Van Wijhe Verf, a Dutch paint and coatings manufacturer, needed to move from fragmented product footprint calculations to a scalable, verification-ready EPD approach. When market demand for transparency increased, their existing setup could not support portfolio-wide publication or defensible raw material modeling. With Ecochain, they built a structured LCA foundation that enabled them to scale EPDs, identify product hotspots, and embed sustainability into procurement and product development decisions.
The Challenge: Data fragmentation blocking portfolio-scale EPDs
Van Wijhe Verf has taken sustainability seriously for years. As early as 2010, the company made a clear decision: if you want to steer on sustainability, you need numbers. Without data, sustainability remains a story – not something you can manage, improve, or defend. Becoming B Corp certified reinforced that commitment.
When Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst, stepped into his role in 2023, market expectations were shifting fast. Construction companies and real estate developers started increasingly asking for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Not because CPR regulation strictly required it yet, but because their own sustainability targets demanded transparency in tenders.
Internally, Rik realized the existing setup was not built for what was coming next. The company needed to move from isolated calculations to a scalable, verification-ready product impact foundation.
The four key challenges Van Wijhe Verf faced
- Fragmented systems with one-person dependency – The previous internal setup relied on manual processes and complex technical infrastructure that few people could understand or maintain. This created knowledge silos where only one person could operate the system, making it impossible to scale, train others, or continue the work if that person left.
- Incomplete Scope 3 coverage – Van Wijhe Verf already had Scope 1 and 2 under control, gas consumption and electricity were being tracked properly. They had also been doing some Scope 3 work, including product-level LCA modeling. However, when working toward more complete EPD reporting, it became clear that certain Scope 3 categories were still missing. One example Rik flagged was the upstream impact of solvents used in paint formulations. The goal was to close these remaining gaps, not to rebuild their footprint approach from scratch.
- No direct access to LCI databases for filling primary data gaps – Primary product data often isn’t available when doing a life cycle assessment, and without direct access to established life cycle inventory (LCI) databases like ecoinvent or Nationale Milieudatabase (NMD), the alternative is often guesswork – generic reference data that doesn’t reflect actual production methods. This was Rik’s reality. Modeling product footprints was possible, but not fully defensible. To build verification-ready models at scale, Rik needed LCA software with built-in access to those databases – so that where primary data was missing, structured secondary data could fill the gap without compromising accuracy.
- No scalable, verification-ready foundation for EPDs – Moving from calculating a few product footprints to publishing dozens of verified EPDs required detailed raw material modeling that could withstand third-party audits. Their existing setup wasn’t structured to document, organize, and reuse that level of detail across the full portfolio in a way verifiers would accept – making it difficult to scale from individual calculations to verification-ready EPDs at volume.
“I was completely focused on data processing – just computer work, computer work. At the end of the day, it keeps running through your head. And at the same time, real estate companies were increasingly asking: ‘Do you have EPDs for your products?’. That’s when I realized we needed a structured solution like Ecochain to make it scalable.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
Rik’s first move was to rebuild everything from scratch – back to basics: What data do we have today? What are we missing? What software could actually help us?
That reflection led to a clear conclusion. The company needed a product impact data foundation built for both current and future needs. One that could handle detailed raw material modeling, organize data for third-party verification, scale from single-product footprints to portfolio-wide EPD publication, and be robust enough that knowledge wouldn’t sit with just one person.
The Solution: Building a scalable, verification-ready product footprint foundation with Ecochain
Van Wijhe Verf relied on Ecochain to build a structured LCA foundation that could scale from a handful of product calculations to verified EPDs across the full portfolio.
The four key reasons Van Wijhe Verf doubled down on Ecochain as their core LCA platform
- Built for scale – Van Wijhe Verf needed to move from a few product calculations to 72 verification-ready EPDs without proportionally increasing effort or rebuilding everything from scratch each time.
- One transparent product footprint system instead of many – Manual scripts and scattered files had to be replaced with one centralized modeling environment paired with their LIMS package for data support – where every raw material, assumption, and product is documented, traceable, and built for verification and reuse. No more single-person dependency.
- Structured raw material modeling – Ecochain provided a clear way to model, document, and justify raw materials in a way external verifiers would accept. This structured approach also ensured their data aligned with publication platforms such as MRPI, making portfolio-wide submission and future automation possible.
- LCA and EPD expert support without traditional consultant dependency – Beyond software, Van Wijhe wanted experienced specialists who could support methodology and background reports. Instead of paying thousands euros per EPD with traditional consulting services, Van Wijhe Verf gets Ecochain specialists embedded in their process.
“When you create an EPD with Ecochain, you can’t hide behind assumptions. Every ingredient needs to be broken down, modeled, and justified – exactly what external verifiers need to see. You have to be able to demonstrate to an external verifier that you’re doing it the right way – and Ecochain enables you to document all that data properly.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
Ecochain gave Van Wijhe Verf the structure they had been missing. Instead of Python scripts and manual calculations, they now work in a single source of truth for modeling and reporting product environmental impact. What strengthened that foundation was the combination of software and expert support – with Ecochain product experts available whenever deeper methodological questions or verification requirements arose.
The collaboration model was straightforward: Rik handles the day-to-day modeling and data management in Ecochain software. Ecochain’s product expert provides the support along the way – particularly for verification-ready background reports that external auditors scrutinize.
“Ecochain’s LCA experts supported me with background reports, especially in the beginning. The idea is that we build the knowledge internally – I handle the work, and they support when complexity increases. As time went on, my understanding improved and I could challenge things more critically myself. I didn’t have to become an LCA expert overnight.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
The partnership works because both sides understand the real goal: not just environmental certificates, but defensible, actionable product impact data that changes how the business operates.
The Result: 70+ EPDs generated and a transformed approach to sustainability
By investing in Ecochain, Van Wijhe Verf moved from fragmented product footprint calculations to a structured, portfolio-wide approach for modeling, verifying, and publishing EPDs at scale.
The three biggest success outcomes Van Wijhe Verf achieved with Ecochain
- Scaled from 0 to 70+ verified EPDs efficiently – Van Wijhe Verf initially targeted around ten EPDs, but once they understood the economics, the decision was clear: publishing a large portfolio via MRPI through Ecochain cost almost the same as publishing only a handful. Because products were structured from raw materials upward and reusable across the portfolio, Van Wijhe Verf could model their entire portfolio in Ecochain once and replicate at scale, rather than starting over for each product. By early 2026, more than seventy EPDs were either published or in final verification, positioning them as one of the paint industry’s most comprehensive portfolios.
- Hotspot discovery drives product innovation – Titanium dioxide (the white pigment in nearly every paint) accounted for 30-35% of Van Wijhe Verf’s purchased goods impact. In certain products, it spiked to 40-50% of total footprint. This insight led directly to the Flower Power Paint – a new low-impact concept without titanium dioxide. Hotspot analysis is now standard in their product development process.
“With Ecochain, you see which products have the highest impact. But you might also discover something counterintuitive: a product might have a high per-unit footprint, but if you sell very little, it doesn’t move the needle on company impact. Meanwhile, a low-impact product you sell massive quantities of – that’s where a 10% reduction actually matters.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
- Sustainability became a procurement criterion – With clearer insights from Ecochain software, purchasing decisions at Van Wijhe Verf evolved. Where discussions once focused primarily on performance requirements like coverage and durability, they now also include environmental impact. As Rik explains, when comparable suppliers exist, environmental transparency can influence which partner they move forward with. With reliable product impact data on the table, procurement, sales, and R&D share a common, objective basis for decision-making. In practice, this shift also encourages suppliers to strengthen their own environmental reporting – contributing to a more transparent and informed value chain overall.
“We were able to generate and verify all 72 EPDs at once using Ecochain – a scale that wouldn’t have been possible without the right software and the right expertise behind it.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
Paint manufacturers who own their product footprint data win long-term with Ecochain software
Instead of treating Ecochain as a tool to simply meet regulatory requirements, respond to tenders and win new customers, Van Wijhe Verf uses it as the foundation for every sustainability decision – from supplier selection to product development.
They moved from scattered calculations to a structured, scalable product portfolio. From assumptions about impact to measurable hotspots. From reacting to EPD requests to proactively publishing them.
Rik’s advice to other paint manufacturers is clear: start earlier than you think you need to.
“Starting early makes all the difference. You really can’t begin too early. When customers start asking for EPDs or product footprint data, you need the knowledge and structure in place. That’s not something you build overnight.” – Rik Koelma, Sustainability Data Analyst at Van Wijhe Verf
The green wave is moving globally. Regulations like CPR, CSRD, and Digital Product Passport requirements keep tightening. The market will eventually demand what Van Wijhe Verf is building voluntarily now. The companies that wait until customers demand EPDs will face steeper learning curves, higher costs, and internal pressure. Building knowledge and structure takes time.
One challenge Rik flags for the broader industry: there’s still no shared raw material database or strict product-level standardization in the paint sector. Manufacturers often model similar materials differently. “I used to do it my way, and other paint suppliers did it in another way. And then you get differences that can easily be avoided if there was a common standard.” It’s a reminder that transparency and defensibility aren’t just about having the right tools – they require shared standards the industry is still working toward.
Ready to scale your product footprint certifications like 450+ manufacturing teams?
Book a demo to explore how Ecochain helps you create a scalable LCA foundation and publish verifiable EPDs, PCFs, and CPR- and PEF-aligned product data – while keeping full ownership of your models and results.
