Fuel and Lubricant Solutions

Sustainability

Lubricant Components Sustainability Solutions

Circular Economy

Cradle to grave
(Life cycle analysis)
Cradle to cradle
(circular economy)
Bio-renewable (BMB)
Bio-based (SSBO; RSPO)
Sustainable packaging

Climate Protection instead of low carbon

Energy efficiency
Product carbon footprint
reduced CO₂ products
Journey to green energy
LCA Methodology standardization / partnerships
Digitalization

Application Benefits

Marine
E-mobility
Aviation
Bio-hydraulics
MWF

Eco-friendly Chemicals

Clean label
Sustainability and regulatory services
Environmental / food contact
Safer chemistry (LUSC)
Water Management
Biodiversity and Ecosystems protection
Safe work environment

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Climate Protection

Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time, we as BASF aim to achieve net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. To achieve this, we become more efficient in our production and energy usage, we will increase our use of renewable energies and we will accelerate the development and deployment of new CO₂-free processes for the production of chemicals.

A sustainable landscape with lubricant components

BASF Lubricant Components is a frontrunner offering a portfolio with reduced product carbon footprint (PCF) and has strong expertise in full life-cycle analysis. It is possible to reduce the PCF of many products during production, for example by using green electricity or biomass (i.e., via biomass balance (Biomass Balance Approach BASF). The PCFs of some of our Lubricant Components are already lower than the corresponding market benchmarks due to our use of more efficient manufacturing processes (integrated production with highly efficient energy supply) and advantageous raw materials.

Read more about BASF´s Sustainability engagements, activities, goals and achievements

We are a frontrunner in offering customers product carbon footprints according to a certified methodology and a product portfolio with reduced carbon footprint

BASF will achieve its climate protection goal by increasing share of renewable energies, power-to-steam, bio-based feedstocks and continuous process improvements with new technologies

Value chain collaboration is needed to holistically approach climate protection goals. We offer our sustainability expertise to push boundaries in joint sustainability efforts – from cradle to cradle

Our Carbon Management Program

We want to live up to our responsibility for climate protection. One way we do this is with our products, which enable our customers to lower CO₂ emissions.

But that is not all: We also become more efficient in our production and energy use, we will increase our use of renewable energies and we will accelerate the development and deployment of new CO₂-free processes for the production of chemicals.

In order to be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale, the focus is on switching to renewable energy sources. This is because the use of new technologies will replace fossil fuels such as natural gas with electricity from renewable sources in the future.

We also evaluate the impact on the environment during production and the use of products based on renewable raw materials. The use of renewable raw materials broadens our raw materials basis and thus reduces further the dependency on fossil resources.

Product carbon footprint (PCF) and Eco‐Efficiency Calculations

Creating transparency around carbon management on an individual product level

BASF's PCF Offering

Product carbon footprints (PCFs) sum up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the different stages of its life cycle. For example, a cradle‐to‐gate (partial) PCF considers all the processes from extraction of resources through manufacturing of precursors and the making of the final product itself up to the point where it leaves the company gate. A cradle‐to‐grave PCF covers the complete life cycle of the product, including the emissions from the use phase and end‐of‐life of the product.

BASF’s PCFs are calculated following general standards for life cycle assessment (ISO 14044) and carbon footprints of products (ISO 14067), as well as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Product Standard.

BASF's PCF calculation is based on GHG emissions from its own plants and high‐quality average data for purchased raw materials as well as purchased energy. BASF will gradually replace average data with supplier specific data for purchased raw materials, as soon as they become available from our suppliers.

PCFs provide our customers with valuable information on levers for avoiding greenhouse gas emissions. Already today we offer them added value through the use of alternative raw materials. In this way, we help our customers reduce the carbon footprint of their products.

Sustainability Digitalization

BASF’s methodology and proprietary digital solution for product carbon footprint calculation has proven its usability beyond our company’s scope. We have shared it with partnering software houses via licensing agreements. Based on BASF’s methodology, our partners develop software for implementation at third parties.

As the existing PCF calculation standards leave room for interpretation and allow different ways of emission allocation, BASF has gone one level deeper in defining additional prescriptive criteria in its PCF methodology. Only if industries follow the same methodology, PCF values will be comparable.

TÜV Rheinland has certified that BASF’s method to calculate cradle-to-gate product carbon footprints is in line with the relevant international standards*.

BASF is now sharing its methodology and digital solution in the industry via an ecosystem of partnerships.

Read more about Partnerships for Product Carbon Footprint methodology

* ISO 14067:2018 https://www.iso.org/standard/71206.html and Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standard https://ghgprotocol.org/product-standard

Eco-Efficiency Analysis

Product Carbon Footprints create transparency about greenhouse gas emissions associated with our products.

