Industrial residue is being used by AkzoNobel in Brazil as a more sustainable raw material for making paint.

Nearly a third of the total residue generated during industrial effluent treatment at the Mauá plant in São Paulo goes into the manufacture of Coral Pinta Piso floor paint. As well as helping to eliminate landfill disposal, it’s also contributing to the preservation of natural resources.

“This is a fantastic initiative which will play an important role in helping us achieve our ambition of 100% circular use of materials in our own operations by 2030,” said Wijnand Bruinsma, AkzoNobel’s Director of Sustainability. “In 2024 alone, the initiative contributed to the reduction of around 272 tons of CO₂ emissions – equivalent to the amount produced by nearly 400 cars over the course of a year*.”

At AkzoNobel’s Mauá facility in São Paulo, the on-site wastewater treatment plant (pictured on the right) enables industrial residue to be reused as a more sustainable raw material for making paint.

Industrial residue is the waste formed after the treatment of industrial wastewater. Currently, around 30% of the total treated residue in Mauá (which is free from sanitary or biological sewage) is used to formulate the Coral Pinta Piso line of paint. Following the quality control process, any residue not suitable for use in the product is transformed into briquettes for energy recovery. 

Although legislation allows the site’s liquid effluent to be treated and disposed of in a watercourse, AkzoNobel has invested in the treatment plant in recent years, which allows 100% of the treated water to be reused in processes and products.

Coral Pinta Piso is suitable for areas with a high flow of people, both indoors and outdoors. It’s part of a segment that saw an 8.5% increase in its share of the paint market in 2024, according to recent data from ABRAFATI (the Brazilian Paint Manufacturers Association).

In addition to Brazil, the product is sold in several other countries, including Bolivia, Paraguay and Suriname.

The Mauá site uniquely sits within a large area of Brazilian rainforest known as the Tangará Reserve. Since 2007, the company has been restoring 70 hectares of the reserve to native woodland in an effort to safeguard the fragile ecosystem.


*Assuming the cars drive an average of 20km a day. Source: Brazilian Vehicle Labeling Program, published by Inmetro (National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology).