Leading suppliers note that their ink customers are looking for biodegradable and renewable products, as well as reducing carbon footprint.

Sustainability is a part of everyday business life, whether it is looking to use more renewable materials or save money on manufacturing. Leading raw material suppliers to the ink industry agree that their ink manufacturing customers are seeking ways to improve their sustainability. Robert Ruckle, global marketing and sales director, Siltech Corporation, noted that everyone seems to be focusing on collecting carbon footprint data.

“We are increasingly discussing sustainability needs with our customers globally, although regional focus areas do vary,” said Susanne Struck, global head of market segment Inks for Evonik. “For example, in Europe, recyclability is a hot topic currently due to the regulatory environment.”

John Kwasneski, director of sales, Coatings, Construction & Adhesives Americas Region, Munzing, observed that ink companies are looking for new raw materials that are both biodegradable and renewable, with costs being a key consideration.

“The desire for sustainability is strong, but the push for corporate sustainability faces a major hurdle: the expectation of zero additional cost,” Kwasneski noted. “This clashes with the reality that investing in research and development, innovative raw materials, and new technologies is often necessary to achieve sustainability while preserving existing quality and technical standards.”

Rich Czarnecki, VP, Micro Powders, said that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue for many of Micro Powders’ customers. “We see growing interest and sales with our portfolio of natural and naturally derived additive powders, dispersions, and emulsions,” Czarnecki said.

Keith Condon, national sales director, Gehring-Montgomery, reported that there is a clear and growing emphasis on sustainability in discussions with ink manufacturers.

“Many key companies are prioritizing environmental impact as a key factor in their raw material selection,” Condon said. “The focus has notably shifted toward renewable resources, reduced VOC content, and materials that support a circular economy. However, there are companies that are delaying efforts on sustainability because of the cost to participate.”

Jennifer Sinsigalli, head of sales – Resins North America for BASF, noted that there is a significant and growing emphasis on sustainability, driven by brand owner goals to reduce the environmental impact of packaging materials.

“This includes efforts to reduce carbon footprint, increase circularity, and maintain compliance with new environmental regulations,” Sinsigalli added.

“Sustainability is increasingly a key focus in discussions with ink manufacturers,” said Alex Radu, technical marketing chemist at Shamrock Technologies. “It’s driven by two main factors: increasing regulatory pressure and the need to enhance brand image for their customers—primarily printers—who demand more eco-friendly solutions.”

“In our discussions with ink makers, there has been an increased emphasis on sustainability in recent years, although as dispersants are present in inks at lower concentrations than other ingredients, such as resins and pigments, there is less impact from a sustainable dispersant,” said Pat Sunderland, technical marketing manager for Lubrizol. “However, we suspect dispersants will start to see more attention in the future.”

Ink Manufacturers’ Needs

Ink companies are looking for a wide range of characteristics when they discuss sustainability with their raw material suppliers. However, one key caveat is that the performance must be equal to that of the original material.

“Ink manufacturers are not willing to sacrifice performance for sustainability, and fortunately, many of our natural and biodegradable additives demonstrate excellent performance for surface durability, lubricity, gloss reduction, and texturing,” Czarnecki said.

“Ink companies are increasingly seeking bio-based, renewable, and biodegradable raw materials that do not compromise product performance,” Condon said. “In addition, there is heightened interest in sourcing transparency, carbon footprint reduction, and overall lifecycle sustainability. Companies are also evaluating the regulatory compliance and long-term environmental implications of the materials they use.”

“Typically, ink companies are looking for sustainable material content, although when we mention other sustainability approaches, like higher active content products or the removal of hazardous/toxic materials, they certainly take notice,” said Sunderland.

“Ink companies prioritize renewable, bio-based raw materials that don’t compete with global food supplies,” said Radu. “Their sustainability goals include reducing carbon footprint, lowering emissions, enhancing biodegradability, and addressing challenges in recycling and composting within the printing industry.”

“Many of the leading global ink manufacturers have committed to Science Based Target Initiatives for reducing CO₂ emissions, resulting in needs for Life Cycle Analysis and C14 analysis,” Struck said. “Global brands are increasingly driving sustainability through the packaging value chain, resulting in needs for safer and more compliant raw materials as well as greater packaging biodegradability and recyclability. Many customers are also looking for PFAS-free additives.”

“Ink companies are increasingly focusing on sustainability in their operations and product offerings,” Sinsigalli said. “They are particularly interested in receiving detailed Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) information to meet the rising consumer and regulatory demands. There is also a growing interest around raw materials with bio-based content and post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials. Moreover, ink manufacturers are paying close attention to food contact regulations and chemicals of concern lists, such as SVHC and California Prop 65, as these relate to the health and safety aspects of sustainability, ensuring their products are safe for both consumers and the environment.”

Sustainability in the Coming Years

The concept of sustainability has come a long way over the years, to the point where it is a main focus for many companies today. Leading raw material suppliers see the idea gaining even more traction in the future.

“In our Coatings & Inks Additives business, we expect increased demand for safer and more compliant raw materials, additives to enable water-based, digital and radiation-cured inks as well as solutions to improve manufacturing efficiency, product durability and circularity,” Struck said. “Evonik is among the select top 1% who have achieved an EcoVadis Platinum rating, reflecting our strong sustainability management system and commitment to transparency throughout the value chain.”

“As long as we are producing petroleum fuels, petrochemicals, which are made from by-products of the process, will be viable,” Ruckle said. “The by-product chemical inputs would have to be burnt if not used and converting them is the same as converting the bio-based inputs. The key in the future will be alternative energy sources such as hydro and nuclear, as well as unique carbon capture techniques yet to be developed.”

“Currently, we are building our database to report carbon footprint information to our customers,” Czarnecki said. “We know that this is a key element for a corporate sustainability program, and we intend to be able to help our customers understand the impact of their products on the environment.”

“Through strategic partnerships, such as the one with CHT USA, Gehring-Montgomery is expanding its portfolio to include advanced emulsions, additives, and coatings technologies,” said Bitting. “These products are designed to meet the evolving needs of the graphic arts and coatings marketplace, aligning with the industry’s shift towards sustainability.”

“The MÜNZING Group is dedicated to several key initiatives to meet our sustainability goals,” Kwasneski said. “Munzing has made a significant investment in developing products that are sustainable, biodegradable and microplastic-free. We’re committed to expanding our portfolio of products made with renewable raw materials, integrating more recycled content into our products, continuously pursuing projects aimed at energy conservation and efficiency improvements, developing methods and expertise to accurately determine the CO₂ footprint of our products, and prioritizing circular economy projects to conserve resources.”

“Future resins for sustainable inks and coatings will balance performance with sustainable raw materials,” Sinsigalli said. “Our solutions, including bio-based, biomass balanced and ChemCycled products, aim to reduce CO₂ emissions and maximize renewable and recycled raw materials with no compromise on performance. As the availability of bio-based monomers and other types of sustainable or waste-based feedstock improves, we expect to be able to offer more cost-effective polymers to help our customers reach carbon emission reduction targets for more end-use applications.”

“The focus on sustainability isn’t going to recede, certainly, but it will need to be balanced against other challenges faced by the industry, such as restricted pigment supply, increasing regulatory needs, or a potential shortage of nitrocellulose in the industry,” said Sunderland. “However, including sustainability requirements in the design stage of our hyperdispersants will be a permanent feature.”

“Sustainability is evolving into a lifestyle and long-term societal value,” said Radu. “Shamrock Technologies is well-positioned to support this shift, offering ink makers advanced solutions such as 100% bio-based, microplastic-free, PFAS-free, petroleum-free products with rapid and complete biodegradability—aligning with future market and environmental demands. With a strong focus on renewable, bio-based materials and water-based technologies, the company has developed cutting-edge solutions like BioSlip to meet evolving regulatory and consumer demands. We have also invested in our processes and facilities to create less waste and build an efficient mindset.”

