Climate change is one of the main challenges facing society today. Combating its causes, developing solutions and using resources more efficiently have become essential tasks for the future of the planet and, therefore, for all of us.
As a leading company in innovation and sustainability, BASF is committed to being an active part of solutions to combat climate change. We have goals of reducing emissions along the value chain, using efficient technologies for generating steam and electricity, improving production processes in terms of energy and implementing a global energy management system. These initiatives encompass not only our factories, but also the entire lifecycle of our solutions and products – from the extraction of their raw materials to final disposal or reuse.
An example in this sense is the development of an exclusive and pioneering methodology for portfolio analysis, from the perspective of sustainability, in which factors such as: obtaining raw materials, production, use and disposal are evaluated. In 2015, 26.6% of BASF's global sales were already solutions with a significant sustainability contribution along the value chain. In addition, 60% of the amount invested in R&D, in the last year, was destined to research for this type of product. Our goal is to increase these values in the coming years, making BASF increasingly a reference in innovation and sustainability.
Today, BASF products are already present in a large number of climate protection technologies, focused on different industries such as construction and automotive. Elastopor®, for example, is a foam used for cold and heat insulation, which can be applied in the construction of houses (roof, walls and floors), refrigerators and freezers, etc. In turn, BASF plastics ensure the production of lighter vehicles – a key factor in reducing CO2 emissions.2 – without reducing safety or performance and consequently reducing fuel consumption and the release of gases into the atmosphere.
Another important point for the success of climate protection actions is energy efficiency. In this sense, the integration of production processes stands out, which generated at BASF the concept of Verbund (total integration), in which the by-product of a factory is used as raw material for another production process. In this system, the chemical processes work with lower energy consumption and higher yield. This not only saves raw materials and energy, but also avoids emissions, reduces logistics costs and takes advantage of other synergies.
In addition, our environmental targets defined by 2025 for South America include, for example, increasing by 10% the quantity of products sold per MWh of primary energy used. In terms of emissions, the target is a reduction of 40% of greenhouse gases per ton of product sold.
Among the actions underway in Brazil to achieve these goals is Triple E (Excellence in Energy Efficiency). Started in 2016 at the Guaratinguetá Chemical Complex (our largest plant, in the interior of São Paulo), the program aims to increase competitiveness through greater energy efficiency and the improvement of energy costs. Sixteen projects have already been started, such as the use of solar energy to heat water in locker rooms and the installation of new heat exchangers, such as natural gas for steam generation.
Finally, it is worth remembering that, by 2050, there will be more than 9 billion people living on the same planet, with ever-increasing needs for natural resources, which are limited. Therefore, acting sustainably is no longer an option, but a necessity both for business success and for society.
