b'painting the town greenResenebeganitsgreenapproachlongbeforeitwasthetopical issueitistoday.Inthe1950s,thecompanyrstintroduced waterbornepainttothelocalmarket(itshardtobelievethat beforethat,allpaintwassolventborne).Resenewasalsotherst NewZealandpaintcompanytoofferanextensiverangeof Environmental Choice approved paints in 1996.Environmental Choice is a programme endorsed by the Ministry for the Environment aimed at improving the quality of the environment by minimising the adverse environmental impacts generated by the production, distribution, use and disposal of products.Resene Environmental Choice paints make it easy for customers to make sustainable purchases because they are from the existing range of Resene paints so dont cost any more. One of the environmental baddies of paint is VOCs (volatile organic It was the rst time that the colour chart supplier hadcompounds) which are emitted from surface coatings, including many been asked to help develop sustainable stock options, andstandard household paints, and have been shown to deplete ozone. nding paper stocks that would stand up to the demandsThe average per litre VOC levels of Resene paint sales have dropped by of colour chart production was a surprisingly slow process.more than 90% in the past two decades and in 2007, Resene Zylone Many sustainable paper stocks are too lightweight toSheen VOC Free was introduced, followed by a VOC free ceiling paint withstand the twisting and pulling of colour chips. Afterand wallboard sealer this year.numerous production trials, stocks were conrmed andReseneevaluatesallkeyrawmaterialsandpaysapremiumfor have begun to be used.ingredients that have demonstrably less impact on the environment. ResenecolourchartsarenishedinEnvironmentalFor example, titanium oxide is purchased from suppliers who use the Choice approved Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, Reseneleast wasteful processing techniques.SpaceCote Flat, Resene Enamacryl Metallic and ReseneResene has also worked hard to make its paints last longer and have Non-Skid Deck & Path, while the remainder are nisheda positive impact on the entire building environment. For example, in waterborne inks. Not only do the Resene paints giveResene Cool Colours are exterior paints formulated to reect solar heat a truer representation of the actual colour, but they alsothat would normally be absorbed, thereby reducing substrate stress reduce solvent emissions compared to traditional solvent- and improving paint longevity. Lower heat absorption in a building borne lacquers. This is a stark contrast to overseas colourexterior means your home is more comfortably cooler in summer. chart production, where much of the colour chart market isstillbasedondirectdepositcolourswatchesusingAndtocompletethesustainabilitycycle,Reseneintroducedthe solventborne lacquers. world-rstinnovativepaintrecoveryandrecyclingprogramme called Resene PaintWise in 2004. Any old paint of any brand can be AndtoroundoutResenesresponsibleapproachtoreturned to Resene for responsible recycling. Many thousands of cans the environment, this very magazine is wrapped in ahave already been returned with paint donations going to community special biodegradable plastic when posted to all of itsgroup projects throughout the country and to cover unwanted grafti.cardholders.See www.resene.co.nz/paintwise.htm for details. ReseneResene SymphonyLucky Break| 123'