Key Initiatives

To help meet the needs of their customers, raw material suppliers have launched important initiatives, whether it is introducing new products, earning EcoVadis ratings or reducing waste and energy.

“Our focus is on developing advanced alternatives that deliver equal or better performance than current products across key attributes like scratch and rub resistance, surface slip, and anti-blocking, with the added benefits of consistent particle size distribution and being microplastic-free,” Kwasneski said.

Sinsigalli noted that BASF has numerous sustainability projects ongoing globally.

“One example is the launch of the Joncryl BRC line, which contains 50 to 64% bio-based raw materials. This allows for the reduction of product carbon footprint of up to 60%,” Sinsigalli said.

“Our sustainability measures are carried out together with partners from different value chains to reduce carbon footprint via mass balanced methods like Biomass Balance and Chemcycling projects,” Sinsigalli added. “Additionally, through supplier management, we are lowering the PCF values of our products, benefiting our customers and the entire value chain.”

“BASF can provide PCFs for all of its approximately 45,000 sales products,” Sinsigalli noted. “These PCFs offer customers with valuable insights into levers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. BASF has made significant progress by expanding the use of renewable energy and alternative raw materials, piloting new technologies and launching new sustainable products. In response to growing customer demand, BASF increasingly offers products with a reduced CO₂ footprint (PCF).”

“Shamrock Technologies has launched key sustainability initiatives, including the development and promotion of BioSlip, a successful brand using bio- and vegetable-based raw materials, and significant investment in water-based products leveraging our proprietary emulsion technology,” said Radu. “In March of this year, we embraced sustainability by installing 1,452 solar panels on the roof of our manufacturing facility in Tongeren, Belgium, which will produce an estimated 623,000 kWh of clean energy annually. Shamrock intends to take similar steps towards sustainability in the future.”

“We have offered bio-based organosilicone additives and focus on reducing our contribution,” said Ruckle. “We have also entered into partnership with EcoVadis to monitor and report our progress.”

“Micro Powders is proud to have achieved a Gold rating with EcoVadis, the world’s most recognized standard for CSR assessment,” Czarnecki said. “Additionally, we are a member of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.”

“Our approach to sustainability is to minimize our footprint through sustainable feedstocks and manufacturing (we call this NEXTGEN Technologies) and to help our customers achieve safer and more durable products, production efficiency, VOC reduction, and improved biodegradability and recyclability (we call this NEXTGEN Solutions),” Struck said. “For inks, we have recently launched truly bio-based surfactants made by fermentation and a co-binder enabling and improving de-inking.”

“At Gehring-Montgomery, we have launched an energy efficiency program implementing measures to reduce energy consumption in operations and facilities,” said Mark Bitting, president and managing director, Gehring-Montgomery. “Secondly, we established a waste reduction initiative within the plant. Next, we created a sustainable sourcing practice, ensuring that our raw materials and products are sourced responsibly and ethically.

“Lastly, Gehring-Montgomery has adopted a community outreach program in Brazil to assist with local environmental initiatives and support community sustainability projects, along with donating to educational initiatives for students in the carnauba wax industry,” added Bitting.

Sunderland noted that Lubrizol has focused on various approaches towards greater sustainability.

“For instance, some of our hyperdispersants used for making oil-based inks have a bio-based content of 90-95%,” said Sunderland. “One of them even has a bio-based content of >99%. We have committed to trying to increase the number of products in our range with high bio-based content, especially in medium-polarity solvent inks, and into water-based inks, although this is very challenging in terms of suitable raw material availability. Another area where we have focused is to make our products 100% active, yet still easy to handle, thus avoiding shipping solvents, which use up valuable resources unnecessarily.”