Reducing Hazardous substances and litter in the Baltic Sea with environmentally friendly surface protection and paints

Organisation: Tikkurila Oyj

Time: 3/1/2013 – 12/31/2014

Description:

Hazardous substances and litter pose a significant risk to the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea.
Tikkurila offers user friendly and sustainable paints and painting solutions for surface protection and decoration.
To reduce Hazardous substances and litter´ emissions to the Baltic Sea, Tikkurila commits to promote the production and use of waterborne and non-toxic surface protection products in Russia and Poland, as well as continue to further develop its leading-edge products and processes in its other market areas around Baltic Sea, and then to enroll the best practices across the Baltic Sea Region.

The promotion will include the following measures:

1. Establishment of quality paint associations in Russia and Poland. The activities of the associations will include e.g.:
– Promoting usage of user-friendly and sustainable paints that are lead chromate free.
– Setting up practical quality standards for quality paints in Russia. Members of the association can use “Quality Logo”; ‘this product has been produced according to Quality Standards set by Quality Paint Association’.

2. Training of professionals in the field in Tikkurila´s training centers, to educate participants (employees of paint wholesalers and retailers, professional painters, architects, etc.) in e.g. to understand:
– The most feasible solution for each use/application of paint
– The most sustainable paints and painting systems from the paint applicators’ point of view,
– Life cycle thinking: i.e. paint products that are most economical and environmentally
sustainable solutions in the long run

Tikkurila aims at increasing the number of people that have attended Tikkurila’s training in Russia by 10 % by the end of 2014 compared to the situation in 2012 and increasing the share of water-borne paints sold by Tikkurila in Russia (as a percentage of total sales) by 5 % by the end of 2014 compared to the situation in 2012.

3. Awareness raising regarding user friendly and sustainable surface protection solutions among retailers:
– E.g. in Russia one of the most important target of the new quality paint association to be established is to increase awareness within among retailers and consumers, since at the moment the awareness is at very low level.

Tikkurila also supports BSAG`s Baltic Sea work by donating 20 000 eur/year through the commitment period.