Driving Sustainable Innovation

PCI Magazine recently had the opportunity to interview Clariant’s Stefan Brejc, global vice president of Segment Coatings & Adhesives, about the evolving challenges and innovations shaping the coatings industry. In this conversation, Brejc discusses the industry’s ongoing shift toward sustainability, including the push for PFAS-free alternatives, the integration of low-carbon raw materials and the role of regulatory changes in driving innovation. He highlights how Clariant is proactively addressing these challenges through strategic product development and sustainability-driven innovation. Brejc’s insights offer a detailed look at the market forces, technological advancements and future opportunities that are redefining the coatings industry.

 

What are some of the most pressing market challenges that the coatings industry faces today?

We’re seeing an interesting shift in the market right now. After an extended period of de-stocking, markets are beginning to show signs of recovery. This creates challenges in the supply chain, particularly in ensuring timely delivery of products that are in short supply. Looking at the bigger picture, however, our industry faces a more fundamental challenge: the need to replace chemicals with environmental concerns and high carbon footprints with more sustainable alternatives.

 

How have you seen the concept of sustainability evolve over recent years, both within the industry and globally?

In the past, sustainability was mostly about compliance — a box to tick to meet regulations — often seen as a cost. Today, it’s a core strategy and a competitive advantage. It has moved from niche to mainstream, driven by consumer demand and investor focus on ESG metrics. Companies now see sustainability as a driver of innovation and value creation, shifting from reactive measures to proactive, global responsibility. This evolution is transforming industries, making sustainability integral to long-term success.

Sustainability has moved from being a buzzword to a fundamental license to operate in the chemical industry. We’re seeing increasing demands from customers and shareholders for sustainable products. At Clariant, we’ve integrated this into our core business, with strict guidelines for phasing out unsustainable products and an annual review of our product sustainability. Importantly, sustainability now guides our entire approach to innovation. It’s embedded in our innovation processes and decision-making, steering us toward developing more sustainable solutions.

 

Challenges often provide opportunities for innovation. Can you share examples of where you have seen this happen within the industry?

Absolutely. While I’m relatively new to the coatings industry, my career has focused on navigating challenges and driving innovation in various areas of catalysis. Many industries, including coatings, share common themes when it comes to innovation — such as R&D project steering, portfolio management and the fast market introduction of new solutions.
 
 In coatings and adhesives, we’ve seen how regulations and sustainability requirements can actually drive remarkable innovation. Take melamine, for example. It’s a substance of concern in certain coatings, but this challenge has driven us to develop melamine-free alternatives in passive fire protection.
 
 Another great example is our recent innovation in waxes. Clariant has introduced waxes based on rice bran wax, which not only have a significantly lower carbon footprint — up to 80% lower than traditional waxes — but are also derived from renewable sources that don’t compete with food production.

 

Regarding modern challenges, such as finding PTFE-free alternatives, where are you seeing the research and innovation going?

The industry is at a turning point, driven by growing regulatory pressure, environmental concerns and consumer demand for sustainable solutions. PTFE, a high-performing fluoropolymer, is part of the PFAS family, often called "forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment and potential health impacts. As regulations tighten, companies are innovating to replace these materials while maintaining performance standards.

This is an area where we’ve taken decisive action. In 2023, Clariant made the strategic decision to discontinue the sale of PTFE-containing waxes, as PTFE/PFAS are classified as persistent chemicals. Since then, we’ve focused our innovation efforts on developing alternative PTFE-free wax solutions, especially for applications in printing inks and powder coatings. This represents our commitment to finding sustainable alternatives without compromising performance.

 

Clariant recently identified three key innovation arenas: focusing on health- and sustainability-conscious consumers and brands, energy transition, and circularity. How do these align with the challenges and opportunities you’re seeing in the coatings industry?

Clariant has identified innovation arenas to help steer resource allocation within the organization and drive our innovation processes. The coatings industry is uniquely positioned to contribute to these innovation priorities.

Looking at our recent developments, we’re seeing significant alignment, particularly in sustainability-driven innovation. Our development of additives to enable recycling, melamine-free formulations, PFAS-free alternatives and our breakthrough with low-carbon-footprint rice bran wax products directly address these key arenas of innovation. These developments aren’t just about meeting regulatory requirements — they’re about anticipating future market needs and providing solutions that meet both environmental and performance requirements.

 

Could you share specific examples of how Clariant is addressing these challenges through innovations, particularly in areas like PFAS-free alternatives and sustainable raw materials?

Our approach to PFAS-free solutions is a perfect example of how we’re tackling these challenges head-on. Rather than waiting for regulatory pressure, we took a proactive stance by announcing the phase-out of PFAS-containing products. At the same time, we introduced innovative PFAS-free alternatives that are now either implemented or in the customer qualification phase.

This decision has had a catalytic effect across the industry — it’s prompted our customers to change their formulations, and we see other industry suppliers following suit. While there’s still work to be done, the market response and customer adoption rates have been extremely encouraging. It’s a clear demonstration of how sustainability leadership can drive industry-wide change.

 

Your team has launched several sustainable solutions. How do these products support both environmental goals and performance requirements?

Our new wax and polymer products represent exactly what we’re looking for — solutions that deliver both sustainability and performance. The rice bran waxes, for example, offer our customers a significant reduction in product carbon footprint — up to 80% — and are made from fully bio-based, renewable raw materials with a Renewable Carbon Index (RCI) of over 98%. This means that more than 98% of the carbon content comes from renewable, plant-based sources rather than fossil fuels. What’s particularly exciting is that we’ve achieved this while maintaining the high performance of conventional alternatives.

Similarly, our Terra products offer like-for-like drop-in solutions for hot melt adhesives and coatings while being derived from renewable resources with mass balance certification.

It’s important to us that we don’t ask our customers to compromise. They can make a more sustainable choice while maintaining the performance standards they need. This uncompromising approach to sustainability is at the heart of our innovation strategy.