Recently, with the support of Carbon Newture, Zhejiang Maidenly Paint Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as " Maidenly Paint") completed carbon footprint accounting and certification for its popular products, interior wall art paint and exterior stone-like paint. Furthermore, it achieved organizational carbon neutrality for its company headquarters and production base. The certification was issued by an authoritative third-party certification agency, marking Maidenly' official entry into the "verifiable low-carbon manufacturing" era.
Shen Yitong, General Manager of Maidenly Paint
We are honored to invite Shen Yitong, the General Manager of Maidenly Paint, for a conversation on the theme "How to Create New Green Growth Engines Amid Multiple Transformations." He is a second-generation entrepreneur born in the 1980s who returned to a local private enterprise after gaining experience in multinational companies. With a keen sense of the coatings market and decisive judgment, he integrates innovation into the inheritance of tradition, captures the development trends of the architectural coatings industry, and leads Maidenly Paint to develop into a high-tech enterprise with an annual output of over 200,000 tons and an annual output value exceeding 200 million yuan.
Q1: Please briefly introduce Zhejiang Maidenly Paint Co., Ltd.
A: Zhejiang Maidenly Paint Co., Ltd. was established in 2002. It is a national high-tech enterprise with more than 20 years of professional experience in coatings production and is also a benchmark enterprise in the Coatings Industry 4.0. The company mainly produces interior and exterior wall latex paints, stone-like coatings, industrial coatings, and art coatings, with an annual production capacity of over 200,000 tons and an annual output value exceeding 200 million yuan. In addition to its own brand "Maidenly", the company is also a long-term supplier for internationally renowned brands such as Nippon Paint, Dulux, and PPG, thanks to its stable product performance and high-quality "one-stop" service.
Q2: Given the complex international and domestic economic situation, what transformation pressures is Maidenly Paint facing?
A: The architectural coatings industry is undergoing a critical stage of green and digital transformation. As a representative green manufacturing enterprise in Zhejiang, Maidenly Paint is facing a major "test".
Currently, the overall environment is that real estate investment is slowing down, and the industry is entering a stage of competition for existing stock. The fluctuations in raw material and energy prices also bring challenges. Especially in the process of promoting green transformation, the upfront investment in green materials, low-energy processes, and equipment is high. We must maintain cost control while also making sustainable investments, which requires strong resource allocation capabilities and long-term strategic endurance.
In general, the industry needs to undergo green transformation, customer demand is upgrading, market competition is intensifying, and policies and regulations are becoming stricter. These are all areas we must face and change.
To continue breaking through and growing in fierce competition, we must create a gap with our competitors in terms of green value, brand positioning, and technological innovation.
Q3: In recent years, Maidenly Paint has made great efforts to promote green manufacturing and low-carbon transformation. What are the considerations behind this?
A: Architectural coatings have long been a focus in the building materials industry, with environmental concerns about materials being addressed early on.
Not long ago, during the Two Sessions, Premier Li Qiang mentioned the need to "cultivate new growth points such as green buildings", which is a very positive signal. Now, the concept of green and low-carbon consumption is increasingly penetrating. In the future, when purchasing architectural coatings, people will not only consider whether the product is harmless to the human body, but also whether its carbon emissions are low.
In addition, our international clients have already started setting "entry barriers" for suppliers through supply chain scorecard mechanisms. This starts with requiring carbon footprint data, and in the future, they may gradually impose limits on carbon footprint values. If they exceed the set standards, they will be eliminated.
I believe now is the right time. Although the initial investment in low-carbon transformation is high, from a long-term return perspective, it is worth the investment.
Q4: Can you share any specific measures that Maidenly Paint has implemented?
A: Without a doubt, the green and low-carbon development of the construction industry is a major trend. Therefore, while strengthening our market marketing and technological development capabilities, we have integrated the "green and low-carbon" concept into our R&D and production. For example, when choosing raw materials, we opt for lower-carbon raw material suppliers. We have also implemented carbon-reduction measures such as using solar power and replacing diesel forklifts with electric forklifts in our factory.
Another good thing is that we were among the earliest coatings suppliers to enter the e-commerce space in China. We have a leading number of fans in the vertical field of architectural coatings, and in this direction, we will further promote "dual carbon" initiatives.
Within the industry, we have long been not only focused on "doing more," but on accelerating the pursuit of "doing better." The coatings industry itself is a key link in the green development of the construction industry. We hope to not only achieve green manufacturing ourselves but also influence users through our products and guide green consumption.
Q5: What do you think are the future innovative consumer forms, and will green consumption become one of the mainstream trends? Can you share some of Maidenly Paint' recent developments?
A: The spirit of embracing change is an important weapon for Maidenly Paint to stand out among many peers. Green transformation is a challenge that every coatings enterprise must face. It is foreseeable that in the future, "low-carbon products" will gradually enter thousands of households, and "green consumption" will become a consumer trend.
After fully understanding the relevant "dual carbon" data, we decided to collaborate with our partner Carbon Newture for carbon data management and certification. Recently, we completed carbon footprint accounting and certification for two of our popular product lines—interior wall art paint and exterior stone-like paint. From the data, we can see that our coatings products have a low carbon footprint and are better than the industry average. This data has been certified by an authoritative third-party certification agency, making it trustworthy.
Furthermore, we have conducted an organizational carbon inventory for our factory for 2024 and achieved organizational carbon neutrality through purchasing green electricity and carbon credits. This is a leading initiative in the industry.
By becoming one of the first private coatings enterprises to complete both product and organizational carbon certifications, Maidenly Paint has gained a green endorsement for its brand. This will help us establish a "verifiable green" positioning for our brand and lay the foundation for the future launch of "carbon-neutral series" and "dual-carbon certified sections." We can also further strengthen market awareness by using e-commerce marketing tools such as live streaming, e-commerce platforms, and targeted marketing.
Q6: What do you think is the most important factor for an enterprise to maintain long-term success and sustainable development?
A: Being a friend of time and walking with the trends of the times and industry. The truly valuable things are not about who runs the fastest, but about who can walk steadily and far.
"Being a friend of time" means sticking to doing the right things even when there is no immediate return. For example, we invest time and money in carbon management and carbon footprint certification. These may not directly bring orders at the beginning, but they are the underlying capabilities for future growth and the moat for the long-term development of the enterprise.
"Walking with the trends of the times" is about insight. When the country talks about green transformation, when customers begin to focus on the environmental performance of products, we must act in line with these changes, not wait to be pushed.
And "walking with the industry" is the shared construction awareness we always emphasize. Low-carbon transformation is not just about one enterprise; it is a change across the entire ecological chain. We are willing to take the lead, not only for ourselves but also to encourage more local manufacturing enterprises to embrace green transformation, driving the construction materials industry to truly move from "manufacturing" to "smart manufacturing" and "green manufacturing."
