Sun Chemical’s Activities

Sun Chemical, which oversees the DIC Group’s operations in Europe and the Americas, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of printing inks. The company develops and supplies a broad range of products that address diverse social imperatives.

Social Imperative

As the world shifts to become more environmentally conscientious, consumer packaged goods companies and their converter partners are constantly working to meet consumer demands. Studies show that consumers prefer sustainable packaging over packaging that is not eco-friendly.
Meanwhile, some countries and world organizations are taking it upon themselves to make the world more sustainable. The United Nations (UN), for instance, introduced its initiative, Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a plan that highlights 17 UN goals for decreasing the carbon footprint.
Recognizing these marketplace and regulatory trends, many brands have explored ways to integrate more sustainable solutions into their packaging. One option has been the development of biorenewable inks based on renewable natural resources. These biorenewable inks can be derived from plant materials, including gums, resins, waxes, solvents, oils and other polymer building blocks, according to the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM).

Sun Chemical’s Response

Sun Chemical has aligned several of its sustainability goals with those of the UN’s agenda for sustainable development to drive sustainability in the packaging industry. Furthermore, Sun Chemical is supporting the goal of lowering CO₂ emissions by developing biorenewable inks that will help to reduce the carbon footprint of the printing industry.
By partnering with HAVI, a global company that innovates, optimizes, sources and manages the packaging and supply chains of leading foodservice brands, Sun Chemical has introduced SunVisto® AquaGreen to the market. The line of water-based inks, formulated with significantly higher levels of biorenewable resin content compared to other previous market offerings, offers a natural, cleaner, green option for food packaging.
Sun Chemical’s SunVisto® AquaGreen biorenewable inks have been certified and specified by HAVI to be a recommended natural-based ink solution, ensuring that foodservice brands and manufacturers receive truly renewable packaging ink.
HAVI’s extensive global network and relationships with package developers on all continents means that Sun Chemical’s natural-based inks could be used by any of HAVI’s global partners anywhere in the world.
SunVisto® AquaGreen inks can be blended with varnishes and standard water-based pigment dispersions, and do not compromise end-use or on-press performance. They also offer outstanding print fidelity and ink resolubility on press, quick setting for in-line converting and high levels of resistance properties to rub, abrasion, water and grease.
The aim of Sun Chemical’s sustainability initiatives relating to raw materials used and its manufacturing processes is to increase the plant-based biorenewable content (BRC) and/or recycled content in Sun Chemical products. Sun Chemical is moving on from using fossil-based raw materials, which are limited resources, to utilizing sustainable plant-based raw materials.
Striving to foster a circular economy, McDonald’s teams up with partners like Sun Chemical and HAVI to transition all of its packaging to be 100% renewable, recycled or certified by 2025. Updates include packaging to popular menu items like hamburger clam shells, and commonly used bagging such as the small McDonald’s bag.
Sun Chemical’s SunVisto® AquaGreen water-based flexo inks are an example of a biorenewable ink being used on McDonald’s packaging as displayed on various samples that will be shown at Interpack 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
In addition to SunVisto® AquaGreen, both Sun Chemical and DIC will exhibit a full range of sustainable products with the goal of showing converters and brand owners the Power of Sustainable Packaging. This theme will show the market the commitment of Sun Chemical and DIC to sustainable product development across all packaging markets and applications.