Sustainability

We can help you reduce your environmental footprint

Sustainability

IFS Powder Coatings – The Environmentally Responsible Choice

IFS powder coatings really are the environmentally responsible choice. There are many sustainability advantages over competing products such as liquid PVDF paints or anodizing. Choosing a sustainable option which will give you the same level of performance, is available in the same colors and effects, and can also be customized to what you need, is a no brainer.
What's more, IFS Coatings' architectural range have achieved manufacturers Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for third party verification that enables you to meet your sustainability objectives.

Here are just some of the reasons powder coatings will bring a sustainable advantage to your product, regardless of your industry:

Low/Negligible VOCs

There are no solvents and therefore no or extremely low VOCs in powder coatings.

Single Coat

Powder coatings achieve the same or better levels of chemical, mechanical and weathering performance than liquid coatings, but in a single coat. This means you save on product, time and energy.

Reclaim and Reuse

Any powder over spray can be reclaimed and reused or recycled. This gives up to a 97% utilization rate from a box of powder. Can you reclaim liquid paints? No.

Less Energy Usage

Powders often cure at lower temperatures than liquid architectural coatings, which means a reduced energy bill. What’s more, the need to recycle air in the spray booth is significantly reduced (due to the lack of solvents), which also results in decreased energy usage.

Lower Carbon Dioxide Emissions

In a life cycle analysis (DSM study), powder coatings were shown to have both lower VOC and lower carbon dioxide emissions than liquid coatings.

No Hazardous Waste

There is no toxic waste generated during the powder application process. This means we are not creating toxic landfill with powder coatings.

Easy, non-hazardous disposal = reduced cost

There is no need to remove hazardous solvents as there is no sludge or waste to remove – reducing cost and improving production time.

Sustainability Initiatives

With our manufacturers EPDs, using IFS powder coatings can help contribute to sustainability initiatives such as LEED. With the same level of exterior durability, chemical and mechanical performance, as well as a vast range of colors and choices, it’s easy to make the environmentally responsible choice. See below for a chart that compares liquid, anodizing and powder coating in all the categories LEED requires you to report on.

EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends powder coatings as a sustainable coating option.

Check out the results of this coatings Life Cycle Analysis covering all sustainability categories required by LEED. When it comes to being the environmentally responsible choice, there’s no competition.

Choice of Pre-Treatment

For architectural or exterior applications that require long term weatherability, you have a choice of pre-treatment options with powder. Yes, you can use a chrome-based pre-treatment for aluminum just like traditional liquid PVDF paints. But you can also choose a non-chrome pre-treatment, and still benefit from AAMA 2605 performance levels - and a warranty.

No Chrome-Based Primer Required

For architectural applications, powder offers yet another environmentally responsible advantage. Where as many as 70% of traditional PVDF liquid factory applied paints require a chrome-based primer on aluminum, IFS powder coatings do not. So, no chrome (and yes, chrome isn't great – think Erin Brockovich) primer, in fact, 99% of the time, no primer is need at all over properly pre-treated aluminum.

Environmental Product Declarations

We have manufacturers EPDs for each of our architectural products. We also have Health Product Declarations for our interior products - contact us for more info.