TechFocus B Seminars

When the Formulation Hits the Market: Delivering Sustainable Coatings Without Losing Performance or Trust, explores the gap between formulated performance and real-world application. Drawing on perspectives from raw material suppliers, technical service teams, and end users, it addresses performance gaps in low-VOC and PFAS-free systems and how companies manage customer trust when sustainability trade-offs become visible in the field.

This workshop examines what happens after sustainable coating formulations move beyond decision-making and into real-world use during production, application, and long-term performance.

It highlights a common gap: products that meet sustainability and regulatory goals on paper can face unexpected challenges when scaled up or applied in the field. The focus is on practical realities such as performance inconsistencies, application variability, durability concerns, and how these issues affect customer trust, warranties, and liability.

The session opens with a “reality check,” outlining where promising formulations often fall short once deployed, and emphasising the disconnect between laboratory results and real-world conditions. It then moves into case-led perspectives, where contributors share first hand experiences covering both successes and challenges to illustrate how expectations and limitations play out in practice.

A panel discussion explores key tensions, including performance gaps in newer sustainable systems, the balance between durability and sustainability claims, and the challenges of maintaining quality and consistency during application. It also addresses how companies communicate with customers and manage risk when trade-offs become visible.

The workshop concludes with an interactive problem-solving session, where participants bring real scenarios and receive practical, experience-based advice. Overall, the session is designed to help organisations better manage the transition from formulation to market, ensuring sustainable coatings perform reliably while maintaining trust.

UV radiation damages polymeric coating systems and substrates. UV Absorber additives are often included in coating formulations for protection. Traditional organic UV absorbers are consumed by exposure to solar radiation, limiting the lifetime of the coating (and some classes are coming under regulatory pressure). In contrast, inorganic UV absorbers are not consumed in situ, so extending the coating lifetime. Some inorganic types are photoactive, creating radicals which can degrade the coating and substrate.

Energenics manufactures the CerPlus® A series range of inorganic UV absorbers. The active ingredient is cerium oxide nanoparticles, a non-photoactive, non-hazardous material. Water and solvent based dispersions, both with uniform small particle size, allow transparency in coating films.

Sustainability in effect pigments can be enhanced through several key measures. Using secondary and low‑carbon aluminium significantly reduces energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Low‑VOC products such as Versalan® minimize solvent impact, while high‑coverage pigments like STAPA® HD help lower material usage. Together, these approaches reinforce ECKART’s commitment to producing efficient and sustainable effect pigments.

From Regulation to Reality: How Coatings Companies Are Making Trade-offs on Sustainability, Performance & Risk, examines how organisations are navigating reformulation decisions, managing regulatory uncertainty, and weighing sustainability commitments against performance demands. 

This workshop explores how coatings companies are navigating difficult decision-making in an environment where sustainability goals, regulatory pressures, cost, and product performance often conflict.

Rather than focusing on technical solutions or regulatory updates, it centres on how organisations make strategic choices under uncertainty. Key challenges include assessing risk, deciding when to reformulate products, determining acceptable performance trade-offs, and clarifying responsibility as regulations continue to evolve.

The session begins by framing the issue: decision-making itself has become a major bottleneck, as companies struggle to balance competing priorities. It then presents multiple industry perspectives, highlighting real-world examples of difficult decisions, unavoidable compromises, and ongoing uncertainties.

A moderated debate follows, tackling critical questions such as whether companies are acting too quickly or too slowly on reformulation, whether durability is undervalued in sustainability metrics, and how regulatory risk should be shared across the value chain. Audience interaction plays a central role in shaping the discussion.

The workshop concludes with a synthesis of insights and practical takeaways, helping participants rethink their own approaches and develop clearer, more confident decision-making frameworks in the face of ongoing uncertainty