Responsible sourcing:
We care about sustainable supply chains
Sustainability begins at the source and carries through along the entire value chain. For this reason, responsible sourcing is a key element of our sustainability strategy. BASF sources a wide range of raw materials, technical goods and services. Our suppliers are an important part of our value chain. Together with our suppliers we want to increase the share of renewable ingredients in our portfolio, but also to improve sustainability in the supply chain and minimize risks. We are engaged in a range of initiatives to foster sustainable farm practices and enhance the wellbeing of farmers and workers.
Our portfolio:
Sustainable palm oil
Palm oil, palm kernel oil and their respective derivatives are valuable raw materials for home and personal care ingredients. However, oil palm plantations can contribute significantly to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The draining of peat soils to grow palm is a further factor in climate change. These are some of the reasons why BASF became a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004. Since then, we have actively participated in consultations within the organization.
Two of our key renewable raw materials are palm oil and palm kernel oil and their respective derivatives, which we mainly use to produce home and personal care ingredients and, to a lesser extent, food ingredients. Oil palm plantations can contribute significantly to deforestation, loss of biodiversity and climate change from the loss of peatland. We share the widespread concern about these challenges and are committed to reducing the impact on the environment.
As one of the leading processors of palm (kernel) oil within the Home and Personal Care Industry, we regularly show you the progress being made on our journey toward sustainable oil palm products.
Our primary concern is to ensure that our products are produced from sustainably sourced palm products. We see it as our responsibility to work intensively with the companies we buy our raw materials from, to engage more closely with the palm supply chain from the smallholder to the end consumer, and to address the consequences of using and selling products based on palm oil and palm kernel oil.
For the latest figures, the current Palm Dialogue, and more information on our entire sustainable palm strategy, click here: Sustainable Palm Oil
Sustainable coconut oil
Coconut oil is an important feedstock for the chemical industry. BASF uses coconut oil to manufacture ingredients for products such as cosmetic products, detergents and cleaning agents.
BASF is the world’s first chemical company to offer certified sustainable ingredients for personal care products based on coconut oil. Following our production site in Cassina Rizzardi, Italy, we successfully certified another site in Zona Franca, Spain. This is the next important step to ensure that its renewable-based products are made from sustainably sourced raw materials. The company was certified according to the Rainforest Alliance Mass Balance Coconut certification scheme. Mass balance (MB) is a supply chain model that fosters the physical flow of certified raw materials within the supply chains, while the farmers benefit from selling Rainforest Alliance Certified coconuts and copra.
As part of our sustainability strategy, BASF cooperated with Cargill, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in a development partnership under the develoPPP.de program commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
BASF has begun purchasing certified sustainable coconut oil, whose origin can be traced back to Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms in General Santos in the Philippines. The alliance introduced certified sustainable coconut oil in 2018.
Alongside establishing a certified environmentally compatible coconut oil supply chain, a main goal of the partnership is to improve the lives of coconut smallholder farmers in selected regions of the Philippines and Indonesia by working with them and teaching them better agricultural practices.
In addition, consumers are increasingly aware of environmental issues associated with coconut farming, and favor products based on sustainably sourced feedstocks. Find out more about our entire sustainable coconut oil strategy.
Sustainable castor oil
Castor oil, derived from the castor bean, is an essential ingredient in a wide range of formulations. The oil and its derivatives are used as a raw material in the production of personal care applications, household cleaners, paints and pharmaceuticals.
Recognizing the importance of sustainable agricultural practices, we strive to improve the social and environmental conditions of castor bean cultivation in our supply chain, in line with BASF’s principles for the responsible sourcing of renewable raw materials. In the past, there were no globally defined and accepted standards for sustainable castor cultivation. This was something we wanted to change. In response, in 2016, together with our partners, we launched the sustainable castor initiative “Pragati” to provide our customers with ingredients based on sustainably sourced castor feedstock.
The aim of the project was to enable the sustainable castor crop production in India and to improve the economic situation of castor bean farmers. The activities in this country account for about 80% of the castor beans grown worldwide, mostly in smallholder structures. As a result, farmers are trained in 11 areas of principles based on the specially developed sustainability code “Sustainable Castor Caring for Environmental and Social Standards” (SuCCESS), including the use of seeds and planting materials, worker welfare and safety, ecosystem conservation, waste and pollution management, efficient water use, safe use of crop protection products and others.
Since the start of the project, more than 7,000 smallholder farmers have been trained, audited and certified. More than 7,000 hectares are now regularly cultivated according to the SuCCESS sustainable castor code –more than 27,000 hectares cumulatively.
In 2019, the founders of the Pragati initiative launched the Sustainable Castor Association (SCA), which has developed the supply chain standard for companies that process the certified castor beans into castor oil and derivates. This allows downstream companies to offer sustainable certified castor products.
Following a successful audit of our supply chain by an independent certification body, BASF was the first chemical company to achieve SuCCESS certification at the site in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 2021.
In addition, our sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and BASF China were certified in May 2024.
The pioneering role we are playing in promoting sustainable castor sourcing through the Pragati project and the SuCCESS code not only exemplifies our commitment to environmental and social responsibility, but also ensures that our customers can confidently rely on sustainably sourced castor raw materials, setting new standards of excellence in the industry.
Sustainable rambutan
In response to the increasing consumer demand for sustainably sourced, natural cosmetics and in line with BASF’s commitment to sustainability goals, the company’s Care Chemicals Division launched the Rambutan Program in 2014. Its objective: to explore benefits and applications of the healthy super-fruit, its husk and kernel as well as other parts of the tree. The result has been a wide array of renewable, natural ingredients
The project, based in Vietnam, was preceded by research into the potential personal care benefits of extracts derived from different parts of the rambutan tree and its fruit. This was to a large extent made possible by BASF’s interdisciplinary innovation platforms for active ingredients, one of which focuses on the extraction of valuable substances from plant material.
Rambutan (nephelium lappaceum), which is native to the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, is closely related to the lychee and mainly cultivated for its fruit. It has also been valued traditionally across Asia for multiple health benefits.
For example, the fruit has long been used to treat dysentery and fever. In addition, a poultice made of the leaves has been used to treat headaches, while a decoction of the bark is applied for tongue disease and mashed roasted seeds are used to control blood sugar levels. The program respects the needs and interests of local ecosystems as well as smallholders and workers. It helps protect biodiversity, while enhancing conditions for local populations.
Find out more about our sustainable rambutan strategy.
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