(Yicai Global) June 14 -- German chemicals giant BASF has reduced the carbon emissions from its operations in China by 19 percent over the past six years by optimizing efficiency through digitalization, deploying new technologies, and by increasing the use of renewables in energy supply, according to a new report.
BASF’s carbon emissions in China fell to 1.2 million tons last year from 1.45 million tons in 2017, while its sales climbed to EUR11.6 billion (USD12.5 billion) from EUR7.3 billion in the same period, said the report released yesterday at the first Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo in Technologies, Products and Achievements, also known as the Carbon Expo.
“Accounting for half of the global chemicals market, China is a strategic market and growth engine for BASF,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lou, president and chairman of BASF China.
“As China’s manufacturing industry upgrades towards the high-end and sustainability, there will be a lot of opportunities, including for the chemicals industry,” he said. “BASF is committed to enabling the transformation of the chemicals industry and supporting sustainable development in China.”
Heavy dependence on fossil fuels is the most direct challenge for the chemicals industry in reducing its carbon footprint. Lou believes that innovation, using renewable energy and collaboration with partners in the whole supply chain, are key to dealing with the challenges.
Ten percent of BASF’s about 11,000 employees in China are engaged in innovative research and development work to drive sustainable product and technology solutions, he said. The Ludwigshafen-based firm spent EUR2.3 billion on R&D last year, and 90 percent of its 1,100 patents are related to sustainability.
Renewable Energy
In China, BASF uses a large amount of green electricity to reduce its carbon emissions. The first phase of its Verbund in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, with an investment of EUR10 billion, is powered entirely by renewable energy, and it has committed to using 100 percent renewable energy when its core steam cracking furnaces start production in 2025.
So far, BASF’s six facilities in Shanghai as well as in Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces have joined China’s Renewable Direct Power Purchase pilot trading scheme.
Being the largest buyer in the Yangtze River Delta region and the second biggest in the Pearl River Delta region, BASF has purchased 330 million kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity, and is expected to buy a total of 440,000 megawatt-hours until 2025 from various power producers.
Green Transformation
The Green Power Alliance of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park was launched at the Carbon Expo under the initiative of BASF and several other firms, with the aim to introduce a long-term, stable, and competitive green power supply for the alliance’s members and promote the green transformation of chemical industry parks with scale effect.
The interactive calculation system named Product Carbon Footprints was also unveiled for the first time. BASF provides its ‘Cradle-to-Gate’ PCFs for nearly 45,000 products available globally, creating transparency on product carbon footprint and enabling its clients to calculate and lower the carbon footprint of their own products.
Meanwhile, Lou called on the thousands of BASF suppliers in China to explore carbon footprint calculations for their products, urging the Chinese government to establish relevant audit systems and low-carbon product incentive systems with standardized carbon footprint calculation.
BASF has calculated that 70 percent of top 20 customer industries have committed to carbon reduction. Customers and partners have similar goals, which is also a driving force for BASF to achieve its own low-carbon goals, he added.
Editor: Peter Thomas
