Chemical product carbon footprints: BASF and iPoint join forces

iPoint and chemical company BASF are collaborating to offer a software for the standardised calculation of product-related CO₂ emissions. Chemical and process companies can now use the iPoint Product Sustainability life cycle analysis (LCA) software for industry-specific Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculations and reports across the whole supply chain, using a standardised way to collect and interpret data based on BASF’s methodological expertise. This lays the foundation for a Digital Product Passport as demanded in the "European Green Deal" and the "European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan" for chemical products.

The chemical industry is committed to reaching the goal of carbon neutrality until 2050. In Germany for example, the sector already managed to reduce its emissions by 48% from 1990 to 2017. But reaching climate neutrality requires further efforts. Above all, transparency is required as a sound basis for decision-making, making cradle-to-gate PCF data a necessity for the industry. Since existing standards can be interpreted and applied in different ways, BASF has created a proprietary digital solution with a standardised and automated PCF calculation approach specific to its sector and had this solution certified by TÜV Rheinland. To level the playing field in the industry as far as possible, BASF shares this digital solution and its underlying method with IT partners, such as iPoint and thus, makes it available for all interested industry players.

"iPoint’s extensive experience of over 20 years in providing digital solutions for product sustainability and our ability to support Digital Product Passports, combined with the industry-specific standards established by BASF, means that companies in the chemical and process sector will benefit from a highly reliable and accurate PCF solution that is recognised by one of the industry’s biggest players”, emphasises Joerg Walden, CEO and founder of iPoint-systems. "We are excited to support the chemical industry on its way to carbon neutrality through this cooperation.”

"By working together with iPoint, we can establish a standardised approach to calculating and reporting PCFs in our industry," states Alessandro Pistillo, Director Digital Strategic Projects at BASF. "Chemical companies can more easily achieve their climate and sustainability goals through transparency regarding their product carbon footprints."