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Coatings
Coatings
Shaping the Future
Driving Sustainability
Climate & Environment
Biomass Balance Approach

Coatings

Biomass Balance Approach

BASF's Coatings division uses the biomass balance approach and offers certified products in refinish and OEM coatings. The approach reduces CO2 emissions and saves fossil resources by using renewable raw materials in BASF's integrated production system.

The biomass balance principle works similarly to green electricity, in which the electricity that comes from the socket is not necessarily generated from renewable sources, but a corresponding amount of renewable electricity is fed into the grid. At the beginning of chemical production, for example, naphtha extracted from petroleum in the steam crackers in Ludwigshafen is replaced with certified sustainable bio-naphtha from vegetable oils, with a corresponding amount being allocated to the biomass-balanced paint products. This is certified by independent third-party institutes.

Our new biomassed balanced product lines for refinishing

Making automotive refinishing more sustainable
BASF’s Coatings division has launched new product lines in Europe for its Glasurit® and R-M® refinish paint brands that make automotive refinishing more sustainable. They are the world’s first refinish products manufactured according to the certified biomass balance approach, therefore contributing to reduce CO2 emissions. 
  1. Glasurit® Eco Balance
  2. R-M® eSense
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 7,000 

body shops in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) rely on biomassed refinish coatings

Renewable raw materials for automotive coatings

BMW Group plays a pioneering role 
The BMW Group was the first carmaker to place its trust in more sustainable automotive OEM coatings certified according to BASF’s biomass balance approach. The BMW Group has chosen to use BASF Coatings’ CathoGuard® 800 ReSource e-coat at its plants in Leipzig, Germany, and Rosslyn, South Africa, and the iGloss® matt ReSource clearcoat throughout Europe. Using these more sustainable product versions for vehicle coatings enables CO2 avoidance of around 40% per coating layer; this will reduce the amount of CO2 emitted in the plants by more than 15,000 metric tons by 2030.
  1. Press Release
BASF‘s ColorBrite® Airspace Blue ReSource basecoat, certified through a biomass balance approach.
Biomass Balance Approach
Debut in China
BASF’s ColorBrite® Airspace Blue ReSource basecoat, certified by REDcert² according to a biomass balance approach, made its debut in China. This is the first time BASF’s biomass balance automotive OEM coatings were introduced to Asia since the official launch in Europe in May of this year.
  1. Press Release