At the same time, they are only one piece of a bigger sustainability picture. Comprehensive sustainability assessments of products include environmental, economic and social criteria. If customers want to get a more holistic picture, we recommend multi-criteria assessment tools like our Eco-Efficiency Analysis.

Circular Economy

Circular economy means decoupling growth from resource consumption.
BASF is driving circular economy by making the most of the limited resources of our planet: We keep them in use for as long as possible, minimize waste and create value with renewable resources. For this, we contribute to close and extend the loops by developing and implementing circular solutions for the materials we source, further optimizing our operations and offering resource-efficient products and services which support our customers’ circularity journeys.

Mountains and sustainable wind turbines with lubricant components

In particular, we offer Lubricant components that are based on bio- or renewable materials, do research on circular lubricants and conduct lifecycle analyses (LCAs) in order to reduce CO₂ emissions considering the holistic lifecycle.

Read more about BASF´s circular economy activities

BASF offers customers a product portfolio with reduced carbon footprint and has strong expertise in life-cycle analysis and renewable raw materials. Together we can move forward with sustainable lubricants

We contribute by developing and implementing circular solutions for the materials we source, further optimizing our operations and offering resource-efficient products and services which support our customers’ circularity journeys

Value chain collaboration is needed to holistically approach a circular economy. We offer our sustainability expertise to our Lubricant Component customers to jointly push boundaries: from cradle-to-cradle

Bio-renewables

The development of chemicals based on biological feedstocks is critical for a sustainable future and BASF is proud to offer lubricant components from bio-renewable feedstocks as part of our circular solutions offering. Whether these are bio-based raw materials or leveraging renewable raw materials to substitute fossil resources, we are continuously developing our lubricants components portfolio to offer the most advanced sustainability solutions to lower our environmental footprint.

Bio-based

BASF's dedicated bio-based portfolio offers solutions for multiple applications, using their unique properties that can either not or not cost-efficiently be achieved with a fossil feedstock.

Have a look e.g. at our ester portfolio containing products with excellent biodegradability, very good toxicity profile, renewable content up to >90% and suitability for use in bio-lubricants.

Our Journey Towards Sustainable Oil Palm Products

Two of our key renewable raw materials for lubricant components are palm oil and palm kernel oil and their respective derivatives. We share the widespread concern about challenges regarding deforestation, loss of biodiversity and climate change from the loss of peatland. That is why BASF committed to only source sustainable palm and palm kernel oil, certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), by 2025.

Customers can already source a large portfolio of RSPO certified products now.

Read more about BASF RSPO

Biomass balance (BMB)

BASF's Biomass balance approach

With our biomass balance (BMB) portfolio, we leverage the power of nature and use renewable raw materials to substitute fossil resources and reduce CO₂ emissions.

It works similar to green electricity, where a mix of energy sources is fed into one grid and the renewable share is allocated to households that purchase green electricity. We use biomethane, e.g. derived from agricultural waste, substitute it for the fossil naphtha in our production "Verbund" and allocate these quantities to our BMB products. An independent certification confirms that BASF has replaced the required quantities of fossil resources for the biomass balanced product with renewable feedstock.

Have questions about our BMBcert offering?

Cradle-to-cradle (Lifecycle analysis)

Product carbon footprints (PCFs) allow companies to compare products' direct process CO₂ emissions, energy demand and scope 3 upstream CO₂ emissions. With a joint lifecycle analysis (LCA), we can take you one step further. LCAs additionally include the use and end-of-life phase. This allows for a comparison of performance and sustainability advantages after production. For many lubricant applications, the benefit is only visible when looking at the whole lifecycle. Above that, additional environmental impact categories, such as land use or water consumption, can be included in an LCA.

Consumers use and dispose plastic products (e.g. packaging, tyres)

BASF can allocate the recycled feedstock to all chemicals produced in this Verbund via a certified mass balance approach.

Our customers use these chemicals to make their own products

Waste companies collect and sort the waste and supply BASF’s technology partners with it

Our partners convert the plastic waste into pyrolysis oil through a thermochemical process

Pyrolysis oil is purified to be used as feedstock at the beginning of BASF’s Verbund production

LCA data can show products' (sustainability) performance in application and end-of-life phases
Backward integrated production enables primary data instead of industry averages
BASF's sustainability knowhow and expertise ensure high-quality results

Have questions about our LCA calculations and how we can support you?
Contact us here

Sustainable Packaging

Not only the product itself, but also the packaging plays a crucial role.
Packaging does not only preserve and protect the product from damages, but also often contribute significantly to the related emissions. Hence, BASF is on a continuous journey to reduce and optimize packaging while ensuring its protectionary properties. Above that, BASF does research on innovative recycling technologies, such as chemical recycling, to reuse plastic waste as a resource in chemical production.

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Lubricant Components Sustainability Solutions

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