The role of coatings is to protect and enhance the surface. The better the coatings protect, the longer the substrate can last before replacement. The most important contribution paint companies like Resene can make is to create paints that use low-impact ingredients yet are as durable and long-lasting as possible. And for specifiers, their critical contribution is choosing coatings that maximise substrate protection and maximise durability while minimising environmental harm.

That’s why Resene focuses its new product development on Environmental Choice approved products, which are waterbased, lower in VOC and odour and easier to clean up and reuse application tools for other projects. Resene has the most extensive range of Environmental Choice products, with everything from interior and exterior paints to wood stains and clear finishes. Resene CoolColour paints and stains are designed to reflect more heat, keeping coatings and buildings cooler.

Rather than focusing on just one product in isolation, Resene is also working on an organisational carbon project to measure and reduce carbon that will bring benefits across the suite of Resene products. Resene products are manufactured right here in New Zealand reducing the distance the finished goods need to travel to reach kiwi customers.

Carbon doesn’t just apply to the product itself, it also applies to its installation. That’s why Resene has a nationwide network of sustainability minded professional painters, known as Resene Eco.Decorators. These Resene Eco.Decorators provide a quality paint finish, while working hard to focus on Environmental Choice paint use, minimising paint waste and minimising wash water using the Resene WashWise system, reducing their carbon footprint vs more toxic and wasteful processes.

Once the project is done, the Resene PaintWise recycling service, the only paint return service accredited by the Ministry for the Environment, takes care of the unwanted paint packaging and paint waste for you. The returns are recycled and reused in New Zealand — no waste is sent offshore. Recycled plastic packaging is made into ‘new’ 100% recycled pails, recycled cans are reused in metal manufacture, solventborne paint is reused as a product in other industries and the waterborne paint is donated to councils and community groups to cover graffiti. Over 250,000L of paint has been donated, enough to cover over 2 square million metres of graffiti. In over 15 years of running this programme, over 6 million packs have been returned and recycled.

Resene has also started working with Soft Plastics New Zealand to provide a soft plastics recycling service to help customers to reduce the burden of other plastic waste.

Resene’s commitment also extends to helping the community in which Resene operates. Resene has been working with Trees that Count, a New Zealand organisation focused on planting native trees for local habitat regeneration, through the Resene Paint It Green programme. The trees planted from the Resene Paint it Green programme are estimated to remove 470 tonnes of carbon, with more trees being planted annually.

And to help customers get further involved, Resene is also working with Carbon Click to give customers a way to offset carbon in their purchases.