Biodegradability
Understanding natural cycles. Enabling sustainable chemistry

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Sustainability is embedded in our strategy and guides the way we innovate, source, manufacture and collaborate with customers across industries. Our ambition is to enable our customers' green transformation through science-based solutions that combine performance and sustainability.

Within BASF, Care Chemicals supports this ambition by developing ingredients and solutions that help customers address key sustainability challenges, including climate protection, responsible sourcing, circularity and biodegradability. As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, understanding the environmental fate of ingredients after use is becoming increasingly important for customers, regulators and value chain partners alike.

Many ingredients used across personal care, home care and industrial applications ultimately enter wastewater streams and the environment after use. Biodegradability helps assess how these substances behave in natural systems and supports the development of solutions designed with both performance and environmental responsibility in mind.

Explore this topic

Biodegradability is more than a single product attribute. It combines scientific understanding, standardized assessment methods, formulation expertise, certification requirements and innovation. On this page, we explore the topic from fundamentals to practical solutions.

Biodegradation fundamentals

Biodegradation is the process by which microorganisms break down organic substances into simpler compounds such as water, carbon dioxide, minerals and biomass. Through the action of enzymes, larger molecules are converted into smaller fragments that can ultimately re-enter natural environmental cycles.

Testing in a business and regulatory context

Standardized test systems are used to assess biodegradability. These methods differ in their stringency and in how closely they reflect real environmental conditions, depending on the question being addressed.

Ready biodegradability
- Ready biodegradability tests according to OECD Guidelines 301 and 310 are stringent, cost-efficient screening methods for rapid ultimate biodegradation. A positive result indicates rapid degradation in sewage treatment plants and the environment and supports a classification of low environmental concern.
Further biodegradability testing
- If a substance does not meet ready biodegradability criteria, inherent tests according to OECD Guideline 302 assess whether it can still degrade completely under more favorable conditions and over a longer period.
- Simulation tests according to OECD Guidelines 307, 308 and 309 reflect specific environmental compartments and provide realistic degradation behavior and half-life values such as DT50, but require more time and resources.
Specific compartments
- Targeted methods are available for specific environmental compartments, including the seawater biodegradation test (OECD 306) and sewage treatment plant simulations (OECD 303).

Choosing the appropriate test method and interpreting the results correctly are essential for drawing meaningful conclusions about the environmental fate of a substance.

BASF assessment of ingredients

Understanding biodegradability starts with understanding individual ingredients.
At Care Chemicals, biodegradability is usually on a component basis. Rather than testing a product mixture as a whole, the individual substances within an ingredient are evaluated using established biodegradability assessment methods. This approach provides a transparent and scientifically robust basis for product classification and customer communication.

A conservative approach for reliable information

BASF applies a deliberately conservative assessment methodology when determining whether an ingredient can be classified as (readily) biodegradable.
The principle is straightforward:

If all substances within an ingredient are assessed as (readily) biodegradable, the ingredient is categorized accordingly.
If one or more substances do not meet the required criteria, the ingredient is classified as not (readily) biodegradable.

This approach enables BASF to provide clear and reliable biodegradability information in the Safety Data Sheet (SDS), supporting customers in sustainability assessments, formulation development and regulatory evaluations.

Result:
Product Y is assessed as not readily biodegradable.
Biodegradation Profile Statement
To provide a more differentiated view beyond the conservative product classification, BASF offers the Biodegradation Profile Statement. It indicates the non-biodegradable share of an ingredient and enables customers to include only this proportion in their formulation assessment, rather than considering the entire ingredient as non-biodegradable. This provides more meaningful information for formulation development and sustainability assessments.

Using biodegradation data in formulations

Understanding the biodegradability of individual ingredients is only the first step. To evaluate the biodegradability profile of a finished formulation, different assessment approaches can be applied depending on the intended use of the data and the desired level of detail.

Approaches to formulation assessment

Option 1: Testing the finished formulation

The finished product can be tested directly. While this approach assesses the formulation as a whole, it does not provide information about the biodegradability of individual ingredients. Since > 60% biodegradation in 28 days is the threshold value to be reached you can easily overlook persistent components. In addition, results may be less favorable than expected because microorganisms often degrade different substance types sequentially rather than simultaneously.
As a result, BASF generally does not recommend using this approach to support claims such as "readily biodegradable".

Option 2: BASF Ingredient-based assessment

BASF applies a conservative ingredient-based methodology that evaluates whether the components of a formulation are biodegradable or not. This approach builds on the biodegradability information available for the individual ingredients.

While scientifically robust, the assessment is intentionally conservative. Since many formulations contain ingredients with different biodegradation profiles, a finished formulation will often not qualify as "readily biodegradable" under this approach.

Option 3: Percentage-based assessment

A practical alternative is to calculate the percentage of biodegradable ingredients within a formulation. This assessment is based on two key inputs:

The biodegradability classification of each ingredient
The concentration of each ingredient within the formulation

Using this information, the proportion of biodegradable constituents can be calculated and used to support formulation development and continuous improvement activities.

