ARC360 caught up with Terence Jackson, Country Manager UK & Ireland – Automotive Refinish of Corporate Partner BASF to find out more about the organisations focus on sustainability and how it drives every area of the business.
Can you give us an overview of how sustainability has risen up the list of priorities at BASF in the last few years?
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We have operated our Verbund concept for decades, a system in which, chemical processes make use of energy more efficiently, achieve higher product yields and conserve resources. By-products of one process are used as starting materials for another process, therefore saving on raw materials and energy, minimising emissions, cutting logistics costs and realising synergies.
We want to live up to our responsibility for climate protection and we are committed to the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement. One way we do this is with our products, which enable our customers to lower CO2 emissions. But that is not all. We will 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.
What does sustainability success look like for BASF?
BASF contributes to a world that provides a viable future with enhanced quality of life for everyone. We do so by creating chemistry for our customers and society and by making the best use of available resources. In March 2021 BASF announced that it had set itself even more ambitious goals on its journey to climate neutrality, wanting to achieve net zero emissions1 by 2050.
Our BASF Coatings division contributes to BASF’s overall ambitious targets. BASF Coatings sees strong dynamics in the market regarding the trends of sustainability and is following three priorities: Climate change, efficient materials and safe chemicals. We are driving sustainable surface solutions to support our customers. With our new waterborne basecoat line we are exceeding all global VOC requirements. We are pioneering with a VOC value <250g/l, which is 40% below solvent limit. But not only is this especially environmentally friendly, at the same time it is highly efficient for our customer’s processes. Another example is our bio mass balance certified clear coats, for whose production we use renewable feedstock for production, allowing our customers to reduce their CO2 emissions in the bodyshop. When our customers are successfully reducing CO2 emissions, that’s what success looks like for us.
Can you give us an insight into the role partnerships are playing in achieving your sustainability targets?
Our approach covers the entire value chain – from responsible procurement and safety and resource efficiency in production to sustainable solutions for our customers. As well as our commitment to sustainability along our value chain, we also draw on the competence of global initiatives and networks and contribute our own expertise. BASF is active in worldwide initiatives with various stakeholder groups. For instance, we have been a member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) since its establishment in 2000. This allows us to better understand trends in society as the drivers of our business, to help shape measurement and performance standards and to partner for joint contributions to Sustainable Development. An example of this was BASF’s leading role in establishing the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, whose aim is to develop solutions that stop plastic waste entering the environment.
In Automotive Refinish we are following a holistic sustainability approach. Beyond our products we are collaborating with external partners to consult with our customers on their way to carbon neutrality. In addition, we are in exchange with OEMs, insurances, associations and other industry stakeholders to collaborate towards a more sustainable future.
How are you working towards CO2 reduction within the organisation?
BASF has set itself ambitious goals on its journey to climate neutrality. Based on the most recent progress in developing low-emission and CO2-free technologies, the company is also significantly raising its medium-term 2030 target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions: BASF now wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 25% compared with 2018 – and to achieve this despite targeted ambitious growth.
Our activities in the area have been bundled into our Carbon Management programme, which seeks to re-think and re-design our largest emitting processes. The expense and complexity of this programme shows our long-term commitment to creating a transition within our industry to a net zero future.
How are you working towards VOC reduction within the organisation?
[see also answer in question 2 regarding VOCs] Reducing VOC content is a large focus for us within our Refinish business, as well as carbon reduction. We know that we need to be doing as much as possible to make vehicle refinish as sustainable as possible, and we are pushing waterborne technology as far as we can. Our new AGILIS basecoat system in R-M is 40% less VOCs versus current technology and a huge leap forward.
What do you see as the greatest challenge in terms of sustainability?
There are many challenges related to sustainability, so it is difficult to highlight only one. The task ahead is complex and hard and requires alignment by across many stakeholders to achieve success. The hard, technical challenges entail significant cost and so access to finance is crucial. We need government support in terms of supporting legislation and strategy, including access to renewable energy. We also have a very human challenge in winning hearts and minds, bringing everyone along through this transition and ensuring that nobody gets left behind.
How is sustainability influencing product development within BASF?
We recognise that Innovation is the key enabler for the sustainability transformation. Products from the chemical industry can make a significant contribution to help decarbonise customer value chains. We see the problems that need to be solved and harness our expertise and capabilities to produce solutions.
In BASF Automotive Refinish Coatings sustainability is strongly influencing product development. Not only do we work with our suppliers to source more sustainable raw materials (reducing carbon backpack), or with our partners to introduce more sustainable paint related materials, but we are also eager to introduce even more sustainable products to the market than we already have today. One focus is our mass balance approach, where we use renewable feedstock like bio-naphta for our own production. Products produced this way are marketed under the EcoBalance and e’sense label.
Can you give us an insight into how process optimisation can impact/reduce your carbon footprint?
Energy efficiency and process optimisation measures are not only good sense for the environment but also save money. BASF has done most of the hard work on this to reduce our carbon footprint by half while doubling output over the last 30 years. We can also work with our customers to reduce their energy usage and so reduce their carbon footprint. Our vehicle refinish brands have also entered into a partnership with ECA Energy, where we are working together to drive body shops reducing their carbon footprint through a combination of faster processes and more sustainable products.
Sustainability is far more than just ‘going green’ – how are you working with communities to promote a cleaner society?
As part of our sustainability commitment, BASF’s societal engagement contributes to the solution of relevant societal challenges for communities surrounding our sites and vulnerable communities worldwide. We seek to add to a cohesive society by supporting and safeguarding health, skills and resources. We regard societal engagement as an investment into the shared value for societies, the environment and business alike. A global example is our commitment to Zero by 40, a partnership whose aim is to develop the tools needed to eradicate Malaria by 2040.
Meeting sustainable targets for a global organisation such as BASF will require buy-in from every colleague; how are you engaging with the 110,000-plus workforce to ensure everyone is working towards the same end?
Sustainability is more than a topic or a ‘nice to do’ for BASF and it forms part of our reason for existence, our culture and is manifested in our corporate purpose, ‘We create chemistry for a sustainable future’. This starts with clear and consistent messaging from the very top of our organisation and cascades through our strategy, targets and employee dialogue throughout the organisation. BASF has also been engaging with its employees through Carbon Literacy, which is aimed at giving everyone a basic understanding of climate change and its impacts and how each of us can take action to make a difference, either as individuals or as employees.
In BASF Automotive Refinish sustainability is one strategic pillar. It is on every meeting agenda, we have a dedicated sustainability manager, we offer training to our people and are on the way to make sustainability part of our DNA.
1 For more details on BASF’s Climate Protection Goals click here
