– The move towards the utilisation of water in preference to oil as a medium for painting is a testament to the innovative approach of Flügger. Our goal is to be innovative, not just on our own behalf, but to benefit the painter by offering them confidence in the quality and conscience behind the finished product, says Anette Beck, SVP for Product, Innovation and Purchasing.

– There is something essential at stake for our industry in these years, which require our attention. To this end, we are making significant investments to meet these demands, challenging ourselves to create value for painters and society alike. 93% of our Flügger products are either Nordic Swan Ecolabelled or EU Flower-certified, indicating significant progress. But the journey does not stop here: By 2030, we aim for all our paints to be 100% eco-labelled.

The Sustainability Dilemma

Earlier this year, Flügger launched its ‘Flügger Organic’ strategy. In addition to focusing on organic growth, the strategy includes a number of areas where the environmental profile must be further improved. This presents a dilemma for Flügger and Anette Beck. The question arises of whether to develop products and encourage market growth in a direction that it may not be ready for. The answer may seem surprising at first.

– Our objective is for our customers to be able to envision themselves on the same trajectory as the company. This is why we adopt a pragmatic approach to our product development and related sustainability. We only develop products that make a difference – but if the customer isn’t ready for it, we’ve missed the mark. At Flügger, it is our responsibility to find the right balance, says Anette Beck, who continues:

– The legislation is becoming more complex and comprehensive. That is why it is our job to help the professional painter. We do this by creating complete solutions from spackle, primer, paint and top coat that are eco-labelled and work well together. This way it becomes less complicated to fulfil all the requirements – and as we see it, the market is ready for just that.

CSRD also affects the painting manager

However, a green light is on the horizon. Recently, CSRD was implemented across the EU. While it was designed to have a direct impact on the largest companies, it will also have a significant effect on small and medium-sized companies when it comes to providing data to the construction industry value chain.

– With CSRD and building certification schemes, the major players in the construction industry automatically place high demands on the rest of the value chain. This requires painters to be able to present an even greater amount of qualified documentation on a project. As a result, easily accessible and simple documentation is a core task for us at Flügger, says Anette Beck, before she concludes.

– Among other things, we have environmental product declarations (EPDs) on all our own-produced liquid products, and this ensures data validity on behalf of our customers when they need to report. The painter can easily and simply retrieve the documentation in Flügger Document Manager, both for the individual product and for the entire project. By doing so, we help support the documentation burden for the painter. If we don’t, the SME painter could potentially end up being disadvantaged in the market.