AkzoNobel has hit a major climate milestone years ahead of plan, announcing it has already cut carbon emissions from its own operations by 50%—four years before its 2030 deadline.
The target, covering Scope 1 and 2 emissions and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, was set in 2020 with 2018 as the baseline. The early achievement signals how deeply sustainability has been embedded into day-to-day operations across the global coatings giant.
AkzoNobel is now operating on 100% renewable electricity across three continents—North America, Latin America, and Europe—covering 69% of its manufacturing sites. The company has also completed full renewable electricity transitions in South Africa and Vietnam, bringing the total to 92 sites powered entirely by clean energy.
One of the biggest contributors to the emissions cut is the Pilawa site in Poland. The facility has undergone a €1.7 million upgrade replacing gas boilers with heat pumps and now hosts AkzoNobel’s largest solar installation in Europe, featuring 3,551 panels and operating since 2024.
“We set out a clear vision to become carbon neutral by 2050 and we’re very proud to have taken an important step towards realizing that goal,” says Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s Director of Sustainability.
“As a leader in the global paints and coatings industry, we also aim to be recognized for our leadership in sustainability – and that’s not going to stop. Because it’s all about leading by example; managing carbon emission reduction in our own operations so we can convince the value chain to do the same.”
The company is now turning sharper focus to Scope 3 emissions across its wider value chain—a tougher challenge involving suppliers and customers, but one it says is central to its long-term climate strategy.
“We’re not just focused on our own operations,” continues Bruinsma. “We also have a 2030 ambition to halve carbon emissions across our full value chain. That’s proving to be more of a challenge, but we’re making progress and will continue to innovate with suppliers, customers and other partners as we step up our efforts around Scope 3.”
Beyond its factories, AkzoNobel is also pushing customer-side decarbonization tools, including the Eco+ Cure energy calculator from its Interpon powder coatings brand. The tool helps industrial customers reduce energy use and emissions by analyzing operational data such as gas usage, oven temperature, and throughput.
