BASF joins Forum For Sustainable Palm Oil

02-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 01-Nov-2017 at 22:54 GMT

BASF has confirmed its participation in the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP) as a supporting member, in a move aimed at signaling the company’s ongoing efforts to support sustainable palm oil.

“Becoming an official supporter of FONAP is an important signal for BASF in its ongoing efforts to foster sustainable oil palm products,” said Xavier Susterac, senior vice president BASF Personal Care Europe

“This underlines our commitment to transform the market towards sustainable renewable resources and to help our customers fulfill their FONAP commitments.” said Xavier Susterac, Senior Vice President BASF Personal Care Europe.

BASF and palm oil

BASF is a major player in the olechemical market, for which one of the key raw materials in palm kernel oil.

Various derivatives of palm kernel oil are processed to make oleochemicals that are then used in the production of a number of key ingredient for the cosmetics and personal care market, as well as the detergent and cleaning products.

What a lot of consumers do not realise is that because of this process, palm oil derivatives are found in a wide range of products, from lipsticks, to shampoos and conditioners and soaps.

FONAP targets upstream users

To increase its impact on the market for sustainable palm oil FONAP has been targeting upstream users, processors and manufacturers of palm oil in a bid to get more support.

Palm oil derivatives are hard to replace or swap out for upstream users, due to its specific attributes and ease of formulation, which makes finding more sustainable sources of the oil all the more important.

The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been one of the major driving forces in the certification process of sustainable palm oil, and BASF was one of the first major companies to participate in the program, while also becoming a member of the High Carbon Stock Approach in 2016 – designed to stop deforestation for industrial purposes.

According to BASF figures, in 2016 the company expanded its purchasing volumes by about 32,000 metric tons to 158,000 metric tons, and nearly doubled the sales of certified products based on palm kernel oil. BASF had an overall oil palm exposure of 508,000 metric tons in 2016.