Sustainability commitment
YOLO Colorhouse is committed to green practices beyond what’s in our can. We believe the world can be more colorful and less volatile! See how we incorporate this by clicking on the following:
Packaging, Displays, Manufacturing
Packaging
Labels: 100% PCR paper, printed with soy ink.
Paint containers: using Post-Consumer Recycled plastics.
Displays
YOLO Colorhouse displays are constructed using cardboard and wheatboard.
Manufacturing
Wash water used to rinse tanks is recycled back into paint.
YOLO Colorhouse is the first paint company to join the US EPA SmartWay Transportation Alliance.
2008 recipient of Recycle Works award from Portland Office of Sustainable Development.
2007 recipient of the BEST award. (Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow).
YOLO Colorhouse’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Effort
We can all be part of creating a future with a much lower contribution to global warming. The first step is to understand our carbon footprint. Then, the important work is reducing it measurably over time toward a carbon-neutral economy.
A carbon footprint generally encompasses the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) contributions from a company’s operations – from raw material acquisition to the product’s end-of-life. Typically, major sources of GHGs include electricity and natural gas consumption in manufacturing and facilities, as well as transportation of raw materials and finished products.
- What is the carbon footprint of paint?
Surprisingly, the paint manufacturing process is not energy-intensive. In fact, as is shown on the pie chart, our use of energy in our offices contributes more to our greenhouse gas impact than making our paint. Therefore, manufacturing represents a very small portion of YOLO Colorhouse®’s carbon footprint. Our finished product, however, is quite heavy at roughly 11 pounds per gallon. As a result, transporting our paint from production facilities to warehouses and, ultimately, to our dealers comprises the bulk of our footprint. Note that our footprint is a work in process. We are calculating raw material acquisition, product use and end-of-life emissions and will continue reporting our progress.
- How is YOLO Colorhouse reducing its carbon footprint?
Because the largest portion of our footprint is from the transport of our product, we focus intensely on shipping most efficiently. This is why we:
Participate in the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Use the lightest packaging possible with 100% post-consumer content.
Ship by rail from production to warehouse as much as possible.
Encourage our trucking partners to use biodiesel.
