KREUL Farbe Grüntöne nachhaltig

New approaches in paint production

09/05/2023 |

Why do artists and creatives choose branded paint? Because it comes with trusted quality. We also aspire to make our paint climate-friendly. The KREUL brand stands for sustainable paint made in Germany.

"We see making our business sustainable as a key element. The possibilities to manage our business responsibly are growing day by day. What might not have worked out five years ago is now technically feasible and is also available at an attractive price,“ says Dr Florian Hawranek, managing partner.

 

Sustainable paint is not simply about substituting traditionally used substances with resource-saving alternatives. All company processes must be rethought and, if necessary, redesigned. Climate-friendly paint is produced on the basis of climate-friendly thinking.

 

#Re:duce

At our company base in Hallerndorf, climate-damaging CO₂ emissions have been minimized. Every year, we fill more than 5 000 000 containers with paint. Based on optimized planning, we mix large quantities of base colour daily. This is a semi-finished product from which numerous product and colour variants can be produced. This way, we reduce our energy consumption and optimize our use of raw materials. From 2020 to 2021, thanks to flexible working hours and home officing, we were able to reduce the fuel consumption of our company vehicles by 30 %.
 

#Re:use

In paint production, we use all our equipment and consumables as long as possible. Durability is important to us. For instance, we have acquired intermediate bulk containers (IBC) that we use in logistics. These are used over and over again. If we are transporting products or other things internally, we also use reusable folding boxes. 

#Re:fill

Refill rather than throwaway! Plastic waste can be reduced if you lengthen product lifetime. That is the case, for example, for pens and markers. The body and writing tip of pens are usually still in good condition even after they have run dry. We utilize this quality in that we have already equipped some pens with a refill system. We tell you which pens these are and give you more information on the refill system here.

#Re:liable

Our paints are produced in a climate-neutral process. In 2021, the ecological footprint of paint production was 920.44 t CO₂. We now recalculate our footprint on annual basis. Here, we determine the greenhouse gases produced during paint production at our single company site in Hallerndorf. Non-avoidable CO₂ emissions are offset by our support of a project for the protection of forests and wildlife. We provide further information on climate-neutral production here.

#Re:think

Paint should be sustainable. From the idea, the formulation, through production to disposal. That is why we are constantly researching what other changes and tweaks we can make. Since 2022 we have been using 100% green power. Moreover, we are looking specifically for raw materials from renewable sources. For instance, the binder used in the KREUL Glass & Porcelain line is made from vegetable oils.

#Re:cycle

We are committed to the recycling of raw materials. By using recycled materials, we can reduce the impact on the environment. That is why we are gradually switching our product containers to PCR material. The containers made of recycled plastic have been redesigned and have a better CO₂ footprint. The 250-ml container for SOLO GOYA Acrylic is already made completely of recycled plastic.  Here, we report here on what this means and why recycled plastic is classed as more sustainable