FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions, please also find our glossary at the bottom of this page.

General - Product information - Terms - Glossary

General

What is the difference between CO2 and CO2e?

It is not just CO2 that is released when burning fuel or producing raw material or products. Also other Greenhouse gases are released like Methane CH4, and Nitrogen oxides N2O etc. These gases warm our planet more than CO2 and a way of expressing this is to talk about CO2e which means emission of all Greenhouse gases not just CO2. We use CO2e in all our calculations.

What benefits do I have by switching to S-W plant-based coatings?

S-W water-based plant-based coatings contain 40% plant-based materials. There are many benefits by switching to plant-based products. Our cradle to gate lifecycle analysis shows customers can reduce dependency on fossil based raw materials, the VOCs of our waterbased plant-based coatings range has lower VOC and our plant-based products can reduce the Carbon Footprint potential by up to 40%.

How much is 10 metric tons of CO2e equal too?

It’s equivalent to driving 4,5 cars for one year or driving one petrol powered car 84 000 km.

What does plant-based mean?

It means that some of the raw materials for our resins originates from plant-based sources, as opposed to fossil fuel sources. For our water-based plant-based products range, up to 40% comes from plant based sources, including [soybean oil, food waste, castor oil, technical corn, etc…].

What does CFP mean?

CFP means Carbon Footprint which is the amount of CO2e that is released into the atmosphere because of the activities of a person, an organization or a product being made. It is expressed in kg CO2e.

Product information

Can you give an example of what renewable raw materials are used to make our Biobased products?

There are a lot of different raw materials used. Some examples are Soyabean oil, fermentation of food waste and molasses.

What difference is there between fossil-based SB, WB and UV products in CFP?

Using the CFP for coating 1 m2, WB has been estimated to reduce CO2 emission potential by half and UV is down to 1/3 compared to SB products. Biobased WB and UV products has even smaller CFP.

Why do the WB Bio raw materials have a lower VOC?

They are usually made with a more modern production technology which means less use of VOC and no harmful substances during manufacturing.

Can we have Biobased for Solvent based (SB) products too?

No, we have concentrated on WB, WBUV and UV products since they reduce the carbon footprint emission potential by up to [50%] vs Solvent based products already from the start. Making water-based products, plant-based offers an additional 30-40% reduction in CFP potential.

Does Biobased have the same performance as fossil-based products?

Yes, we have more than 250 biobased products in our range right now and all of them has been verified to have the same performance as the fossil-based version.

Why don’t we use cradle to grave in our calculations?

Cradle to gate focuses on the key elements of coating production over which we have the most control.  We have chosen to do the calculations based on what we know and can influence as part of our sourcing, development, manufacturing and logistics processes.

What is the LCA for the S-W product I am using?

Our Sustainability team* can calculate the LCA for all of our products.

What Carbon Footprint Potential (CFP) are our Bio-Based products estimated to have?

For most WB, WBUV and UV products our cradle to gate LCA shows CFP potential is around 30-40% lower compared to standard fossil based products. For example CFP for a white pigmented fossil-based WB topcoat is around 2 kg CO2e per kg product. CFG for an equivalent fossil-based SB topcoat is around 4 kg CO2e per kg product.

What C14 content do our products have?

For 1k WB products we will have up to 40% C14. For WBUV we will have up to 20% and for UV it will be up to 10%. To see the exact value please look in our TDS.

Term explanation

What does cradle to gate mean?

It’s the total CFP being generated from our suppliers making the raw material and we make the product until it leaves our warehouse.

What does Mass balance (MB) mean?

Mass balance MB, It’s about mixing fossil and renewable or recycled raw materials (RMs) in a factory. Those paying for MB will get a certificate they are buying renewable RMs. Requires 3rd party audits for verification of certification. Very small amounts of C14 can be detected since it’s being distributed in everything that is being made. Only the party paying for MB will get the certificate. Same principle as Green/renewable electricity. We are not using MB right now. Only raw material with C14 that can be detected with an analysis.

What does C14 means?

Carbon 14 is an isotope of normal Carbon 12 which indicates that it is of renewable origin. Fossil based products only contain C12.

Glossary

Biobased: A product that is made of partly renewable raw materials usually vegetables.

Carbon neutrality: Means a state of net zero CO2 emissions. Can usually be achieved by a combination of Carbon offsetting and Reducing emissions.

Carbon Offsetting: A process to avoiding greenhouse gas emissions or removing CO2 from the atmosphere to make up for emissions elsewhere.

Carbon Footprint (CFP): Total greenhouse gas emissions (usually CO2 in kg) caused by a person or product etc.

Cradle to gate: It’s the total CFP being generated from our suppliers making the raw material and we make the product until it leaves our Warehouse.

Cradle to grave: A companies perspective on the environmental impact created by their products or activities from the beginning of its life cycle to its end or disposal of the product.

CO2: Carbon dioxide, a natural occurring gas that is necessary for photo synthesis when plants consume CO2. It is also the most significant long-lived Green House gas (GHG) in Earth`s atmosphere. Amount has increased significantly during last 50 years primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation.

CO2e: It is pronounced Carbon dioxide equivalents and takes into account all Greenhouse gases that is released. It gives a more correct view of the environmental impact of a product. We use this unit in all our calculations.

Emissions: substances usually pollutants being released into the air

Ethically sourced: Means a product or service that is obtained in an ethical way which includes decent working conditions, health and safety, good business ethics, upholding rights etc.

EU Green deal: EU Green deal that wants EU to reduce CFP by approx. 50% by 2030 and be climate neutral by 2050.

Fossil based: Products made from petrochemicals , oil and gas that has been pumped up from the ground.

Greenhouse gas (GHG): Any gas in the atmosphere that absorb and re-emits heat and thereby keeps the planet´s atmosphere warmer than it otherwise would be. Most common gas is CO2, and it is emitted when burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas and also emissions from human and animal activities. Other gases are

LCA: Life cycle analysis is a process of evaluating the effect a product has on the environment over the entire period of its life. Can be a product or a process.

Mass balance MB: It’s about mixing fossil and renewable or recycled raw materials (RMs) in a factory. Those paying for MB will get a certificate they are buying renewable RMs. Requires 3ed party audits for verification of certification. Very small amounts of C14 can be detected since it’s being distributed in everything that is being made. Only the party paying for MB will get the certificate. Same principle as Green/renewable electricity.

Plant based: A product that is based on Raw materials from plants which usually means vegetables that does not compete with human food chain.

Paris Agreement: It’s a worldwide agreement that was signed by 191 countries + EU in 2015 and its goal is to keep the global temp increase below 2oC

Petrochemicals: Chemicals made from Fossil oil or gas

Renewable: A natural resource that is not depleted when used

Sustainability: Sustainability means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

VOC: Volatile organic compounds, usually means solvents in our industry.