With an increasing global population and its demand for energy and need for transportation, emissions and global warming pose a true challenge to the environment and its inhabitants. At Fuel and Lubricant Solutions we provide solutions that can help to reduce emissions in various ways but also deliver additional performance benefits.

By 2050 nine billion people will live on our planet, but there will still only be one earth. We at BASF understand that our current rate of resource consumption is not sustainable and management of available resources needs to be handled more efficiently on all levels. Fuel and Lubricant Solutions’ offering can help to utilize selected resources in the most efficient way and by doing so contribute to preservation of currently available resources for future generations.

An important part of ecology is the aspect of biodegradability. This trait is essential when operating in environmentally sensitive surroundings to avoid the negative consequences resulting out of releases into the environment. Fuel and Lubricant Solutions offers a broad range of products which can be used to deliver the technical and sustainability performance needed in environmentally sensitive areas.

With a growing population, world energy consumption continues to be on the rise. This includes energy for heat and power consumed by individuals as well as by a broad range of industrial processes. Solutions provided by our business unit can contribute to the reduction of energy needed in various applications through optimized operations and lead to less energy consumption.

Waste results from community and household activities, but of course also from industrial manufacturing processes. Often the amount of waste is an indication whether materials are used efficiently. Facing a growing world population and also limited resources, our society needs answers on how we can minimize waste to preserve our earth. Besides optimizing use of raw materials e.g., through BASF’s Verbund system, we at Fuel and Lubricant Solutions provide products that directly or indirectly support the reduction of waste.

Renewable raw materials contribute to a sustainable development by reducing CO2 emissions through their climate-neutral balance and by replacing mineral oil based raw materials in a variety of industries and application fields. Within its portfolio Fuel and Lubricant Solutions offers a range of products based on renewable raw materials.

Sustainable development for us at BASF means combining economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. For Fuel and Lubricant Solutions this not only summarizes our aspiration to be economically successful in our business but also includes – wherever feasible – delivering solutions that in addition enable our customers to realize cost savings through the use of our solutions.

Durability represents the ability of a machine, equipment, material or item to last and operate for long periods under operating conditions. The longer it can last, the better – as this also has a positive impact on other sustainability aspects, for example the efficiency with which resources are being used. Our business unit delivers solutions that address this aspect effectively, for example through operating fluids that maximize the life of gears and engines while enabling operations at full load.

At BASF, we never compromise on safety. This is a commitment enshrined in our company statement. For us, that means ensuring and further developing safe working conditions. Our globally valid safety concepts serve to protect BASF employees, contractors and our neighbors. Safe plants and the strong safety awareness of our qualified employees are the prerequisite for trouble-free production. A high degree of safety awareness together with clear rules and guidelines form the basis for the trust that the public places in our company. At Fuel and Lubricant Solution we additionally look at potential Health and Safety aspects within the industries we serve and try to address them through our product solutions.

On a joint journey Shell and BASF are driving Sustainability within the industry, with each company following the ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2050*. For this we are closely collaborating on a broad range of projects kicked off in various workshops. In order to further minimize environmental impact of our joint activities, we work on concepts reducing our carbon footprints of products and logistics and use resources efficiently.

 

_{* Shell's target is to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 in step with society. BASF has set itself the goal of climate neutrality in 2050.}

The joint eco-efficiency analysis for hydraulic fluids with BASF was teamwork in the best possible way. While our BASF colleagues demonstrated their outstanding method competence, we at FUCHS could utilize our solid, practical data and field experience. This will certainly not be our last joint study.

Our joint eco-efficiency analysis for hydraulic fluids proves how important our holistic view on the entire value chain is. With the results of such a well-founded study, we also want to provide impulses for the entire lubricant industry

 

One of the opportunities to operationalize the concept of sustainability is to participate in the product EU Ecolabelling scheme. BASF Fuel and Lubricants Solutions strongly supports the initiative, by having a substantial number of products (base fluids and lubricant oil additives) assessed for the EU Ecolabel for the lubricant product group, and included in the Lubricant Substance Classification (LuSC list). The assessment of eco-friendly lubricants involves detailed analysis of the product chemical composition, (potential) hazard and exposure scenario’s, its technical performance and use of verified sustainable raw materials. In this capacity it is an advantage that the company has extensive technical, regulatory and toxicology expertise, benefits from own research and testing capacity following the principles of Good Laboratory Practice and several production locations that are RSPO-certified.

 

Under the advocacy umbrella, Dr. Ivana Krkljuš supported the Revision of the existing EU Ecolabel criteria (Commission Decision 2011/381/EU) for lubricant product group. The new EU Ecolabel criteria are established in several tripartite meetings between the EU Ecolabelling board and their supporting institutes (e.g. JRC-Sevilla, ECHA), NGOs, and lubricant industry stakeholders. The success may be attributed to the investment of significant resources by BASF  into the initiative in terms of time and providing advice around the review of four technical reports, and final representation in front of the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment (Brussels, 2018).