Innovate when you can in fast moving world, FEICA hears

In a “scary” world that is moving faster, adhesive businesses should assess opportunities to innovate, focusing on their “sense of timing,” Innovation Expert Peter Hinssen told participants at the FEICA 2024 European Adhesive & Sealant Conference. Speaking in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, Hinssen, a Partner at the consultancy Nexxworks, advised members of the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry (FEICA) that companies should not wait until they are at their peak—or past it—to reinvent themselves: “That doesn’t work anymore. You have to innovate when you can, not when you need to.” He stressed, “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”

When asked whether Europe’s adhesive and sealant sector was preparing for change, Hinssen noted that one capability present in China but missing in Europe was the ability to think long-term: “If we’re not going to future-proof Europe, we’re going to have a lot of difficulties going forward,” he said.

Fellow keynote speaker Isabelle Kocher de Leyritz, Chairperson and CEO of Paris-based decarbonisation and energy transition experts Blunomy, also stressed the need to “future-proof” companies: “The good news is that this is doable,” said Kocher de Leyritz, speaking from her experience as the former CEO of French multinational Engie, which transformed from a coal-based business to a renewable energy producer operating in 60 countries. She emphasized that the transition to decarbonisation depends on “a lot of conditions together plus a bit of luck,” advising the conference to take a strategic perspective. For Kocher de Leyritz, “the name of the game is to decarbonise at scale,” and she urged companies to “put your best resources, the best people, the best tech” into the transition.

Two companies already collaborating on sustainability—replacing fossil-based carbon with renewables in polyurethane adhesive production—are Germany’s Henkel and Covestro. “Carbon is not the problem; its source is,” said Dr. Adrian Brandt, Head of Henkel’s bio-renewable materials platform, in a joint presentation with Dr. Christos Lecou, Marketing Manager for Covestro’s industrial adhesives sector. Brandt outlined how companies could cut emissions, ranging from biomass and carbon capture to recycling, stressing that “it’s not either-or; it’s all.”

Both emphasized the importance of using ‘mass balance,’ an accounting method that verifies a certified volume of renewable or recycled material is input across a production run. “Without mass balance, you can’t achieve any of these targets,” said Brandt. When moderator Dr. Jürgen Wichelhaus questioned whether there were enough biobased materials available, Lecou replied that this is “why mass balance is necessary.” Brandt explained that “the first step is renewable carbon tracking,” admitting that “we often don’t know how much carbon we have in our products.”

Dr. Dirk Achten, Head of Modern Coatings and Adhesives Applications at Covestro, explained how his team “stumbled across” hybrid dispersions after experimenting with solvent- and water-borne solutions. Achten recognized that these were “not new techniques, just new ways of putting them together.” He explained that in between the two, “you end up with something that is virtually indestructible and unusual.” After comparing the three formulations, they found that “hybrids combine the best of solvent-borne and water-borne adhesive bond strength.” Moreover, Achten enthused that “hybrid dispersions” are quite fast to produce soluble products, “so in an existing facility, you can increase your productivity considerably.” Hybrids also offer the “best of both worlds” when it comes to substrates, where coatings are applied, with “improved bonding of difficult and sensitive substrates” and the ability to “adjust the aggressivity.” Another unusual feature is that hybrids allow precise spray application even at high viscosity, meaning no atomisation.

European Union (EU) regulations, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the proposed Green Claims Directive, are pushing the European adhesives and sealants sector towards environmental best practices. Kocher de Leyritz acknowledged that “in my view, the regulations are supporting” such moves, highlighting how the CSRD requires companies to disclose their business plans for transitioning to sustainable practices. However, she stressed that there is a risk EU sustainability laws may hamper the competitiveness of European businesses. These concerns were recently highlighted in a September 9 report for the European Commission from Mario Draghi, a former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank Governor. As for EU legislation, “It has to be simplified; there’s no doubt,” she said.

In this regard, “It’s important to look,” at the impact of the EU’s Eco-Design Regulation, which mandates Digital Product Passports (DPP) for paints, lubricants, and chemicals, with initial products covered from early 2025, noted Rachida Semail, a Brussels-based Partner at law firm Keller & Heckman. Semail also warned about the Green Claims Directive, which may outlaw marketing terms such as ‘biodegradable.’ Also looming is a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials, used in adhesives, rubber, and other coatings, varnishes, and printing inks, which was backed by EU national governments in an EU standing committee in June.

Will consumers pay more for sustainable adhesive and sealant products? Dr. Rawaa Ammar, Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer at Brussels-based eco-design start-up Resortecs, explained that the heat-dissolving thread her company offers to fashion brands such as Decathlon, allowing them to dismantle clothing for recycling, represents just 1-3% of a product’s cost, so “peanuts.” The problem, she noted, is that some companies “want to pump up the price and sell it as an eco-design product”—a tactic she criticized as companies “putting the guilt on consumers” by making the product more expensive. But such tactics are not needed, said Ammar: “If it’s available at an acceptable price, people will buy it,” she insisted.

Another competitiveness concern is how, since Brexit, UK legislation is increasingly diverging from the EU. Despite an initial “lift and shift” from European to British law, differences still arise when EU rules change. Moreover, Lorna Williams, General Secretary of the British Adhesives and Sealants Association (BASA), underlined that “not all divergence we see today is down to Brexit.” Chemicals legislation, for example, was not the same even when the UK was in the EU because of pre-existing laws on explosives, precursors, and poisons dating back to 1972. Chemicals is one of four areas with the most divergence issues. Now, there are both EU and UK REACH regulations, which operate independently of each other, meaning the UK duplicates the EU process for a market 12% of the size. Williams said that with the cost of buying or accessing EU hazard data to establish UK safety controls estimated at GBP 2 billion (USD 2.67 billion) by 2030, the British industry is campaigning for a rethink on diverging EU and UK chemical approvals.

Moreover, the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) wants to follow the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) rather than another EU law on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures. Williams was more optimistic here, noting that “label changes are easy because HSE are not going to worry if you’ve got bigger text on your labels.”

However, other Brexit transitions are more problematic, such as switching from the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU BPR) to a UK BPR. For the British text, warned Williams, there is no consolidated version, “so it’s almost impossible to read.” Moreover, around 1,700 manufacturer and product combinations will not be registered as biocides in the UK because the costs are too high for such a small market. Others will miss out due to an HSE backlog as it tries to manage work that was previously shared among 27 national EU regulators. Williams argued, “HSE should just accept what the EU accepts, unless there is a good reason not to.”

Also problematic are CE conformity marking rules for construction products, with a “lift and shift” of EU rules to British regulations spawning a UKCA mark: “Effectively, they just changed the words” and revoked EU law from June 30, 2025, noted Williams. But what about existing and future CE-marked products? The UK government has discussed mutual recognition of CE-marked products, but this remains an “intention” not yet confirmed, she warned.

By Sara Lewis, in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands