BASF achieved its 2020 Palm Commitment

• 227,213 metric tonnes of certified palm oil and palm kernel oil sourced representing 100% of procured material;
• Almost 95% of global palm footprint traceable back to the oil mill level;
• More than 430,000 metric tonnes CO2 in 2020 avoided by sourcing certified sustainable palm kernel oil

BASF reached an important milestone on its path toward sustainable palm. The company achieved its commitment to procure palm (kernel) oils exclusively from sources certified by the RSPO by 2020. Last year, BASF purchased 227,213t of certified sustainable palm (kernel) oil representing 100% of BASF’s total volume as RSPO certified. In addition, BASF also made further progress in developing transparent supply chains: The company was able to trace almost 95% of its global palm footprint – totaling 441,107t – back to oil mill level.

Additionally, as in previous years, BASF published its product carbon footprint (PCF) for sourcing certified sustainable palm (kernel) oil. Compared to conventional sourcing, BASF avoided more than 300,000t of CO2 emission in 2020. RSPO-certified production of palm kernel oil shows around 36% lower global warming impact than non-certified production. The PCF is calculated according to the requirements and guidelines for quantification as stated in ISO "14067:2018-08 – Greenhouse gases – Carbon footprint of products”.

Further commitment

While having reached this important milestone, BASF is now fully focused on the other part of its 2015 commitment: to also include the commitment of certified sourcing to those significant intermediates that are based on palm oil and palm kernel oil by 2025, eg fatty alcohols and fatty acids.

Palm kernel oil and its primary derivatives are amongst BASF’s key renewable raw materials. They are mainly used to produce ingredients for the cosmetics, detergent and cleaner industries, as well as in human nutrition. The progress can be discovered in detail at the Palm Dialog website.