Our Paints

At Crown Paints, we don’t just want to make one or two ‘green products’, we want to become a sustainability leader. For Crown Paints, this isn’t about filling a market niche; it’s about changing the way we do business.
 

With our 200 years of experience in providing paint products, we are taking a different approach; we have analysed the carbon footprint of every single product we make. This is groundbreaking, with very few other companies anywhere having this level of knowledge across their full product range.
 

Measurement is only our first step. We have set two new Greenhouse gas emission targets, to make a strong statement about the direction we are taking as a company. Across our entire product portfolio, we intend to achieve:
 

 

Reaching our new targets will be a big challenge, and that’s as it should be, given the magnitude of the climate change problem. We don’t have all the answers about how we will get there yet, but in the coming year, we’ll be working harder than ever to drive innovation and reduce our impact across the lifecycle of our entire product range…because at Crown we realise that the carbon footprint of our products isn’t simply about our own operations, it’s also about how our suppliers operate and the way our products are used by our customers. 
 

Paints have a positive sustainable impact by preserving, protecting and enhancing substrates. Ensuring these benefits remain well ahead of any environmental cost is of utmost importance to Crown Paints, so we're always seeking ways to improve our products and what goes into them. In this regard, we're enthusiastic supporters of REACH whose mission is to monitor and control chemical products and their use. We're also taking steps to reduce the impact of our manufacturing and distribution.
 

Like all manufacturers in our industry, we're working hard to reduce levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These chemicals, such as white spirit, evaporate from paints and affect indoor air quality.

We were successful in achieving the first and second phases of VOC reduction well ahead of the 2007 and 2010 deadlines. A fine example of a product reformulated for compliance is the Crown Trade Next Generation Gloss system – delivering the high gloss, still demanded by many professional decorators, in a 2010 compliant formulation. Crown "Breatheasy" formulations are further evidence of our drive to make paints that are friendlier to the environment and to users. These minimal VOC coatings are virtually odour free.
 

We're committed to careful product stewardship and as an example, working on our own initiative, we've taken action to remove constituents called alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) in our products, because we saw them as a source of potential harm to our seas and rivers.
 

And if you view life-saving as a sustainable activity you'll be interested to know that a growing number of multi-occupancy properties in the UK are protected by Crown Trade Timonox flame retardant coatings. The advanced water based system arrests the spread of flame across wall and ceiling surfaces, providing additional time for evacuation in the event of fire, and limiting damage to property before fire fighters arrive.