On its path to sustainability, BASF’s Care Creations® presents new milestones during Beauty Days

• Verdessence™: the new biopolymer trademark strengthens BASF’s focus on biodegradable and biobased high-performance solutions
• ‘Responsibly Active’: a comprehensive program for the bioactives portfolio that sets clear environmental and social targets
• ‘Pragati’: the world’s first sustainable castor bean program bears fruits

As part of its virtual Beauty Days, which will take place from March 29 to 31, BASF’s Care Creations^® will provide insights into its current sustainability projects. These include a further expansion and consolidation of the company’s existing biopolymer portfolio for personal care applications under the new trademark Verdessence™. With this repositioning, BASF is placing an even stronger focus on the development of biodegradable and biobased high-performance solutions. BASF will also introduce its dedicated sustainability program ‘Responsibly Active’ for its botanical supply chains. It aims at combining innovative bioactive ingredients with the principles of empowering people and protecting the planet and its resources for generations to come. Meanwhile, the ‘Pragati’ project for sustainable castor crop, now in its fifth year, is seeing important successes for farmers and supply chains.

Verdessence^TM: A new name for BASF’s growing biopolymer product family

BASF is further expanding its biopolymer portfolio for personal care applications and is setting a landmark in its commitment to innovate in this area with the launch of a new trademark. As of now, Verdessence™ unites the company’s biopolymers manufactured from sustainable raw materials. “In the personal care industry, the demand for sustainable biopolymers is constantly increasing. We are attributing this to three main pillars: consumer awareness, regulatory developments, and ambitious sustainability agendas from manufacturers and retailers,” said Christian Somigliana, Market Development Personal Care Europe. “This is why we set out to build a holistic range of biopolymer ingredients for leave-on and rinse-off products. Verdessence puts our customers in the position to comply with upcoming regulatory changes and meet an increasing market demand.”

The novel Verdessence™ Tara enters the market as the latest addition to this outstanding and eco-friendly product group, and exhibits a thickening and texturizing performance. Extracted from sustainable and regenerative Peruvian Tara Seed Gum, it helps to create smooth and shapely textures. It is suitable for skin microbiome friendly formulations and shows good compatibility with the whole Verdessence biopolymer portfolio, allowing to formulate a broad range of aqueous and emulsion systems.

Verdessence’s introduction into the market is built on a solid and established basis, including Verdessence™ Alginate (former Hydagen^® 558 P) and Verdessence™ Xanthan (former Rheocare^® XGN). Based on algae and pure vegan xanthan gum they are – like all other Verdessence biopolymers – biodegradable along with a high level of purity and a positive rheological profile. Their use creates various appealing textures and provides good film-forming properties, both on their own and in combination with other ingredients. Verdessence™ Glucomannan (former Hydagen^® Clean) completes this product group since its launch in summer 2021. This cold processable rheology modifier, derived from the tuber of the konjac plant, is suitable for aqueous systems like gels, fluids and serums.

‘Responsibly Active’: bioactives for a positive future

With a special focus on botanical sourcing for its bioactives portfolio, BASF has initiated a comprehensive sustainability program: ‘Responsibly Active’. It is based on three pillars: innovating products that protect natural resources, respecting and empowering people throughout the botanicals value chain, and reducing the climate impact and environmental footprint of its operations. To reach this goal, BASF has defined clear commitments and action plans for the coming decade. Among others, the program aims for carbon neutral production sites and downstream transportation, while 100% of the botanical supply chains shall be traceable to the source and sustainably sourced, and 95% of raw materials shall be biobased or from abundant minerals.

“We are committed to care for the world in which we live and work. Plants are at the core of our business and biodiversity is our reservoir for innovation,” said Lucilene Veira Nunes, Head of Business Management for Bioactive Ingredients, EMEA. “Our vision is to align all our actions towards more sustainable practices – and we have already come a long way in the last 30 years. To get even better, we have set ourselves ambitious goals with our new program, which we are constantly pursuing with our partners. Hence our slogan: Together we are responsibly active.”

‘Pragati’: progress on more sustainable castor bean farming standards

BASF is the first chemical company that has been certified according to the SuCCESS (Sustainable Castor Caring for Environmental & Social Standards) Code by an external body. Having emerged from the ‘Pragati’ project (Hindi for progress) – a collaboration between BASF, Arkema, Jayant Agro-Organics Ltd., and Solidaridad – this is the first independently auditable code for sustainable castor on the global market. With the SuCCESS certification of its production site in Düsseldorf-Holthausen, BASF has now started the supply of its first sustainable castor ingredients in the personal care sector, taking another step towards the company’s mission ‘We create chemistry for a sustainable future’.

Five years after the start of the ‘Pragati’ program, the four founding members can record further important successes: More than 5,800 farmers have been trained, audited and certified to date, and 36,000 tons of certified castor seed have been grown. Until now, 13,300 hectares are being farmed in accordance with SuCCESS. In addition, 6,300 farmer safety kits and crop protection product boxes have been distributed free of charge. The program aims to improve working conditions, create awareness for sustainable farming, and increase yields through more efficient farming practices. Visit www.castorsuccess.org for more details.

BASF invites all customers to participate in live expert-led events during the company’s virtual Beauty Days to learn more about its sustainability initiatives and other innovations. Registration is possible via the following link: https://www.carecreations.basf.com/news-media/live-events-videos.