The 2025 CoatingsTech Conference offers a platform for coatings professionals to collaborate, learn, and drive the future of the industry, focusing on sustainable, healthier formulations that meet societal and environmental demands
Focus on the Future
The American Coatings Association’s 2025 Coatings Tech Conference presents a unique opportunity for coatings professionals at all levels to engage, learn, and collaborate. With a theme of “Coatings and Technologies for a Resilient Future,” the conference focuses on addressing current challenges and trends while highlighting the growing demand for more sustainable, healthier formulations that meet both societal needs and environmental standards.
The conference will offer attendees a chance to explore the latest advancements in coatings science and technology, providing invaluable insights into technology-forcing factors that will help the industry set a sustainable trajectory.
Third-Party Certification
As more end-customers and consumers become aware of the negative environmental and health impact of conventional paints, there is a growing need for healthier formulations that are friendlier for people and the planet. This has resulted in more manufacturers committing to being responsible corporate citizens by voluntarily submitting their paints to a third party for independent testing against strict certification standards for the benefit of customers and the environment.
Many manufacturers don’t disclose all the ingredients of their paint, to protect IP and/or innovation, making avoiding particular ingredients a difficult task for the consumer.
Third-party certification programs are one way to allow consumers to identify a more suitable product. It is advised, for example, that people with sensitivities to certain chemicals and those impacted by asthma and allergies limit exposure to VOCs as much as possible (though considering their potential harmful effects, it is better that everyone limits exposure to these chemicals). The voluntary pursuit of certification can act as a trusted authority for these consumers.
In essence, an independent third-party certification builds consumer trust, acts as a powerful marketing tool, and helps navigate regulatory complexities.
Empowering the Healthier Buildings Movement with Healthier Formulations
The healthier buildings movement is a powerful and growing phenomenon that was born of societal demands for healthier materials for people and the planet. But healthier buildings are constructed from thousands of individual components, and if these components don’t support a healthier environment, then the concept fails.
Sick Building Syndrome, linked to symptoms caused by poor indoor air quality and off-gassing from materials, highlights the urgent need for healthier alternatives. Certified paints and coatings play a fundamnetal role in this transformation. By reducing exposure to VOCs and other irritants, Certified paints support healthier indoor environments and demonstrate how manufacturers can lead the way in building a truly healthier future.
The Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program
The Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program takes a balanced approach when certifying products. We look at the full range of how a product can impact a person in the built environment. We want to identify paints that do not contain ingredients that are unnecessarily harmful, and we want to make sure that any necessary chemicals that could cause a harmful reaction are present at as low a level as is needed for them to function.
Unlike many standard tests and certifications that only look at VOC emissions after a 10-day conditioning period, we measure VOC levels at 24 and 336 hours after application as we believe it’s important that VOC levels should remain low from the outset. We also test the performance of a paint, so it must pass standardized performance tests.
At the recent American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAI ) meeting, one of the standout products featured was Benjamin Moore’s Eco Spec® paint, which meets the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification criteria for low VOC emissions. During the event, Leah McInerney, Client Success Manager for the Certification Program, spoke with Edja Kouassi, Senior Technical Project Manager at Benjamin Moore, about the company’s commitment to improving indoor air quality.
According to Kouassi:
“Benjamin Moore has a strong reputation for innovation in the paint technology space. Eco Spec® is a product that meets the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® certification criteria for low VOC emissions, which confirms the attributes we talk about with this product. Having a third party like the certification program confirm this is very important for us.”
The Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification has been approved by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED® Building Rating System, making it a qualified third-party certification for the LEED v4.1 low-emitting materials credit. LEED is a widely used green building rating system run by the USGBC, and provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings. Certified products also comply with WELL Feature X06 Part 1b4, making them a very attractive option for those in the growing cohort in the building industry wishing to achieve WELL Certification.
Industry Leaders Driving Innovation and Certification
Many forward-thinking manufacturers will attend the CoatingsTech Conference eager to learn and collaborate to shape the future of the coatings industry. Paint components that align with certification standards or boast approval for use in low-emitting paints are very attractive, presenting an appealing proposition for companies seeking to streamline the certification process and amplify their commitment to sustainability and healthier formulations.
Major industry leaders like True Value, Master Paint, AkzoNobel, Nippon Paint, Samhwa, Carpoly, and Benjamin Moore have already achieved this certification, showing their commitment to a healthier future. With their focus on the planet, preservation, and people, they are paving the way for all paint manufacturers and are providing an opportunity for raw material manufacturers to support their innovation.
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