Plastics & Rubber

Biomass Balance

BASF has received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS for Irganox^® 1010 BMBcert™ and Irganox^® 1076 BMBcert™ antioxidants, manufactured in Kaisten, Switzerland and McIntosh, Alabama, United States.

This certification will enable BASF to offer more sustainable grades of its Irganox^® 1010 and Irganox^® 1076_,antioxidants with a reduced Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) through the use of renewable raw materials in a mass balance approach.

An ISCC Plus certification covers the entire value chain and ensures the use of renewable raw materials. It is an internationally recognized certification for the mass balance methodology.

BASF’s biomass approach contributes to the use of renewable raw materials in BASF’s integrated production system and is now being applied to both Irganox^® 1010 BMBcert™ and Irganox^® 1076 BMBcert™, with future offerings within the BASF product portfolio to come.

The resulting biomass balanced products offer BASF customers a differentiation opportunity such as a quantifiably improved CO₂ footprint and savings on fossil resources. Customers can expect an identical product quality and performance to what they are accustomed to and benefit from a sustainable drop-in solution, making a conscious contribution to environmental protection.

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Press Information

BASF launches first biomass balance plastic additives (english only)

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Sustainability Benefits

Saves fossil resources

Climate change action

Drives the use of renewable resources

Is independently certified

Biomass Balance Approach

BASF continues to develop and expand the biomass balance process through the use of renewable raw materials in the chemical industry. BASF decreases the use of fossil fuels in our Verbund production through the replacement of fossil feedstock with renewable raw material. This biomass balance approach has gained third party certification and allows BASF to produce biomass balance certified (BMBcert™) product grades for select offerings in the plastic additives industry.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is BASF’s biomass balance approach?

The biomass balance approach enables BASF to use the infrastructure already in place today to ensure a low-carbon future. With the biomass balance approach, BASF works with suppliers that can take agricultural waste residues and other types of biomasses and convert them into basic chemical raw materials, such as bio-naphtha and biogas, which can be fed into the very early stages of chemical production.

At BASF we have a highly integrated network of both sites and plants (BASF Production Verbund). In this network today we already source both fossil feedstocks and renewable feedstocks. When our customers come to us stating they want to make a more sustainable contribution, we can increase the share of renewable feedstocks that are used as raw materials accordingly. But instead of claiming that every single product that comes out of our integrated production network has a percentage of dedicated bio-based content, we can utilize a third-party methodology paired with an independent and third-party certification scheme to allocate the sustainability attributes from the renewable feedstock and associate it with a select few products which we label as biomass balance certified grades, or BMBcert™ for short. The remainder of the products would be labeled conventional grades. The certification system ensures that the amount of products being sold with these sustainability attributes and claims does not exceed the amount of renewable feedstocks that are soured.

Which BASF Plastic Additives site are certified for mass balance and who is the certification body?

The McIntosh and Kaisten sites are certified according to the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS mass balance methodology for use of biomass-based feedstocks. The certification was conducted by TÜV Nord.

Certificate Database

Which mass balance certified products are available in 2023?

Irganox^® 1010 BMBcert™ and Irganox^® 1076 FD BMBcert™

What is an example of a claim associated with BMBcert™ products?

This product is contributing to the replacement of virgin fossil resources by biomass-based feedstocks. An amount of ISCC certified biomass-based material equivalent to 100% of the fossil based raw material of this product (mass balance approach) was attributed to this product.

What is the value proposition of BMBcert™ offerings?

BMBcert™ plastic additves have a significantly lower product carbon footprint compared to their conventional counterparts.
The use of sustainably sourced and renewable feedstocks is a key contributor to the transition away from a fossil-based economy towards a more circular economy.
These BMBcert™ plastic additives are identical in performance, quality, and product stewardship & regulatory aspects compared to conventional grades. Thus, they are drop in-replacements and requalification and/or reformulation by customers is not necessary.
Using BMBcert™ plastic additves gives our customers a competitive edge to achieve their sustainability goals, while enabling differentiated offerings with an industry-first solution for plastic additives.
Having offerings such as BMBcert™ demonstrates to the market that BASF and our customers are driving innovation for valuable sustainability applications