Why BASF recommends an ingredient-based approach
Biodegradability begins at ingredient level. Understanding the contribution of individual formulation components provides valuable insights that can support product development, ingredient selection and sustainability-related decision-making.
In practice, ingredient-based methodologies often provide a more reliable assessment than testingthe finished formulation alone and can help identify opportunities to improve a product's overall sustainability profile.
From ingredient to wastewater treatment
What happens to an ingredient after a product is used?
The journey often continues beyond the consumer. After a product is washed off, its ingredients enter wastewater systems and are transported to sewage treatment plants, where microorganisms begin breaking down biodegradable substances.
Take Verdessence™ RiceTouch as an example. The ingredient is readily biodegradable according to OECD standards, derived from 100% renewable feedstocks and has a natural origin index of 1.
When used in a formulation, the ingredient becomes part of a complex product. During wastewater treatment, microorganisms help degrade biodegradable ingredients and mineralize them to a very high degree or even completely before leaving the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).
The example highlights why biodegradability matters and how ingredient choices can support the development of products with improved environmental profiles.
What does this mean for formulators?
This example illustrates how ingredient selection can influence the environmental profile of a formulation. By understanding the biodegradability characteristics of individual ingredients, formulators can:

Compare alternative ingredient options
Better understand the environmental fate of formulations
Support sustainability assessments
Identify opportunities to increase the share of biodegradable components within a product

By combining ingredient-level information with formulation expertise, customers can make more informed decisions when developing products with improved sustainability profile.

Why biodegradability matters

Biodegradability is becoming an increasingly important sustainability consideration across the Care Chemicals industry. A combination of changing consumer expectations, evolving regulations and growing environmental awareness is driving demand for ingredients with improved biodegradability profiles.
Across Care Chemicals, many ingredients are intentionally designed to interact with water during their lifecycle, making the environmental fate of ingredients after use a relevant consideration across applications.
Several developments contribute to this trend:

Growing demand for sustainable products and transparent environmental information
Increased interest in alternatives to microplastics and microbeads
Voluntary certification schemes such as COSMOS, NATRUE, EU Ecolabel and Nordic Swan
Demand for zero-waste and environmentally conscious product concepts
Growing attention to marine pollution and aquatic ecosystems
Increasing sustainability-related product claims across industries

Many products within Personal Care, Home Care and other Care Chemicals applications ultimately interact with water during their lifecycle. As a result, public and regulatory interest increasingly extends beyond ingredient sourcing and manufacturing to include the environmental fate of ingredients after use.
At the same time, governments and institutions continue to strengthen sustainability-related requirements. In Europe, for example, regulatory developments addressing synthetic polymer microparticles and certain siloxanes have further increased the focus on biodegradable alternatives.
As customers seek solutions that combine performance with improved environmental profiles, moving from non-biodegradable to biodegradable ingredients can play an important role in advancing more sustainable formulations.

Certifications & ecolabels

Sustainability expectations are increasingly reflected in voluntary certification systems and ecolabels, which provide additional guidance for formulators and brands.
COSMOS
Requirements for natural and organic cosmetics, including biodegradability-related criteria for selected ingredient categories.
NATRUE
Certification framework for natural and organic cosmetics, including requirements related to detergents, surfactants and restrictions on microplastics.
EU Ecolabel / Nordic Swan
Environmental label with biodegradability requirements covering surfactants and other organic substances across product categories.

BASF biodegradable solutions

As customer expectations evolve and regulatory requirements become increasingly stringent, the demand for biodegradable alternatives continues to grow across a wide range of applications. BASF supports this transition through innovation in key technology areas.

Natural & biodegradable polymers

Natural and biodegradable polymers support the development of high-performing formulations with improved environmental profiles. The Verdessence™ portfolio combines renewable sourcing, formulation versatility and biodegradability.

Biosurfactants

Biosurfactants combine bio-based sourcing, biodegradability and high performance, helping customers address evolving market expectations and regulatory requirements.

Sustainable product alternatives

BASF develops innovative alternatives that help customers transition to more sustainable formulations while maintaining performance.

Innovation guided by sustainability

Biodegradability is evaluated alongside other important sustainability criteria such as renewable feedstocks, responsible sourcing and product performance. This holistic approach helps customers develop solutions that meet evolving sustainability expectations without compromising functionality.

Some of our examples - for detailed information, please contact your sales representative.

Verdessence®

The new star lineup of biopolymers in personal care. With our new Verdessence^® product line, our commitment to sustainability brings you those biopolymer solutions for personal care, in line with the latest trends.

Sustainable solutions to volatile silicones

BASF Personal Care has developed an array of sustainable silicone alternatives that enable you to create products with appealing performance and sensory profiles.

Sustainable Emulsifier Solutions

Sustainable Emulsifier Solutions for Modern Cosmetics

Lavergy® Enzymes

Biodegradability starts with science
Reliable biodegradability assessments require robust methodologies and the correct interpretation of results.

Assessment starts at ingredient level
Understanding the contribution of individual ingredients provides valuable insights for formulation development and sustainability assessments.

Innovation enables more sustainable solutions
Through scientific expertise and innovative ingredient solutions, BASF supports customers in developing formulations that balance sustainability and performance.

Advancing sustainable chemistry through biodegradable solutions
Whether you are evaluating ingredient choices, developing new formulations or responding to evolving sustainability requirements, BASF Care Chemicals provides the expertise and solutions to help you navigate the growing importance of biodegradability.

Explore our biodegradable solutions or connect with our experts to learn more.

Biodegradability Understanding natural cycles. Enabling sustainable chemistry