BASF Coatings has introduced a new digital solution designed to calculate the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) across its entire sales portfolio, covering more than 120,000 products. The solution delivers transparent, auditable, and fact-based CO₂ emissions data, supporting customers worldwide in making informed sustainability decisions.
Real-Time and Transparent CO₂ Data Across a Global Product Portfolio
The newly deployed PCF system replaces a previously internally developed application and establishes a globally consistent, real-time, and system-supported CO₂ data foundation for BASF Coatings.
All product-related greenhouse gas emissions—from raw material sourcing and transportation to energy use during manufacturing—are calculated using a unified methodology. This ensures traceable and comparable carbon accounting, even for complex, multi-variant products such as coatings with numerous color formulations. The resulting CO₂ data provide customers with a reliable basis for evaluating products and advancing their climate and sustainability objectives.
Supporting Customers with Data-Driven Sustainability Solutions
As sustainability and climate protection become increasingly critical for customers, access to reliable emissions data is essential.
BASF Coatings’ digital PCF solution not only improves data transparency but also helps identify practical levers for CO₂ reduction. Customers already have the option to lower the carbon footprint of selected products through the use of alternative raw materials and renewable energy sources, enabling tangible progress toward emission reduction targets.
Advanced Integration of Raw Materials and Production Energy Data
A central feature of the new solution is the integration of CO₂ data for more than 25,000 globally sourced raw materials, combined with detailed energy flow data from over 30 BASF Coatings production sites worldwide.
This high level of integration enables precise emissions calculations at the product-variant level and ensures consistent data quality across regions. In addition to CO₂ emissions, the system also incorporates environmental impact categories beyond carbon, delivering deeper insights that support the development of targeted and effective sustainability solutions.
The global rollout of the system was implemented step by step in close collaboration with SAP, with BASF Coatings adopting SAP Sustainability Footprint Management (SFM) as the digital backbone for its sustainability data infrastructure.
Connecting Sustainability and Digital Transformation with SAP SFM
By implementing SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, BASF Coatings brings together digitalization and sustainability, creating a reliable and transparent CO₂ data environment for both internal use and customer engagement. As one of the world’s leading providers of surface solutions, the company is setting new standards in digital CO₂ footprint calculation and sustainability reporting within the coatings industry.
GLASS Tool Provides a Process-Level View Beyond Product CO₂ Data
In addition to product-level carbon footprint calculations, BASF Coatings offers complementary digital tools such as the GLASS (Global Life Cycle Assessment of Automotive Surface Solutions) Tool for OEM customers and the EcoImpact Assessment Tool for bodyshops.
These tools enable a modular yet holistic analysis of the entire coating process, covering all stages of application. By combining life-cycle assessment, industry-specific expertise, and digital functionality, they support data-driven process optimization and help identify opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, and sustainability—extending beyond the impact of the coating products themselves. In terms of depth, applicability, and sector focus, the GLASS Tool is currently unique in the market.
Climate Protection as a Core Strategic Priority
The deployment of digital solutions such as the PCF calculation system and the GLASS Tool forms an integral part of BASF Coatings’ long-term sustainability strategy. The company aims to reduce its own CO₂ footprint by 40% by 2030, compared with a 2018 baseline.
To achieve this target, BASF Coatings is implementing measures across the entire value chain, including sustainable raw material sourcing, optimized logistics, increased use of renewable energy, renewable feedstocks via certified mass-balance approaches, and recycled materials through ChemCycling® solutions.
Through digital innovation and transparent data, BASF Coatings continues to support customers in advancing their sustainability goals while accelerating climate protection across the coatings industry.
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