BASF Strengthens Operation Network for Certified Palm-based Products

Implementation of RSPO Certification

By receiving the RSPO certification for the Pulnoy site, BASF includes parts of its actives portfolio in its offer of certified palm-based products according to the “Mass Balance” supply chain model. Although the respective actives do not contain palm kernel oil themselves, their manufacturing process requires the use of palm-based auxiliaries that are now certified. The “Mass Balance” model fosters the physical flow of certified raw materials within the oleo-derivatives supply chain.

“With this new certification we took a bold step towards the implementation of the RSPO standard for a broader part of our actives portfolio. We thereby respond to the needs of our customers and help them make their products more sustainable to live up to the requirements of the end consumers,” said Xavier Susterac, Senior Vice President BASF Personal Care Europe.

Major Portfolio Switch

As BASF announced in April, the company is shifting its Personal Care portfolio and will offer palm-based specialties for the cosmetics industry exclusively as certified sustainable. BASF has made a commitment to switch about 330 palm-based products to RSPO ‘Mass Balance’ certified in the course of 2018 globally. This is the latest move in BASF’s initiative “Time for Change”.

BASF produces palm-based ingredients for cosmetic products, detergents and cleaning agents as well as foodstuffs. The majority of oil palm products used by BASF are based on palm kernel oil and its derivatives, to a lesser extent on palm oil. In 2017, BASF processed 515,000 metric tons of palm-based raw materials. As palm cultivation is linked to deforestation, loss of biodiversity and social conflicts in the producing countries – mainly Indonesia and Malaysia – BASF has committed itself to source only RSPO-certified sustainable palm kernel oil by 2020. In 2017, BASF’s share of RSPO-certified sustainable palm kernel oil amounted to approximately 51 percent.