SUSTAINABILITY
Stiles - BASF supports customers ’ emission reduction targets piloted both with TfS members and their suppliers . It will be officially launched in 2H 2024 .
Drive to renewables
Moving towards renewable raw materials is another key way that BASF is seeking to reduce its PCF . About 70 % of its personal care products are biobased . The Verdessence * brand of biopolymers , for example , contains different ingredients for applications ranging from colour cosmetics to hair care , with rheology modifiers seen as a particularly promising market .
The Care Chemicals division also has a wide range of bioactives for personal care applications based on natural raw materials . “ In this , we are also focused on the transparency of the supply chain ,” said Stiles . In 2023 , for example , BASF launched a pilot digital tool to show the traceability of the argan oil it sources from Morocco .
BASF has the personal care industry ’ s largest footprint in palm oil and palm kernel oil , and has therefore been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ( RSPO ) since 2004 . It also has a voluntary commitment to source palm oil sustainably and it publishes its palm footprint in its annual Responsible Sourcing Report .
In addition , the company offers products based on certified sustainable coconut oil and castor oil . For instance , it has been part of the Pragati initiative in India on castor oil , which accounts for 90 % of the world market , for eight years .
Measuring sustainability
As a third an additional lever to reduce its PCFs , BASF uses the Biomass Balance approach . This involves replacing fossil fuels with renewables at the beginning of
production and using a third-partyvalidated mass balance scheme , resulting in a tool called Ecobalance to measure the reduction of the PCF while producing a chemically identical product , thus achieving greater sustainability without any need for product reformulation .
“ What ’ s driving a lot of our customers is corporate targets ,” Stiles concluded . “ Many of them have set ambitious targets , particularly around CO 2 reductions , and they need support from us to achieve them .” While she focused on the sustainability efforts from BASF impacting the Personal Care industry , the same principles apply across the company . “ Sustainability is core to our mission – the mission statement of the whole group is ‘ We create chemistry for a sustainable future ’.” ●
* - Verdessence is a registered trademark of BASF
Dr Becky Stiles
HEAD OF APPLIED SUSTAINABILITY , PERSONAL CARE
BASF k + 49 151 656 70771 J rebecca . stiles @ basf . com j www . basf . com
54 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE