Last November TfS welcomed its 40^th member allnex. In this interview Lauri Wogschin, SVP Procurement allnex, explains his company’s vision on sustainable supply chains, the rationale for joining TfS, the contribution allnex plans to make to the initiative and much more.

Q: Can you briefly describe your company?

allnex is a global company with over €2.4 billion revenue in 2021. We are a leading producer of coating resins and additives for industrial, protective, automotive, architectural and special purpose coatings and inks. With manufacturing facilities and R&D centers located around the world, the allnex group offers access to a very large global network of innovation and provides responsive, local support to our customers, helping them to quickly bring advanced coating solutions to market. Formed in 2016 by the merger of two leading resin companies, we‘ve recently further strengthened our business and reach by becoming part of the major international chemical producer PTT Global Chemical.

 Q: What is your view on sustainability in supply chains globally?

Sustainability has many dimensions, ranging from environmental impact considerations via social issues to economic and technological advancements. As we jointly strive for “raising the sustainability bar” across entire supply chains, we need to develop a united understanding of the goals we try to achieve, standardise the means we wish to employ to achieve these goals and collaborate in their execution to maximise the impact we can have. Joining forces with fellow partners across the entire network will be the most effective way to put us on this critical path and allow us to make an even bigger impact in the future, driving meaningful change.

Q: Please describe your approach to sustainable procurement

The allnex global sustainability program firmly stands on 5 pillars. One of these pillars entails sustainable sourcing and describes the way we interact with our large network of more than 3000 suppliers globally. Selecting the right partners to support our business by means of our global supplier evaluation program, we increasingly focus on their responsible conduct, their carbon footprint reduction initiatives as well as their efforts on pursuing a comprehensive ESG agenda of their own. These activities allow us to not only manage risk in a proactive manner but also helps to capture value-creation opportunities. Meanwhile, allnex prepares a Scope 3 reduction target of its own and develops a sustainable energy strategy for all its plants globally.

Q: What does allnex expect to gain from the TfS membership, how do you see the mid-to long term benefits from TfS membership?

As ESG-related topics further evolve, so do the requirements for participants across many industries. While we strongly advocate for additional improvement of these procedures and standards, we are also keen on finding a way to efficiently execute on those already in place. TfS will be pivotal in this path for allnex, as we are given the opportunity to align our policies and procedures with best practices in the industry while getting to connect and exchange with industry-leading experts. Finally, we are keen on making our voice heard in further driving the definition of future industry standards and jointly with our partners finding efficient ways of enforcing continuously increasing ESG standards.

Q: What is your vision on the new PCF Guideline developed by TfS; its opportunities for an organisation like allnex?

Harmonisation is an important aspect for our industry. In that regard developing a standardised method was an imperative first step, as it reduces variability and provides us with more accurate data on the actual carbon footprint of our products. Standardisation also allows us to directly compare different technologies and product offers, making it easier to identify improvement potentials and reducing complexity as we strive to continuously reduce the environmental footprint of our products.

Q: TfS is a member-driven initiative: TfS members actively contribute to the TfS initiative, driving it forward and shaping the future of the chemical industry. Where do you see allnex contributing to the TfS initiative, also take the sustainability expertise or your organisation into account?

First of all, being a part of a major international Chemical Group (PTT Global Chemical) that ranked # 1 for 4 consecutive years in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, allnex can provide an extended outlook on the sustainability topic from an Asia perspective. Secondly, with dedicated R&D resources on sustainability, a global sustainability strategy, many sustainable product alternatives for coating materials on offer and a large supplier base working jointly with us on further optimising our environmental footprint, allnex will be, on its own,  a strong advocate and driving force in “raising the bar” on sustainability.

 Q: Any closing remarks?

I would like to thank you for giving allnex the opportunity to join and contribute on this important aspect for the future development of our industry. We are a proud new member of the family and strongly committed to the principles established by TfS.