BASF Personal Care

A word with...
Ute Griesbach & Rita Köster,
Everybody is talking about sustainability these days. For an evergrowing number of consumers, actual and perceived
sustainability are decisive factors when making their personal
care buying decisions. Thus, manufacturers who aim to succeed
on the personal care market are under growing pressure to drive
their own sustainable development forward, for instance, by
making their products more environmentally-friendly, by
achieving eco-efficiency in their logistics, or by embracing their
social responsibility. But what sounds easy in theory can be quite
challenging in reality. We talked to Ute Griesbach and Rita Köster
from BASF and asked them about their view on the challenges of
sustainable development, how chemistry and sustainability can
be reconciled and in which ways the business supports its
customers in becoming more sustainable themselves.
What are BASF’s future plans with its Personal Care business?
U. Griesbach: BASF aims to strengthen its position as the world’s
leading chemical company. We describe how we intend to
achieve this in our “We create chemistry” strategy. This strategy
builds on our success in recent years and defines ambitious goals
for the future, and applies to all of BASF’s divisions and businesses.
As part of BASF’s Care Chemicals division, the Personal Care
business will continue to provide all the resources of a global
industry leader in the personal care market, combined with
consumer insights and innovative solutions.
We will continue to strive to anticipate market demands for
products and concepts across all kinds of personal care
applications. Our objective is to leverage market and growth
opportunities for us and our customers by developing new
solutions and innovative approaches, so that we can satisfy the
real needs of people and remain a valued partner of the
personal care industry. In addition, we will continue to enhance
our extensive expertise in formulations and science so that we
can support our customers even more effectively.
“The Chemical Company” and sustainability – can the two be
reconciled?
R. Köster: We do not see a need for reconciliation. Instead we
see chemistry as an enabler – a means to cope with the
challenges ahead of us. In their day-to-day purchasing decisions,
consumers are considering a product’s origin and its
environmental impact in an increasing number of product
categories, including personal care. As a global chemical
company with an integrated approach, we are in the unique
position of being able to provide solutions and answers to these
challenges. For example, by developing and providing personal
care ingredients based on renewable raw materials that can be
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BASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH
easily used in formulations. This wouldn’t be possible without
chemistry and the steady progress we are making through our
R&D activities. So we will continue to combine our strengths and
use the full range of skills and expertise that make us unique in our
industry. Our purpose as a company is to create chemistry for a
sustainable future. And our sustainability strategy will contribute
significantly in serving this purpose.
What are the main challenges facing the world’s largest
chemical company when it comes to addressing sustainability?
R. Köster: By 2050, the world population will rise to around nine
billion. On the one hand, this population growth will bring
enormous global challenges, such as limited resources. But we
also see many opportunities in this, especially for the chemical
industry. To determine the key sustainability issues, we conducted
an extensive stakeholder and corporate survey in 2010, with
around 300 participants from around the globe. We identified
energy and climate, water, product stewardship and human
capital development as key areas for sustainability
management. Our position as the world’s leading chemical
company opens up unique opportunities for us to contribute to a
more sustainable future for society, so we are continuously
working on incorporating sustainability into our strategic and
organizational set-up. For instance, a global team of Care
Chemicals experts has developed the Trigger Point Concept,
which supports our customers in reaching their own sustainability
goals. The concept is a way to look at the entire value chain of a
final product to identify significant areas of focus and
improvement in terms of sustainable development. By using a
holistic approach and evaluating the entire value chain, rather
than just a small part of it, we help our customers to anticipate
market developments, identify critical areas of focus, and
benefit from the collaboration process.
Sustainability impacts a wide range of areas: from the sourcing of
raw materials to end-consumer behavior, from production to
logistics, and even the provision of information. What are the
main solutions offered by BASF’s Personal Care business?
U. Griesbach: It’s true that sustainability covers a number of
different areas, including energy savings, environmental
compatibility, raw material base such as natural ingredients, etc.
Customers are increasingly approaching BASF’s Care Chemicals
division, including its Personal Care business, with specific
questions and requirements about the sustainability properties of
BASF’s products and concepts. Because we are deeply
committed to nurturing close, long-term relationships with our
customers, we give them the information and solutions they
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need and offer them an exclusive insight into our holistic
approach to sustainability.
But we don’t stop there. We also evaluate raw materials in terms
of sustainability. This means we can improve our broad portfolio
of ingredients for a range of personal care applications, use
them as efficiently as possible, and ensure that customers have
plenty of choices. And by using the Trigger Point Concept we
can leverage our extensive R&D capabilities and market
knowledge to help our customers develop more sustainable
solutions. Our recent logistics project with Henkel is a prime
example of us working together with our customers for the good
of sustainability. Thanks to the project, a BASF surfactant for skin
and hair care applications used by Henkel in its shampoo and
body wash products is now transported by rail, rather than by
trucks. This will reduce transport-related CO2 emissions by around
270 tons each year.
Let’s talk about sourcing raw materials and sustainability in more
detail. What is the strategy of BASF’s Personal Care business?
R. Köster: BASF has an excellent track record when it comes to
environmental protection. But we are constantly striving to do
more. With BASF’s acquisition of Cognis in 2010, we have
broadened our expertise in renewable-based chemistry. Let me
give you an example. BASF purchases palm kernel oil to process
into raw materials for cosmetics applications. We have made it
our aim to purchase all palm and palm kernel oil from certified
sustainable sources. As a consumer of palm-oil products, BASF is
also a member of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil
(RSPO) since 2004. We support this multi-stakeholder approach to
promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products.
