may include EV batteries, 
hybrid engines, renewable energy installations, 
semiconductors, and medical devices, as they 
are fundamental to EU policy on achieving net 
zero carbon emissions. Member states could 
then introduce legislation by 2026 or 2027. 
Any exempt PFAS will need to be included in 
companies' ESG reporting, along with CO2 
emissions. All along the supply chain, coating 
manufacturers and coaters, builders, and 
developers, and building owners will need 
to report as part of the EU’s push towards 
sustainability across all industries.
In the metal construction industry, 
high-performance coil coatings 
are used to enhance and protect 
the steel and aluminum substrates 
of metal roofs and building panels 
from corrosion and can withstand 
wear and tear, resist color fading 
and the chalking effects of UV 
light and high temperatures. 
Thus protected, the substrate 
can be recovered and recycled.
4. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm#:~:text=What%20Are%20PFAS%3F,ingredients%20
in%20various%20everyday%20products.

6
However, Silicone Modified Polyester (SMP) 
coatings have improved over the decades and 
are much closer to the durability of PVDF and 
FEVE coatings. SMP systems can yield tough, 
highly scratch resistant coatings which can 
help prevent the corrosion of metal building 
components. Polyester (PE) and polyurethane 
(PU) based coatings are often available at a 
lower cost than PVDF and FEVE coatings.
Interestingly the OECD reported that in 2021, 
phasing out FP-based coatings would be 
possible because their use was fairly low in 
Europe and the Americas (less than 20% 
of coatings) with Asia using FPs the most 
(between 24% and 50%). It also found that  
other sectors use alternative coatings.
For coil coaters, PVDF coatings are used to 
improve the durability of metal structures. 
Coated steel and aluminum are known for 
their resistance to weathering and extended 
life of building materials. The durability 
provided by these PVDF coatings means less 
maintenance and delay in having to replace 
them. PVDF coatings are also used to improve 
manufacturing efficiencies. With that in mind, 
AkzoNobel has developed coating options  
that do not contain PVDF or FEVE (PFAS 
based) resins but do meet the coating 
performance and processing needs specified 
by coil coaters and architects.
A recent OECD5 report cites 
research conducted by the 
University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee which found that 
while the upfront cost of 
FP (FEVE)-based coatings 
were over 25% more than 
a polyurethane system, 
after three decades, there 
was a total cost saving of 
16% because it didn’t need 
recoating as frequently. 
Coatings have evolved over the 
years and today perform well in 
almost all circumstances. SMPs 
for example, have improved and 
now offer improved color retention 
and film integrity. The most 
advanced SMPs, when used with 
high-grade pigments, can be as 
good as PVDF and FEVE.
Are there real 
PFAS substitutes? 
What substitutes for 
PVDF and FEVE are available?
AkzoNobel has continued to improve 
coatings performance through its Global 
Weathering Program. Panels prepared with 
newer formulations are sent to multiple 
weathering sites across the globe and color 
and corrosion performance is tracked for years 
– sometimes over decades. Results are used 
to drive innovation and improve the coating’s 
performance. AkzoNobel’s CERAM-A-STAR® 
1050, for example, is an SMP that has a 
warranty of up to 30-years against chalking  
and fade, and a warranty of up to 40 years  
for film integrity. Its color stability equals that  
of 70% PVDF formulations coatings because  
of a proprietary resin combined with select  
ceramic and inorganic pigments. 
Polyester coatings can also provide a robust 
but more economical alternative. They typically 
have limited flexibility and less durability than 
PVDF/FEVE or SMPs but have good corrosion 
protection and chemical and scratch resistance 
as well as a broad color range and excellent 
forming properties. Typically, they are used  
on garage doors or building components  
with a slightly shorter expected life or in  
milder locations.
Chemically similar to polyesters, polyurethane 
coatings are more scratch resistant and are 
especially suitable for pre-painted metal.  
They can produce high-build coatings,  
which offer increased durability and improved 
corrosion and UV resistance. They are 
commonly used in the EMEA region for roof 
and wall claddings. 
5. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Alternatives in Coatings, Paints and Varnishes (CPVs) Series on Risk 
Management No. 70 Report on the Commercial Availability and Current Uses – OECD 2022.

7
The IPCC and governing bodies around 
the world are urging industries to limit their 
environmental footprint, with greening the built 
environment being a vital part of this process. 
Here sustainability not only includes reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions from the building 
and construction of the built environment  
but also throughout the value chain. It also 
includes assessing SoC's at every stage to 
improve safety, and reduce waste that is 
potentially harmful to both the environment  
and human health. 
More regulation is being introduced globally 
to drive human activity towards net zero in 
greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the  
use of SoC's as quickly as possible. 
AkzoNobel continues to monitor changes  
in regulations, and anticipate future trends  
so that more sustainable solutions are 
introduced while performance and the overall 
quality is maintained.
The removal of PFAS for example has become 
a high priority after the National Toxicology 
Program concluded two classes of PFAS 
chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, were harmful  
to the human immune system (see page 5  
'The discussion on PFAS'). 
Should PVDF and FEVE be regulated out of 
use as a result of a PFAS ban, AkzoNobel has 
developed coatings that deliver performance 
for the building and construction industry and  
maintain the manufacturing process 
characteristics necessary for coil coaters to 
produce high-quality products efficiently.
The coil coating industry also has a pivotal 
role in the building sector’s move towards 
circulatory and making the built environment 
more sustainable. Its production processes 
are already being improved with the aim of 
reducing carbon emissions which feed into  
the Scope 3 emissions of its customers.  
Coil components are created with durability 
in mind and enable the recycling and reuse of 
metal substrates, all of which are a priority for 
the circularity of existing and new buildings. 
AkzoNobel is here to help navigate the 
changing sustainability landscape. Using 
decades of coating expertise it works with 
businesses in the built environment, from 
coil coaters to architects, to create effective, 
innovative and sustainable solutions. It also 
advises organizations on how best to protect 
buildings and at the same time reduce their 
environmental impact. Together, the coatings 
and coil manufacturing industries have the 
opportunity to help architects, developers  
and specifiers in their quest to a more 
sustainable built environment.
AkzoNobel also supplies other PVDF containing coatings across the world under other trading names.
Innovating for a sustainable 
built environment

We supply the sustainable and innovative paints and 
coatings that our customers, communities – and the 
environment – are increasingly relying on. That’s why 
everything we do starts with People. Planet. Paint. 
Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, 
International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by 
customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 
150 countries and have set our sights on becoming 
the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from a 
pioneering paints company that’s committed to science-
based targets and is taking genuine action to address 
globally relevant challenges and protect future generations.
For more information please visit www.akzonobel.com
© 2024 AkzoNobel N.V. All rights reserved.
AN_205229_091123
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Author: Amanda Paterline 
Marketing Manager,  
AkzoNobel Coil and Extrusion Coatings, Americas