BASF Launches Paper Coating Dispersions With 20–45% Lower Carbon Footprint

BASF has launched a new portfolio of paper coating dispersions designed to help paper and board manufacturers reduce product-related emissions. Produced at the company’s Ludwigshafen Verbund site in Germany.

New Low-Carbon Dispersions Target Paper and Board Industry

The new portfolio is based on reduced-PCF paper coating binders developed for applications in the paper and packaging industry.

BASF says the products are intended to help customers reduce emissions associated with the “Purchased Goods and Services” category and support their Scope 3.1 carbon-reduction targets.

The company is positioning the dispersions as a practical option for manufacturers looking to reduce the carbon footprint of paper and board products without making major changes to their existing production processes.

Mass-Balance Approach Reduces Product Carbon Footprint

BASF manufactures the new dispersions using a mass-balance approach at its Ludwigshafen Verbund site.

Under this model, a defined share of conventional raw materials or utilities is replaced with alternatives that have a lower Product Carbon Footprint. BASF then allocates the corresponding reduced footprint to the new products.

The approach allows the company to lower the reported PCF of the dispersions while keeping the underlying manufacturing process unchanged.

This means customers can adopt the new products as a drop-in solution, without requiring requalification of their existing processes, according to BASF.

Renewable Electricity and Lower-Carbon Steam

The carbon reduction comes from several sources, including the use of low-PCF raw materials and lower-carbon utilities.

BASF says the production process uses electricity from renewable sources as well as low-PCF steam. These measures contribute to reducing the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of the paper coating dispersions.

BASF defines its PCF as covering product-related greenhouse gas emissions from the relevant upstream raw materials and energy inputs through the point at which the product leaves the factory gate.

Supporting Scope 3 Emissions Reduction

For paper and board producers, purchased materials can represent an important part of their value-chain emissions.

The new BASF dispersions are therefore designed to give manufacturers another option for addressing Scope 3.1 emissions, which cover purchased goods and services.

Because the products are designed to maintain the existing manufacturing process, BASF says customers can transition to the lower-PCF alternatives without the need for product requalification.

TÜV Rheinland-Certified Carbon Footprint Methodology

BASF calculates the Product Carbon Footprints of the new dispersions according to guidance from the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative.

The company says TÜV Rheinland has certified the conformance of its PCF calculation methodology with the relevant TfS standard. BASF also states that its wider PCF methodology follows ISO 14067:2018.

The certification is intended to provide greater consistency and transparency in how the carbon footprints of BASF products are calculated.

A Practical Route to Lower-Carbon Paper Products

The launch comes as paper, packaging and other materials industries face growing pressure to reduce emissions throughout their supply chains.

Rather than requiring customers to redesign their production processes, BASF’s new approach focuses on changing the carbon profile of the materials supplied to manufacturers.

The company says the new portfolio is intended to provide a cost-effective option for contributing to CO₂ savings, while maintaining the performance and production characteristics expected from existing paper coating binders.

BASF Expands Its Low-Carbon Product Portfolio

The paper coating launch forms part of BASF’s broader approach to providing products with lower Product Carbon Footprints.

The company already provides PCF data for products in its dispersions and construction additives businesses, with calculations covering emissions associated with raw materials and production energy. BASF says its PCF methodology is TÜV certified and aligned with ISO 14067 and the Together for Sustainability methodology.

For the paper and board sector, the new dispersions offer another pathway for reducing embedded emissions while maintaining existing manufacturing processes.

As demand for lower-carbon materials grows, products that combine reduced emissions with minimal changes to customer operations could become increasingly important across the packaging and paper value chain.