San Marco Group launches its first Call4Solutions

Identifying new solutions in the field of components and technologies that can give rise to next-generation water-based wall paints and coatings with reduced environmental impact: this is the goal of the "ReThink Next Generation Coatings" Call for Solutions. Launching it is San Marco Group, Italy’s leading company in the building paints and varnishes industry.
 
Coordinated by Materially, a  company specializing in the development and dissemination of innovation and sustainability starting with materials, the Call for Solutions is aimed at all bodies that are engaged in the field of development, formulation and fine-tuning of solutions for construction aimed at reducing environmental impact in application contexts: from coatings and paints that can promote energy savings, to those designed to reduce the island effect, to those that improve living comfort.
More specifically, the contest is divided into two different categories: Emerging Solutions and Ready-made Solutions. The first targets start-ups, research centres and university spin-offs, evaluating proposals that meet TRL 6 (Technology Maturity Level) criteria. The Ready-made Solutions category instead sets out to involve companies that produce components or technologies that are already on the market.
 
Participation in the initiative may give rise to collaborations and business relationships aimed at promoting sustainability, a value which is by now indispensable in any field, and which has long been central to the San Marco Group, which is dedicated to developing innovative, technologically-advanced and environmentally-friendly products. The Group is indeed the Italian leader in the sector in terms of certification coverage and regulations.
Among the most recent and concrete proof of the company's commitment is, for example, the Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold certification, awarded to no less than nineteen products – an important recognition  that is only achieved if they meet precise requirements for low VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions, guaranteeing maximum living comfort.
 
"San Marco Group has always been keen to spotlight also young organisations, identifying medium- to long-term cooperation opportunities to create strong win-win synergies between entities that care about sustainability". comments CEO & AD, Pietro Geremia. "We want to give participants in the Call for Solutions the opportunity to propose solutions that, once tested and validated, can find concrete industrial application.".
 
"Indeed, today we are called to take up a twofold challenge: to work to improve product formulations in order to reduce the environmental impact of raw materials while maintaining high quality, and to ensure maximum sustainability of processes, involving every department." adds Giovanni Marsili, Research & Development Directos.
 
The collaboration with Materially is also based on this aim. Materially pays special attention to the values of the circular economy, offering services to help companies make their products more environmentally friendly.
 
Silvano Storer, Advisor and Business Plan Implementation Manager of the Pro-Gest Group, coordinates the panel of judges, composed of a San Marco technical team and professionals from Materially, which will choose the best innovative and sustainable solution for each of the two competing categories, with a maximum of three proposals per category, and will meet for the final evaluation and nomination of the winners on 7 February 2023.

Find out more about the project and read all the Contest's details