U. Griesbach: In addition, a core part of BASF’s Corporate Social
Responsibility efforts lies in making our supply chains more
sustainable. Coconut oil, for example, is another important
natural raw material for our Personal Care business, and we
support unique measures to ensure future sustainable coconut oil
production. In fact, a program to develop a certified coconut oil
supply chain was launched at the beginning of the year as the
result of a partnership between the German Society for
International Cooperation (GIZ), BASF and Cargill. One of the
aims of the project is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder
farmers by promoting the sustainable production of high-quality
coconut oil in the Philippines. This is an example of renewable
resources, which may be the best choice for some applications,
while synthetic solutions are more suitable for others. That’s why
we offer different alternatives to the market, which opens up a
wide range of choices and opportunities for our customers.
Sustainability in production. How do you achieve it?
R. Köster: BASF has voluntarily set long-term global goals in all
three dimensions of sustainable development. In the
environmental sphere, these goals include further reducing our
greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton of products sold, and
making our production processes more energy efficient. The BASF
Verbund approach to integrated production is an important part
of our energy-efficient concept. It enables us to add value as
one company through the efficient use of resources. In
production, the Verbund principle intelligently connects our
production plants, energy flows and infrastructure. For example,
the heat generated during production processes can be used as
Ute Griesbach
Senior Marketing Manager,
BASF Personal Care and
Nutrition GmbH, Monheim,
Germany
Ute Griesbach has been
working internationally
in the field of personal
care ingredients for about
25 years. She started
her career at Henkel in
Düsseldorf, Germany,
Ute Griesbach
where she worked as a
bio technician on science
projects. After that, she worked at Cognis, with a strong
focus on natural cosmetics and the involved standards.
Since the acquisition of Cognis by BASF in 2010, Ute
Griesbach has been analyzing consumer trends considering
formulation requirements and has been developing
numerous concepts which guide and support the cosmetic
industry. She is also responsible for sustainability as a strategic
topic at BASF’s Personal Care business.
Rita Köster
Global Sustainability
Manager Care Chemicals
Division, BASF Personal
Care and Nutrition GmbH,
Monheim, Germany
Rita Koester, who holds
a Bachelor of Science
in Engineering, started
her career at Henkel in
Duesseldorf, Germany.
Here she worked in various
Rita Köster
product development
departments for various industries for about ten years.
After that, she took a position at the global marketing
department of Cognis’ Home Care and Industrial &
Institutional Cleaning business. Since the acquisition of
Cognis by BASF in 2010, Rita Koester has been responsible
for sustainability topics in BASF’s Care Chemicals division.
Her experience in sustainability matters reaches back to
Cognis, where she had been a long-standing member of
the Cognis Sustainability Council.
a source of energy in other plants. This helps preserve primary
resources and cuts costs.
U. Griesbach: Efficiency and environmental considerations also
play a central role when we develop and manufacture new
products. High performance and effectiveness are key factors in
our product development and optimization processes, and in
other areas. For example, cold-processable emulsions offer a
variety of benefits, including more straightforward processing,
reduced energy consumption, and greater production capacity
at our customers sites.
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Let’s talk about the development of innovative sustainable
solutions for formulators and manufacturers. What do you offer in
this area? Do you provide customized solutions? How do you get
the market’s input?
U. Griesbach: We are committed to helping our customers
become even more successful, and more sustainable. That’s why
our Personal Care business is based on a combination of our key
strengths Market Empathy and Science Excellence. This requires a
high degree of technological know-how and formulation
expertise, as well as the ability to identify new consumer trends at
an early stage and analyze them. Another crucial factor is to
understand and translate the trends, and find solutions that
enable us to develop innovative and valuable products. This also
applies when we’re working together on projects with our
customers. Although we have one of the most comprehensive
portfolios of high-performance ingredients in the personal care
sector, we pay close attention to our customers’ needs and
always consider them when developing new, tailored solutions.
How do you test the efficacy and the impact of your solutions?
U. Griesbach: The efficiency and impact of our solutions is
something we work on every day, as we’re constantly helping our
customers develop successful innovations for the personal care
market. We see major market trends being driven by consumers’
growing awareness of their health, safety and environment. But
we all know that, in real life, when we are going about our daily
beauty routines, we really want our products to work as well as
being environmentally friendly. There are many different ways to
test this, but let me give you a specific example.
Our Cetiol® RLF emollient was developed in response to the
growing need for skin care products for sensitive skin with an
improved environmental footprint. Besides its excellent skin
compatibility and the fact that it is derived from renewable
feedstock, Cetiol® RLF is produced using an enzymatic process, an
alternative to conventional manufacturing methods. This means
that, due to lower reaction temperatures and the specificity of the
enzymatic process, fewer by-products are formed, which would
otherwise have to be removed in energy-intensive downstream
processing. Apart from a potential decrease in energy
consumption, the process results with improved color and smell
compared to chemically synthesized products. The significant
benefits of biocatalysis make enzymatic esterification a valid ecoefficient process and a versatile tool in the production of highquality emollient esters.
And what about registration or certification of your products?
U. Griesbach: More and more consumers are looking for certified
personal care products, as these products are certified according
to the specific definitions and strict criteria of individual
associations and standards. For instance, the Ecocert, NaTrue,
Cosmos or BDIH labels are all well-known, respected certifications.
We have in-depth expertise in renewable-based chemistry, so we
offer a broad range of certified ingredients. On the one hand, by
certifying individual raw materials, we have made it easier for
manufacturers to select them. On the other hand, we are
improving related processes for our customers, because it’s no
longer necessary to fill out and send forms to receive recipe
certification. Thus, by using certified raw materials, we’re offering
our customers peace of mind for their own product certification.
FLORIAN WEIGHARDT
H&PC Today, TKS Publisher

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