BASF Personal Care production sites on an exciting journey towards Net Zero 2050

March 09, 2023

• BASF’s Çayırova production site in Turkey has received the International Renewable Energy Certificate
• The production site in Zona Franca, Spain has been supplied with fossil resource-free electricity since 2022
• Further European production sites in the personal care sector are successfully implementing measures towards 2050 Net Zero goals

Monheim am Rhein, Germany – March 9, 2023 – The European production sites for BASF’s personal care business are successfully implementing measures towards 2050 Net Zero goals. The Çayırova production site has taken an important step in reaching its emission targets by obtaining the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC). The classification confirms that the electricity consumed by the production site is generated from 100% renewable resources. The I-REC Standard is acknowledged by major reporting frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP).

 

The Çayırova production site lowered its carbon footprint resulting from green electricity needs and carbon emissions by around 65% compared to 2018. Since 2015 the site successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions significantly by centering on operational excellence projects to optimize the consumption of raw materials, steam and electricity. Thus, the reduction in the amount of carbon emissions targeted for 2030 for current production volumes has already been realized and it is one step closer to the goal of reducing the carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

 

“We have been focusing on operational excellence these last years and have already implemented improvements, resulting in CO2 reductions at our sites,” emphasizes Turgay Kocaturk, Çayırova Site Manager. “I appreciate that local authorities are also noticing our efforts and have acknowledged them by awarding us with the Low Carbon Hero Award 2021. By sourcing 100% green energy and implementing OpEx measures, we are on a very good path to achieving our sustainability goals.”

 

European production sites are advancing on their Net Zero targets                   

Other European production sites for the personal care sector are also working intensively to make their contribution to environmental protection. The production site in Zona Franca, Spain, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement with a green power supplier. Sufficient green electricity is now available to convert 100% of the electricity procurement for this site into “green” from 2022 onwards. The electricity is provided by onshore wind farms located in various sites throughout Spain. Another example is Pulnoy, France, where high-end active ingredients for the personal care business are manufactured. Implementing a new steam production unit already enabled the site to save approximately 30% of CO2 emissions in comparison with the replaced system. The UV-filter Competence Center in Grenzach, Germany, continues its journey to climate neutrality with an approved investment which will allow the site to decrease its CO2 emissions by approximately 20% after startup in 2025, thanks to a new drying process with improved energy efficiency developed by BASF’s process technology expert leads.

 

With the successful implementation of measures like these, the personal care business underlines BASF’s goal of combining climate protection and economic success to enable the development of innovations needed for global climate protection. By 2030, BASF aims at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from its production sites and its energy purchases by 25% compared with 2018. In addition, the company is striving worldwide to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This ambitious target is based on five pillars: BASF is increasingly meeting its energy needs from renewable sources (gray-to-green); it relies on energy recovery to produce steam (power-to-steam); the company is constantly working on the improvement of energy, material and process efficiency of its production plants (continuous opex); it is replacing the use of fossil raw materials to bio-based raw materials (bio-based feedstocks); and finally together with its partners, BASF is aiming for nearly carbon-free production processes (new technologies).

About the Care Chemicals division at BASF

The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergents and cleaners industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.

 

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 111,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €87.3 billion in 2022. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.