For those commercial/industrial businesses and homeowners looking for a new green paint technology, Dow Chemical just won an EPA award for its Evoque coating. 

Titanium dioxide, TiO2, is a base white pigment commonly found in paints. It's used to hide colors on the painted surface. Since TiO2 is energy intensive to create, it increases the price of paint, and bumps up the amount of emissions into the atmosphere. To counter this, Dow Chemical created Evoque, a new polymer that increases TiO2's dispersion through paint, lowering the amount of TiO2 needed for paint, and thereby lowering emissions as well. 

So, not only is it safer for the environment, it hides stains and the appearance of other colors appearing on the dry, painted surface. It also prevents clumping in the pigments, and is compatible with many different paint forumations, including zero or low-VOC waterborne paints.  

"A third-party validated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) showed that TiO2 reductions allowed by EVOQUETM polymers in exterior house paint reduces the paint’s carbon footprint by over 22 percent, water consumption by 30 percent, NOx and SOx emissions by 24 percent, and the potential impact on water eutrophication (algae bloom) by 27 percent," wrote the EPA on its website. "Other benefits found in the LCA include a 30 percent reduction in potential chemical oxygen demand (COD) and a 35 percent reduction in non-methanic volatile compounds, two factors that degrade water quality and air quality."

All of this is an upside for painting contractors and their customers. Below are the full statistics, independently verified by a third-party, from Dow Chemical's website, which noted that Evoque reduced:

-Carbon footprint by more than 22%
-Water consumption by 30%
-NOx and SOx emissions by 24%
-Potential impact on water eutrophication (algae bloom) by 27%
-Potential chemical oxygen demand by 30%
-Non-methanic volatile compounds by 35%