Climate & Environment

Water scarcity, climate change, air pollution, limited resources – we are facing serious challenges that put the health of our planet at risk. As BASF’s Coatings division, we strive to solve these issues. 

We especially focus on areas where we are part of the solution and can provide significant improvements: Less greenhouse gas (GHG) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions.

Climate change is a major challenge and top priority for current and future generations. The urgent need for action has created a fundamental change in energy and material use – leading to a disruptive transformation of industries in all regions.

To significantly reduce our carbon footprint, we take actions along the entire value chain:

• We collaborate with our suppliers to reduce the carbon emission of the raw materials we use. For example, we have increased the use of renewable feedstock to save CO₂ emissions. Read more about our biomass balance approach.
• We follow energy management measures at all our sites. We are reducing the energy needed and the emissions created by our production activities. One example: Whether it's packaging with paint residues, filter material or liquid waste – we incinerate the waste created by paint production at our site in Münster. The heat generated by the incinerator covers nearly one-third of the site's thermal energy demands.
• With our products and processes, we offer solutions which help our customers reduce their CO₂ footprint. The Integrated Process for automotive OEM coatings, for example, saves up to 20% of CO₂ emissions. 

Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, cause the formation of ozone and fine particulates in the atmosphere. They are contained in many products, such as solventborne paints. Vehicles emit VOCs too, leading to air pollution and smog. Reducing VOC levels is important in order to avoid environmental and health risks. 

We are constantly working on reducing VOC emissions and improving our solutions. Among others, our latest breakthrough technology includes the refinish paint lines R-M^® AGILIS and Glasurit^® 100 Line exceeding all global VOC regulations.