The U.S. Paint and Coatings Industry: Addressing Climate Change Proactivity

By Alison Keane, John Hopewell

This article reviews the latest efforts of the U.S. paint and coatings industry to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions at both the state and national level. It demonstrates the industry’s strides in minimizing its environmental impact, as well as its support and preference for a national program based on a reasonable threshold for emissions limits that would preempt competing state programs for GHG reductions.

Efforts to control GHG emissions as a means of addressing climate change have taken center stage of late. While states have been leading the way, the debate has now taken hold at the federal level. On the regulatory side, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a plan to establish a nationwide system for reporting GHG emissions—a program that could serve as the basis for a federal cap on the buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases linked to global warming, which is the subject of recently drafted legislation.

One thing is certain: the promulgation of state, federal, and international measures to curb GHG emissions will affect almost every sector of the U.S. economy, particularly energy production and consumption, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and construction. While the U.S. paint and coatings industry has a relatively small carbon footprint, it is important to note that, for years, the paint and coatings industry has aggressively looked for strategies to produce products in an environmentally conscious way, without compromising product performance.

The U.S. paint and coatings industry has also partnered with EPA through NPCA/FSCT, as a participant in EPA’s Sector Strategies Program, to seek out cost-effective methods for minimizing the industry’s impact on the environment.