As a leading manufacturer of paints and coatings products, AkzoNobel considers the safeguarding of our workforce, customers/users of our products and the environment to be of paramount importance. Ensuring such protection requires that we fully understand the potential hazards of our raw materials, intermediates and final products. 

The use of animal testing is often required by government regulations, especially for new substances. This is because in many cases, the only way to adequately predict potential hazard is by undertaking studies with vertebrate animals. Wherever possible, rigorous assessment of available data is undertaken to avoid any new testing. AkzoNobel does not carry out vertebrate animal testing on finished products such as paints and coatings, apart from exceptional cases where it is required by law and no other assessments are deemed sufficient by the respective authorities. 

When animal testing is required by government regulations, AkzoNobel fully supports and applies the principles of the 3Rs: to Replace, Reduce and Refine animal experiments. An internal review is carried out to determine if alternative approaches may be possible and suitability of the test protocol before beginning any testing.

AkzoNobel does not operate any vertebrate toxicity testing laboratories.