Sustainability

Biomass balance is one of our main sustainability solutions for the paper and board coating industry.

Paper and Board manufacturers are looking to reduce their CO₂ emissions to help create a better and more sustainable future. Moreover, increasing awareness among end consumers has led to growing demand for low-carbon footprint products, especially in the packaging industry.

May 2023

Thomas Schiele explains how BASF’s Biomass Balance approach empowers you to reduce the consumption of fossil resources in your products - without changing a thing.

BASF is officially certified to produce Biomass-balanced products at all its production sites. This enables our customers to source products with significantly reduced product carbon footprints – no reformulation necessary, same performance guaranteed.

Thomas Schiele

Vice President Adhesives, Fiberbonding & Paper Coating Chemicals

The picture shows a map of Europe highlighting two BASF locations: Hamina in Finland and Ludwigshafen in Germany. The Finnish flag is displayed on the left side of the map, emphasizing the Hamina site. On the right side of the image, there are four smaller photos featuring an industrial BASF facility in Hamina, Finland. These photos show various aspects of the site, including buildings, industrial equipment, and a worker wearing safety gear operating machinery. The worker’s face is blurred for privacy. At the bottom right, the text reads "BASF, Hamina, Finnland," clearly indicating the location of this BASF site.

Hamina, Finland ready to offer more sustainable products

We see that our customers and their customers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their product carbon footprints while preserving product quality. With our certified biomass balance approach, we are now able to deliver products with significantly reduced CO₂ emissions at the same performance level. This is only one step on our journey to create a sustainable future.

Tom Carne

Head of our Paper & Board Coating business in the Nordics

March 2023
Tom Carne is excited about this new milestone for Hamina and his Nordic customers.

REDcert² and ISCC PLUS are standards for the use of sustainable biomass as raw material in the chemical industry. Regarding BASF's biomass balance approach, certification according to these standards confirms that the biomass used is sustainable and has been fed into the production Verbund in the required amount. It also confirms that the sustainable biomass has been correctly attributed to the corresponding sales products. The certifications are awarded on the basis of on-site audits conducted by independent auditors. BASF’s Hamina and Ludwigshafen plants are both REDcert² and ISCC+ certified. With the new certifications for the Hamina plant, we are taking another big step towards creating a sustainable future.

More information about Hamina

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Breaking down what Biomass Balance entails

Our Biomass Balance approach is an innovative drop-in solution that empowers BASF to offer its customers a reduction in their carbon footprints of up to 100%, without requiring any reformulations or changes to existing manufacturing processes. In the biomass balance approach, renewable resources such as bio-naphtha or biomethane derived from organic waste, crops or vegetable oils are used as feedstock in the very first steps of chemical production. The bio-based feedstock amount is then allocated to specific products sold by means of the certified method.

The picture shows a large roll of white material—likely paper or a similar product—set in a manufacturing environment. To the right, four key points are highlighted with green icons and text, emphasizing the product’s sustainability and quality features:
Renewable (leaf icon): The product replaces up to 100% of fossil resources and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction (footprint and CO₂ icon): It achieves up to 100% reduction in emissions compared to conventional products, thanks to the use of renewable resources.
Reliable quality (diamond icon): The product guarantees consistent performance without any compromise on quality. Independent certification (document and leaf icon): The product is certified according to REDcert² and/or ISCC plus standards, ensuring a closed chain of custody.

Would you like to learn more about the Biomass Balance Approach? Click here!

A hand holds a glowing light bulb nestled in vibrant green grass, symbolizing innovation and sustainable energy with a hopeful and creative tone.

Switch to 100% green electricity consumption at the Hamina site

Give your sustainability efforts a jolt of Green Energy and reduce your carbon footprint by an additional 10% - on top of your CO₂ savings with Biomass Balance. Selecting Green Energy means that we’ll only use energy from renewable sources for your Biomass Balance products. It’s the cleanest way to get even greener.

With the switch to 100 % green electricity during the year 2022, BASF’s Hamina site reduced its scope 2 emissions by 14% or 313 tons of CO₂ per year. The yearly CO₂ savings equal approximately 11.5 million passenger car kilometers.