An unwavering commitment to sustainable business practices coupled with industry innovation has seen Resene Paints named New Zealand's Sustainable Business of the Year at the 2010 NZI National Sustainable Business Network Awards in Auckland tonight.

The Judges were particularly impressed by Resene's EcoDecorator programme, which despite its challenging audience of professional painters, was making great headway in encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices industry-wide.

Rachel Brown, chief executive of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), was impressed with Resene's efforts to encourage sustainable innovation in the paint industry.

The Wellington-based manufacturer of quality paints, colours and coatings also took home the Trailblazer Large and Corporate award.

NZI Sustainable Business of the Year- Resene Paints

Over 60 years, Resene has forged a reputation of excellence and quality in manufacturing quality paints, colours and coatings.

Resene’s company vision is to be respected as an ethical and sustainable company and acknowledged as the leading provider of innovative colour and paint solutions and technology. They believe in keeping things simple by entwining technological, social, environmental and business goals to build a better business with all their actions.

Just one of Resene’s five factories can consume more than 45 tons of raw materials in one day, so Resene educates both themselves and others on the environmental impacts of raw material selection and proactively purchases materials with lower environmental impacts. Recently they won and invested a $1m research prize in reducing demand on oil and gas reserves. When the Managing Director was asked to commit a further $1 million of Resene’s resources to match further funding his reply was “how could I say no?” With more than 600 staff members, even the “little things” add up, so internal purchasing practices also reflect a commitment to sustainability.

Product stewardship is a key concern for Resene. 'Paintwise' their product return scheme was conceived in 1999 and currently most Resene Colourshops take all brands of paint and packaging returns. To date more than 750,000 paint cans, 100,000kg of paint and 200,000kg of steel have been collected and/or recycled. More than 100,000 litres of waterborne paint have also been donated to community groups. No wet waterborne paint goes to landfill.

Sustainable Consumption initiatives led Resene to produce a waterborne paint with more than 50% renewable content. Resene continues to recycle around 18 tonnes of plastic every two months. They promote the reuse of plastics before considering recycling options, including using them for bulk pack options for larger customers. Smarter reverse logistics with pallets and cardboard from suppliers has greatly reduced waste to landfill. Around 1800kg per week of paper is recycled from Head Office. Through commitment to a four year process, the production team are on track to bring compactor waste in at around 100 tons for 2010 - a 37% reduction on 2006 volumes.

With retail customers, the biggest challenge is getting them to focus on sustainability as a holistic issue. To engage them with sustainable practices, Resene launched the Eco.Decorator programme. Designed to recognise a nationwide network of environmentally responsible, quality focused painting contractors, the Resene Eco.Decorator programme assesses principles for sustainable work, waste management, project plans and project sign off processes. Only contractors who successfully meet these standards can promote themselves as an authentic Resene Eco.Decorator.