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22
Setembro 2010
PAINT & PINTURA
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Everyone’s responsible!
Editorial
As each issue of the Paint & Pintura magazine comes out, I realize how the players in the market that
we cover are increasingly responsible and concerned with the development of products and services
that somehow contribute to the environment, which represents an extremely important evolution in
awareness.
In our report on monomers, for example, we show that companies are perfectly in tune with the
trends towards manufacturing environmentally friendlier products, using sustainable technologies
and raw materials, as well as high-solids formulations, and low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound)
or VOC-free water-based systems. The piece on specialty pigments and effect pigments reflects the
same trend. The options provided by pigment companies now include non-toxic or low-toxicity, heavy
metal-free pigments.
The paint industry is extremely active on the environmental front, as both paint manufacturers and
their suppliers of raw materials seek to develop environmentally friendly solutions, replacing mate-
rials that can in any way damage the environment with others that are more friendly to both nature
and human health.
In addition to improving their products, companies also take initiatives that further demonstrate
their environmental responsibility, such as implementing water and energy-saving processes, waste
treatment facilities, and appropriate waste disposal procedures, among other things.
Another very interesting piece of news, which was celebrated during the opening of Gabriel Advo-
gados Associados, a law firm specializing in providing consulting and legal advice on environmental
affairs, was the passing of bill no. 354, of 1989, in the Senate, which took place on August 02, 2010.
The law requires all municipalities to have plans in place for the appropriate collection and disposal
of urban solid waste, imposing obligations on consumers, manufacturers and dealers alike. Compa-
nies which produce certain items will be responsible for the reverse logistics system, i.e. the after-
consumption disposal.
Those measures will certainly contribute to a better quality of life for all. As previously announced by
Abiquim, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the chemical companies in the entity’s membership
dropped to 312 kilograms per ton of products produced in 2009, which represents a 46.2-percent de-
crease compared to 2001 levels. The industry’s use of natural resources has also fallen. The volume of
collected water decreased by 31.7 percent, from 9.22 cubic meters per ton of product in 2001 to 6.29
cubic meters in 2009. The total power consumption has been reduced by 13.5 percent, down from 420
kWh to 363 kWh per ton of product.
Let’s keep on fighting for a cause that is worth millions of lives. We need to race against time, as na-
tural resources get scarcer and endangered plant and animal species increase in number by the day,
not to mention the pollution of waters which can directly affect mankind, and the gradual increase
in the greenhouse effect and global warming.
The more the efforts towards preserving each of the aforementioned natural resources, the bigger
our chance to ensure our survival. We are all responsible for what’s happening around the world.
Let’s continue to take action to ensure a better quality of life. By doing so, we can only gain.
Enjoy reading!
Lucélia Monfardini