As regulatory pressures intensify and clients require proof of carbon reduction in the coatings that they choose, sustainability is being redefined – not as a bolt-on benefit, but as a measurable driver of performance, durability and long-term asset value.
Author: Jorrit van Rijn, Global Marketing Director of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings
Across the built environment, sustainability has moved from a ‘nice to have’ to an expectation. Evolving legislation, client demand, and the urgent need to combat climate change are all driving this shift. The sector stands at a critical crossroads where the decisions made today will shape the environmental footprint long into the future.
This shift is redefining what it means to design responsibly. It’s no longer about intention alone but about using data to measure impact, and advanced technologies to ensure long-term performance. Every specification decision – from structural elements to surface finishes – contributes to a project’s carbon and durability profile. Interpon, AkzoNobel’s powder coatings brand, is empowering architects and specifiers to navigate this transition and own their impact by choosing powder coatings that deliver commercial and operational advantage at the same time as enhanced environmental performance. It’s about reframing sustainability as a catalyst for measurable performance; helping professionals to turn environmental goals into tangible results.
The regulatory landscape: pressure as a catalyst for change
Across Europe, the net zero transition is accelerating through both policy and procurement. Frameworks such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) are tightening standards on carbon emissions, durability and recyclability. These requirements raise costs, as well as expectations for compliance and full lifecycle accountability in material selection.
For architects, this means sustainability is no longer confined to energy models or site strategies; it extends deep into the product and coatings specification process. The environmental data behind each element matters: embodied carbon, recyclability, maintenance demand, and durability are now criteria of compliance as well as design.
Yet, rather than viewing regulation as a constraint, many in the industry are using it as a driver of innovation and creation. Architects and specifiers are increasingly working with partners that can help them meet tightening standards while also delivering high performance and premium aesthetic quality. It’s within this intersection of compliance and creativity that the most progressive sustainable design is now revealing itself. By choosing materials with proven lower carbon footprints that consume less energy in the application process and that produce less waste, architects are effectively ‘future-proofing’ their projects against coming legislative shifts.
Taking responsibility in architectural specification
As regulatory expectations tighten, architects are being asked to engage more deeply with the full lifecycle impact of the materials they specify. Compliance is no longer limited to meeting baseline standards; it increasingly requires a clear understanding of how individual product choices contribute to a building’s overall environmental performance.
In this context, coatings are gaining renewed attention. No longer just a finishing layer, they play a critical role in durability, maintenance cycles, and long-term resource efficiency. This shift is encouraging a more holistic approach to specification – one that considers not only how a surface looks at completion, but how it performs over decades of use.
Advanced powder coatings, in particular, support this more responsible approach across four key areas:
- Raw material use: Reducing the reliance on finite resources such as wood, stone, metals and ceramics and utilizing innovations such as bio-attributed materials.
- Application efficiency: Maximizing material usage and reducing energy during the coating process.
- Lifecycle performance: Extending the time between maintenance or replacement, and reducing maintenance frequency.
- End-of-life recyclability: Ensuring the substrate can be easily reclaimed.
Together, these factors bring greater transparency to specification decisions. With tools such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and product carbon footprint data, architects and clients are better equipped to evaluate impact, support certification schemes such as LEED and BREEAM, and make decisions based on measurable outcomes rather than assumptions.
Innovation in action
Powder coatings are rapidly emerging as the architectural coating of choice for designers and manufacturers that are striving to meet higher environmental standards. They contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and offer near-zero waste through fully recoverable overspray.
The industry’s shifting priorities are underscored by findings from our recent Cost of Corrosion report, which surveyed 1,000 manufacturers globally about the coatings they choose to protect against corrosion. Powder coatings are used by 49% of the surveyed architects, with 73% saying that’s because they’re better for the environment, 79% stating they are safer for workforces to use, and nearly two thirds (65%) cite that they produce less waste than other coatings. Indeed, some 35% believe sustainability will soon become the primary buying factor for coatings.
Decades of innovation have made Interpon’s technology synonymous with measurable performance and long-term value. By taking a value-driven approach to sustainability, we are helping the built environment sector bridge the gap between environmental ambition and operational efficiency in three key ways:
- Sustainability that helps you perform: Eco+ portfolio – part of AkzoNobel’s most sustainable powder coating solutions – delivers lower curing temperatures, reduced energy use, longer product lifespans, minimal waste and rework, and optimized process efficiency. Eco+ Services complements this by providing data-driven insights into performance and environmental impact. Together, these benefits not only protect and enhance surfaces, but also contribute directly to bottom-line performance.
- Sustainability that powers progress: Collaboration across the value chain – from bio-attributed and lower-carbon coatings to AI-assisted line optimization and emerging technologies such as laser curing – helps manufacturers and architects stay ahead of evolving environmental targets and regulatory requirements.
- Sustainability that works for you: Verified EPDs and product carbon footprint data, delivered through Eco+ Services, provide robust performance metrics for assurance and transparency. This ensures sustainability claims are credible, measurable, and support better-informed decisions for both environmental and business outcomes.
Beyond sustainability: balancing performance, aesthetics, and longevity
A common misconception in sustainable design is that environmental performance requires an aesthetic or durability compromise. In reality, advanced coatings prove that sustainability and design excellence go hand in hand.
For example, Interpon D powder coatings deliver on-trend colour ranges, depth, texture and gloss retention demanded by leading architectural practices. Furthermore, they offer super- and hyper-durable options capable of achieving tens of years of weathering resistance. As part of the Eco+ portfolio, Interpon D coatings can also help reduce maintenance cycles, extend product lifespans and protect substrates for decades. These are all measurable forms of sustainability that contribute directly to long-term asset value.
This combination of stunning finishes combined with resilience, and verified environmental performance illustrates a broader truth: the architecture of the future will be judged not only by how it looks on completion, but also by how it endures environmentally, economically, and aesthetically over time.
Empowering architects and specifiers with better choices
Modern architects need more than compliant materials: they need partners who make sustainability practical. Through digital tools and consultancy, the Interpon team helps professionals evaluate coatings based on lifecycle carbon reduction and energy efficiency, rather than just aesthetics or cost. This shifts the manufacturer’s role from a simple supplier to a strategic partner in sustainable design.
As regulation and market demand align, measurable environmental performance is becoming a commercial advantage and a key factor in winning clients. By empowering architects to own their impact, Interpon is proving that progress is about proven results and a measure of modern architecture’s integrity. Architects who integrate measurable sustainability into their design process aren’t simply responding to regulation; they’re shaping a built environment that performs beautifully, endures responsibly, and inspires change across the entire value chain.
Learn more about how to turn environmental ambition into measurable performance: https://www.interpon.com/sustainability