Driving Sustainability Through Innovation and Collaboration with AkzoNobel
April 9, 2025
During this Vision Dinner, David Williams, Chief Innovation Officer at AkzoNobel, will discuss how his team develops sustainable innovations that reduce environmental impact while addressing the challenge of creating value and convincing customers to invest in greener products. He will highlight the importance of value chain collaboration to cut carbon emissions, share insights on overcoming challenges like legal and IP hurdles in joint innovation efforts, and provide practical examples, including their Paint the Future initiative—the largest collaborative ecosystem accelerating sustainable advancements in the paints and coatings industry.
David Williams, AkzoNobel
speaker
David Williams
Chief Innovation Officer
As Chief Innovation Officer at AkzoNobel, David leads long-term technology development with a strong focus on sustainability. He has a PhD in chemistry and during his 30-year career at AkzoNobel has held various R&D roles, particularly in the areas of marine and protective coatings, working closely with teams in China, Korea and the USA. With deep expertise in innovation and sustainable solutions, he is driving AkzoNobel's mission to achieve ambitious targets, including a 50% reduction in Scope 3 carbon emissions by 2030.
Company
AkzoNobel
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Topic
Innovation and collaboration are important drivers to achieving corporate sustainability goals, combining resources, expertise, and technology to create impactful solutions. Yet, many companies struggle with these efforts. How can different stakeholders effectively connect, and what are the essential strategies for overcoming technical, financial, regulatory, and social barriers?
During this Vision Dinner, David Williams, Chief Innovation Officer at AkzoNobel, will discuss how his team develops sustainable innovations that reduce environmental impact while addressing the challenge of creating value and convincing customers to invest in greener products. He will highlight the importance of value chain collaboration to cut carbon emissions, share insights on overcoming challenges like legal and IP hurdles in joint innovation efforts, and provide practical examples, including their Paint the Future initiative—the largest collaborative ecosystem accelerating sustainable advancements in the paints and coatings industry.
Program
Location: Restaurant Bistronoom, Woerden
17:30 | Start program (including presentation, discussion and a 3-course dinner)
20:30 | End of formal program, opportunity for informal networking
Audience
Sustainability and Innovation leaders
Language
English
CPD points | 2 points
Conditions
- Participants have to meet the previously described target audience.
- If this session is organized together with partners, Flevum will share all registrations with the partner for final approval.
- During all our sessions, the Chatham House Rule applies. This means that the participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. This means that no report, no photos and no recordings are made of the meeting. The presentation will also not be distributed to the participants afterwards.