New Pollutants: A "Must-Answer Question" for the Powder Coating Industry

At a time when environmental protection requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects Involving New Pollutants in Key Industries", which is like a bombshell, causing a strong shock in the powder coating industry. This "test" not only tests the compliance ability of enterprises, but also quietly reshapes the competitive pattern and development logic of the industry, prompting the powder coating industry to embark on the road of change from "passive compliance" to "active transformation".

New Pollutants: A "Must-Answer Question" for the Powder Coating Industry

New pollutants, as chemical substances with biotoxicity, environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, etc., but have not yet been included in routine environmental management, are clearly included in the scope of control by the Opinions. The 14 categories of substances in the "List of Key Controlled New Pollutants (2023 Edition)", the list of toxic and harmful pollutants and the annexed substances of the "Stockholm Convention" have all become the key objects of control, and the provisions of "construction projects that do not meet the requirements of new pollutant control will not be approved" have drawn a strict red line for the powder coating industry.

The triple pressure of raw materials, processes and costs

From project approval to production, the impact of new pollutant control policies on the powder coating industry is everywhere. During the project approval process, new construction, renovation or expansion projects involving the production or use of new pollutants prohibited in the list will be directly rejected, and the expansion plan of traditional solvent-based powder coatings containing high VOCs or other prohibited substances will be blocked. At the source of production, enterprises must start from the selection of raw materials and process optimization to reduce the generation of new pollutants, and the traditional production mode that relies on heavy metal additives or solvents that are easy to release persistent organic pollutants needs to be changed urgently. In terms of emission and monitoring, enterprises need to ensure that new pollutants are stably discharged up to standards, included in the management of pollutant discharge permits, and regularly carry out self-monitoring of substances that meet the monitoring conditions to accept real-time supervision. This series of measures has completely broken the inherent model of "focusing on end treatment and light source prevention and control" in the powder coating industry in the past.

However, the implementation of policies has also brought many challenges to enterprises. When it comes to raw material procurement, companies have had to abandon their price-driven sourcing strategy in favor of rigorous "environmental audits" of suppliers, which not only cost a lot of time, but also face a shortage of high-quality raw materials and rising procurement costs, as evidenced by the fact that environmentally friendly resins are 10% to 20% more expensive than traditional products. In terms of production process, in order to meet the requirements of new pollutant emission reduction, enterprises must upgrade technology, and the transformation of waste gas treatment process and formula adjustment require a lot of capital and technology, and the cost of a single production line transformation is as high as millions of yuan. In terms of environmental monitoring, the establishment of a whole-process monitoring system has led to a continuous increase in the compliance costs of enterprises in terms of equipment purchase, staffing and third-party entrustment, and the annual monitoring and compliance costs of small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to increase by 30% to 50%.

Opportunities in the crisis: green transformation activates new momentum for the industry

But crises often go hand in hand with opportunities. The green transformation has brought new development momentum to the powder coating industry. Green products have gradually changed from "compliance just needs" to "market selling points", and environmental protection products such as water-based powder coatings, high-solids powder coatings, and heavy metal-free additives systems have become R&D hotspots, and the order volume of a leading enterprise has increased by 40% year-on-year after the water-based powder coating production line has been put into operation. In terms of brand premium, companies that have passed the new pollutant control certification can turn their environmental protection advantages into market competitiveness and gain a higher market share in specific market segments. In the field of technological innovation, the industry-university-research cooperation between enterprises and universities and scientific research institutions has been deepened, and the new technologies jointly developed not only improve the efficiency of pollutant treatment, but also reduce costs, and promote the development of the industry in the direction of high-end and intelligence.

How can enterprises hand over the "green answer sheet"?

In the face of the challenges and opportunities brought by the control of new pollutants, powder coating companies should take the initiative to find a way to break the situation. Strengthen internal management, establish a whole-process management system, set up a full-time environmental protection department, and build a solid line of defense for environmental protection through digital tracking and employee training. Increase R&D investment, invest 3%-5% of annual revenue in environmental protection technology R&D, participate in the formulation of industry standards, and control the right to speak. Deepen policy coordination, take the initiative to connect with ecological and environmental departments and industry associations, share technical experience, and reduce transformation costs. Tell the "environmental protection story" well, convey the concept and results of environmental protection to customers and society in a variety of ways, and enhance brand value.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment's "New Pollutant Control Order" is a comprehensive inspection of the powder coating industry, and it is an important opportunity to promote the upgrading of the industry. Those companies that can break through in this green test will surely occupy a favorable position in the future wave of green economy and reap policy dividends and market share. When "green" truly becomes the background color of the powder coating industry, the industry will also usher in a new future of high-quality development.