AkzoNobel welcomes the world to Planet Possible

8 oktober 2013 October 8, 2013 AkzoNobel has reinforced its position as a global leader in sustainability by launching a new concept which captures the essence of the company's strategy to deliver more value from fewer resources. Known as Planet Possible, it's not only designed to drive innovation and promote radical efficiency, but will also inspire employees, customers and suppliers and build on AkzoNobel's number one ranking for the last two years on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Speaking ahead of a live online debate taking place today to promote the launch, Corporate Director of Sustainability, André Veneman, said that Planet Possible represents the next significant leap forward in the company's ongoing journey to connect value creation to resource efficiency. "We know that our success depends on our ability to do radically more with radically less, so we have adopted a strategy which involves us working with customers to open up infinite possibilities in a finite world," he explained. "It's important that we accelerate the pace of our commitment and better understand the changes that will be required in our market segments, so we are taking a major step to turn challenges into opportunities. "Adopting a Planet Possible approach will enable us to work together with customers and suppliers to develop leading solutions and meet ever-changing market needs. It will also help us to realize our sustainability ambitions, such as achieving a revenue share of at least 20 percent from products that are more sustainable for customers than those of our competitors." Today's online debate is available as a live video stream via the company's akzonobel.com corporate website. It will feature Veneman discussing the theme of driving more value from fewer resources with two independent experts, Dax Lovegrove from WWF and Martin Chilcott from 2degrees, the world's largest online community of sustainability professionals. The live broadcast starts at 14.00 CET and will also be made available as an edited "on demand" video. Continued Veneman: "The world being limited by resources doesn't mean our ambition and imagination have to be restricted as well. We're committed to finding opportunities where there don't appear to be any." - - - AkzoNobel is a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. We supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for our customers. Our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we are consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability. With operations in more than 80 countries, our 50,000 people around the world are committed to delivering leading products and technologies to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing world. Not for publication - for more information Corporate Media Relations, Tel. +31 20 502 78 33 Contact: Paul Thomas Planet Possible logo: http://hugin.info/130660/R/1732915/580579.jpg AkzoNobel news release pdf: http://hugin.info/130660/R/1732915/580575.pdf This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Akzo Nobel NV via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1732915]