Sustainability
Responsible business is a prerequisite of Tikkurila operations and sustainable development is integrated into Tikkurila strategy. Through high-quality products and services and our professional expertise, we protect the environment, enhance the sustainability of building stock and infrastructure, and make spaces more beautiful, thus having a positive impact on the living environment and people’s well-being.
For decades, Tikkurila has persistently developed and promoted high-quality surface treatment solutions that are safe for both people and the environment. Throughout our operations, quality, durability and safety are our guiding principles. We want to ensure that our operations comply with the norms and standards of international and national responsible business and that we work with business partners who share similar values.
Tikkurila’s Corporate Responsibility program “A Colorful Tomorrow” provides Tikkurila with a framework for responsible and sustainable development. We promote sustainable development and take environmental, financial and social aspects into account in our daily work as well as in our strategic business development and in strengthening our market position.
The demands of our customers increase and their purchase behaviour changes, the legislation becomes more stringent, and different trends, such as climate change, increasingly affect our business operations. Therefore, we take into account the world around us, global shifts, sustainable development and people’s needs in developing our operations and products.
The sustainability promises are:
We drive our portfolio towards maximized performance with minimum environmental impact.
We improve and protect air quality with our products and professional services.
We drive at better resource efficiency with quality, safety and durability on top of our minds.
We are a responsible and active partner in our communities.
The main environmental effects of paint during its life cycle have been identified as raw materials and packaging materials production, energy used during the manufacturing of the product, emissions and wastes generated during the manufacture, as well as the distribution of raw materials, packaging materials and finished products, compounds evaporating (VOC emissions) from the paint during painting and drying, and the disposal of paint waste.
Tikkurila aims to continuously minimize the environmental impact of its operations and products, for instance, by developing products that extend the service life of the painted item and allow for longer maintenance painting intervals. Furthermore, we promote the use of water-borne products and select the options which burden the environment less, whenever it is technically and financially possible. We also work to develop the resource efficiency of our production processes by minimizing loss and increasing the reuse of waste. In 2018, the share of water-borne products in production was 75.2%. In 2018, 85% of decorative paints in sales were water-borne products.
Without protection, our cities and houses along our home streets would deteriorate, and without colours, our homes and environments would look bleak. Painting has a positive effect on our surroundings and its aesthetics. Paints make our living environment more beautiful and increase our well-being in a number of ways. Paints also protect surfaces from premature ageing, rotting, rust and corrosion. A longer service life reduces the load on the environment and creates savings in costs and natural resources since structures do not have to be replaced so often. Surface treatment can also make surfaces more hygienic and easier to clean, increase water vapour permeability, and improve fire-retardation and water and chemical resistance.
Water-borne paints are low-emission paints that ensure better indoor air quality and smaller health risks.
What is more, water-borne paints are nearly odourless, which means that it is safe to be in the painted room soon after painting.
Water-borne paints are proven to be safe, and using them is easy, as they dry fast and the painting tools can be washed with water breathability.
The higher the water vapour permeability of the product, the more breathable it is.
Tikkurila interior products are breathable.
High-quality raw materials.
All Tikkurila products are made from high-quality raw materials. We always select raw materials which have the least possible impact on the environment.
Our raw materials and raw materials suppliers are carefully selected and we aim to ensure that the operations of our suppliers are responsible.
Certified operations.
Nearly all Tikkurila production facilities are certified either in accordance with the environmental, quality and/or occupational health and safety management system standards.
Eco-labelled products.
Several hundred Tikkurila Group products have been eco-labelled. The Nordic ecolabel, the Swan, is a testimony to the proven safety and environmental effects of the product. What is more, a Swan-labeled product is durable. Its technical quality – such as adhesion, wear-resistance and hiding power – has been tested and verified. The M1 certification granted to products by the Finnish Building Information Foundation guarantees low emissions. The products that have been granted the allergy label by the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation meet stringent product-specific criteria and do not contain fragrances, irritants and other allergy-causing agents.
Paints are awarded international eco-labels (the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, EU Ecolabel) and national allergy and asthma labels or M1 classification measuring compounds emitted into the air from building materials for interior use. Tikkurila Group has more than 300 eco-labelled products.
The eco-labels and classifications increase the knowledge regarding environmental and health impacts of paints and their product characteristics as well as indicate the proven safety characteristics. They help and guide consumers in their purchase decisions. The ecolabels and classifications awarded to paints are a testimony to the proven safety and environmental effects of the product.
Climate change is one of the global megatrends that guides our operations at Tikkurila, and we take that into account in our strategy work and development of business operations.
Tikkurila wants to mitigate climate change and its impacts on our operations and through our products. We have defined that the following areas have the most significant effects on mitigating climate change from the viewpoint of Tikkurila’s operations: a selection of raw materials, resource efficiency and environmental safety of our production processes as well as protection and longer life-cycle of the built environment.
We pay particular attention to our products’ raw material choices – we are continuously looking for safer alternatives in terms of health and the environment, we are studying the use of renewable raw materials, and almost all our consumer products are water-borne. Our water-borne products are almost odour-free and easy to use, and they dry quickly.
Our objective is to continuously reduce the environmental impacts of our operations, for example through using natural resources sparingly and by streamlining our production processes and production sites’ resource efficiency in order to reduce environmental impacts, emissions, material loss and waste of our production. We also pay attention to water use, cleaning and reuse in our processes, and promote recycling and reuse of materials in our operations. Furthermore, we study the opportunities of the circular economy paint business. We monitor our resource efficiency targets in our internal HSE audits, among others.
Environmental protection is an integral part of our operations, and it has direct impacts on climate change. Key areas of focus include air protection, wastewater (reduction, compliance and appropriate treatment), waste management and ground protection. The environmental safety of production processes is monitored in internal HSE audits.
Painting and surface treatment has a remarkable effect on the protection and longer service life of the built environment. A longer service life reduces the load on the environment and creates savings in costs and natural resources since structures do not have to be replaced so often. We guide and train our customers and increase their know-how on safe and durable painting. We protect and decorate the built environment also through social welfare projects and community initiatives within our Sustainable Beauty program for social responsibility.
In addition, Tikkurila influences actively EU-level and national paint industry associations. We want to enhance the quality of painting, increase the use of environmentally sustainable products, and improve product and user safety.