Sustainability in Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers (CASE), Rubber & Plastic Additives

Given their impact and usage in our everyday lives, products within the coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers (CASE), and rubber and plastic additives markets are vital in helping deliver on sustainability.

Whether by advancing technologies and formulations, closing the loop on circular economies, meeting environmental regulations, or promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the industries we serve, our CASE team of product and technical specialists is a dedicated resource to help you find and formulate sustainable solutions.

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Sustainable processes, systems, and products in CASE

Univar Solutions is committed to delivering innovations and specialty solutions to help customers improve or enhance their products or processes and meet the demand for more sustainable options. While all the included raw materials within a product or formulation may not be seen as being eco-friendly, bio-derived, or similar, we can help you source the latest specialty chemicals and ingredients with the right attributes for your needs.

Sustainable solutions can deliver performance requirements to a sustainable system or product which cannot be achieved otherwise and are key to helping advance areas such as energy efficiency, lightweighting, infrastructure longevity, and personal safety.

Energy efficiency is a key focus area for anyone tackling sustainability, climate change, or general environmental improvements. Univar Solutions supplier partners and customers provide key systems which lend to a more sustainable energy footprint through existing and developing innovations. Spray polyurethane foam is an example of high efficiency insulation which can help reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling by 40-60%.

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3 ways CASE is contributing to sustainability

1. Extending the life span of maintenance coatings

The longevity of maintenance coatings is not always top of mind when it comes to environmental improvements, but it should be a major topic if one is trying to act sustainably in their community. Take for example metal bridges and general infrastructure. These structures must be coated to prevent rust and corrosion, but oftentimes for beautification and appearance standards in communities. Given the size and scale, coating these forms can be a major undertaking requiring huge amounts of chemicals, very high cost, and a lot of labor. Additionally, safety is a major factor given the heights and configurations involved. By developing direct-to-metal and other substrate maintenance coatings with longer life spans, we drastically reduce the impact of these key sustainability criteria.

2. Recyclability, resource reuse, and circularity in packaging and materials

Recyclability, resource reuse, and circularity in packaging and materials continues to be front of mind for many when they think about moving toward a more environmentally friendly community – especially when we think about the exponential growth in usage since the birth of plastics. Plastics in general can present an opportunity for sustainability in packaging in many end use products when it comes to development facets such as lightweighting. Univar Solutions and our supplier partners are finding ways to create a circular economy when it comes to plastics. A straight-line life cycle for plastics is not beneficial to our planet. To aid in this process, we provide plastic additives which act as compatibilizers and efficiency boosters when incorporating post-consumer and recycled plastic resin in new products and components.

3. Lightweighting vehicles to reduce energy consumption

Lastly, the lightweighting of vehicles has gained much attention in the world of sustainability given its symbiotic relationship to the above issues of energy consumption and recycled content. Roughly 80% of the products which come from a barrel of oil go into fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Therefore, efforts are constantly being made to improve fuel efficiency in transportation. Lightweighting vehicles through plastic additives in place of heavier and less pliable materials provides a vital role in this efficiency endeavor. Similarly, demand for composites such as fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP) and carbon fiber continue to grow for use in vehicles of all types to reduce weight. Finally, adhesives of all types are being employed to a greater degree for lightweight, strong, and versatile connectivity. Mechanical fastening tends to be heavier and more rigid, whereas adhesives have a near endless degree of formulating potential and cover the spectrum of performance criteria. We and our supplier partners help enable our customers to develop next-generation adhesives to help bond us to a brighter future.

Univar Solutions renewable energy exploration - Nikola Motor electric trucks

Watch as Nikola Motor electric trucks enter our private fleet to help drive carbon reduction efforts