Construction plays a significant role in solving the climate challenge. Sustainable development, responsibility, and environmental effects have entered the focus in construction. Even though the environmental impact of paint is relatively small, our goal is to systematically reduce the share of harmful and fossil substances without compromising on the protective features of the paint or increasing the required amount of paint. We also develop products according to established standards and guidelines.
Eco-labels make it easier to choose products responsibly. At Tikkurila, we have over 350 eco-labelled products with international or national eco-labels, allergy labels, or M1 classification.
The EU Ecolabel is a label of environmental excellence used in the European Union. It is awarded to products or services that are environmentally friendly and of high quality; for example, water and energy consumption, waste production, and the use of non-renewable resources are minimised in the manufacturing process of a product.
In 1997, Tikkurila’s waterborne Joker was the first Finnish paint to receive the EU Ecolabel. In 1996, our Swedish paint brand Alcro was granted its first EU Ecolabel.
The Swan is the official Nordic Eco-label. It helps customers to choose environmentally friendly products and encourages manufacturers and service providers to provide such products and services. Paints carrying the Nordic Swan Ecolabel comply with strict environmental and quality requirements throughout their whole life cycle. The authorities must be provided with the complete recipe of the paint and comprehensive information of its ingredients.
In 2006, Tikkurila in Sweden was the first Swedish company to receive the Swan Ecolabel for its interior products. In 2009, we received the eco-label for our exterior paints. In Finland, we were granted the first Swan Eco-labels for our interior paints Joker and Remontti-Ässä in 2011.
With the help of the Allergy Label - granted by the Finnish Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation - customers can select products that do not usually irritate or sensitise skin or cause other allergy and asthma reactions. The label is awarded to products that comply with strict product-specific requirements and do not contain fragrances or other irritating or sensitising substances. There are strict requirements for exact paint formulas and product specifications. Different countries have individual criteria for their local allergy and asthma labels.
All construction materials used for indoor spaces, including paints, can be classified according to their emissions. The Finnish Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate has published an indoor air classification that divides products into three categories: M1, M2, and M3.
The M1-label is only awarded to the lowest-emitting building materials, whereas the emissions of M3-materials are the highest. Finland's Building Information Foundation awards the M1-label to products through testing by an authorised test laboratory and sensory evaluation. More and more of Tikkurila’s products have the M1-label.
