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TSC Publishes Final Paint Sustainability Guidelines for Retailers
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
After nearly a year-long process, The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) published its final Category Sustainability Profile and Key Performance Indicators for Paint on March 20. Throughout TSC’s development process, ACA worked with consortium staff and industry members to provide technical information, industry expertise, and constructive feedback as it developed sustainability measurement tools and resources for its consumer paint product category.
TSC is a nonprofit collaborative made up of diverse organizations seeking “to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability.” The consortium was launched in 2009 by Walmart in collaboration with Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas to develop sustainability measurement and reporting systems to assist retailers in improving the sustainability of the products they sell. TSC’s vision is to “drive a new generation of innovative products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.” With this vision in mind, TSC works with stakeholders to create sustainability measurement and reporting systems to guide manufacturers, retailers, and consumers.
In June 2013, TSC launched its stakeholder process to develop a sustainability profile and measurement tools for Paint, which encompasses architectural wall paint, trim paint, and primer intended for consumers, but excludes coatings applied in shop applications and to nonstationary structures such as airplanes, ships, and automobiles. Throughout this process, ACA provided TSC with a wealth of information on the sustainability attributes of paint, the paint manufacturing process, and potential environmental and social hotspots during every stage of the product’s life cycle from cradle to grave.
Development of the paint category profile began by collecting specific information on paint and its supply chain, environmental and social hotspots, and improvement opportunities. This background material was distilled into a Category Sustainability Profile, or list of sustainability hotspots and potential improvement opportunities for Paint. Finally, TSC created a list of Key Performance Indicators for paint — a list of metrics and questions to measure and track performance in the areas of waste production, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, and worker health and safety, for example.
ACA is generally pleased with the outcome of TSC’s work on paint. ACA appreciated the opportunity to provide input and highlight the tremendous progress the U.S. paint industry has already made to address sustainability challenges, from designing more durable, high-performing products to reducing VOCs and managing leftover paint through its PaintCare® program. TSC will review the Paint category again in 2015 and update this resource, if necessary.
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