Protecting the Environment

CPCA—Protecting the Environment

With its Members, the CPCA is committed to protecting the environment and enhancing human health and quality-of-life through the responsible formulation, production and sale of high-quality, safe products.

The CPCA and its Members have demonstrated this commitment through their:

• Sectoral approach to chemical management: In 2006, the federal government announced plans to implement the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). The following year, the CPCA, Health Canada and Environment Canada created the Paint and Coatings Working Group (PCWG). The PCWG meets to share scientific knowledge and perspectives on sector products. The CPCA and industry regard the PCWG’s sectoral approach as beneficial to Members, the sector, and the environment and health of Canadians.
• Involvement in product stewardship programs: Over the years, the CPCA has been involved with:
  • Product Care: This non-profit, industry-sponsored association operates household hazardous and special waste programs in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
  • Éco-peinture: Paint and coatings companies played leadership roles in this product stewardship initiative in Québec. Its program for handling and recycling used paint has drawn worldwide attention.
  • Stewardship Ontario, Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Program: The CPCA played an integral role in the development of this program, which diverts common household products such as paint from landfill sites.
• Coatings Care® comprehensive environmental program: This program expresses the paint and coatings industry’s aim of enhancing product integrity and quality while adopting the sound health, safety and environmental practices defined in the program’s Codes of Management Practices.
• Air quality issue responses: Air quality affects paint manufacturers and users alike—and Canada’s paint and coatings industry addresses air quality issues that concern its products. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a case in point. Most recently, the CPCA and government negotiated new regulations to limit VOC emissions in Architectural and Industrial Maintenance coatings and in Automotive Refinish Coatings.
• Leftover post-consumer paint management policies: The CPCA supports efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sound ways of dealing with leftover post-consumer paint. To help ensure that leftover paint is used appropriately, the CPCA has acknowledged its responsibility for sharing knowledge of its products and their packages.