Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2026 — The American Coatings Association (ACA) is pleased to announce it has released updated Product Category Rules (PCRs) for Powder Coatings and Resinous Floor Coatings. ACA initiated development of these PCRs in concert with Sustainable Minds, a software and services company that operationalizes environmental performance into mainstream product development and manufacturing in an accessible, empowering, and credible way.

ACA has made the new PCR for Powder Coatings and PCR for Resinous Floor Coatings available for free download on its website.

PCRs provide an agreed–upon framework for measuring the environmental impacts of a product based on a defined set of criteria, enabling manufacturers to conduct life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of their products in a standardized way, and publish this information in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), if they choose.

PCRs are timely and useful resources given that many sustainability guidelines and green certification programs provide preferential treatment to products with verified EPDs. Additionally, LCA results can be used to demonstrate performance attributes of products, including durability. LCA also provides paint and coating manufacturers with the opportunity to exhibit improvements in resource efficiency across the supply chain.

Notably, the PCR for Resinous Floor Coatings specifies that the type of EPD created is dependent upon whether single-layer product results or multilayer system results are used. The PCR for Powder Coatings specifies that the type of EPD created shall be cradle to gate. Moreover, this PCR requires powder coatings to be assessed as a single-layer product, as opposed to a multiple-layer system.

Both PCRs are valid for a period of five years from the date of publication. Learn more about the ACA-developed PCRs here.

The American Coatings Association (ACA) is a voluntary, nonprofit trade association working to advance the needs of the paint and coatings industry and the professionals who work in it, including: manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, distributors, and technical professionals. ACA serves as an advocate and ally for members on legislative, regulatory and judicial issues, and provides forums for the advancement and promotion of the industry and coatings science.