Re_Think Beauty

COSSMA: Mr McAlpine, you took your position during a very turbulent time (pandemic, energy crisis). What have you experienced the past three years and what have you learnt? 

The past three years have indeed been challenging. In 2020, one month after assuming my current position, the Corona virus was spreading across Europe, presenting the world with unprecedented challenges. In 2021, after the rollout of the vaccines and a vision of a return to somewhat “normalcy”, we experienced supply disruptions across the entire value chain (remember the picture of the Ever Given ship stuck in the Suez Canal). 

Then, in 2022, the most impactful of all was the tragic return of war to Europe with the conflict in Ukraine, sadly resulting in the unnecessary loss of life, combined with global inflation and the rise of energy costs at rates unseen before. So, the last three years can be characterised in many ways: turbulent, challenging, unprecedented, however I would say resilient.

Through each crisis, I have learnt some important things, which I believe are crucial for me and I think any leader. Display empathy – it’s important to understand the impact that tough times have on the personal lives of your teams, their families, and communities. Use effective communication – it is critical that leaders explain what the priorities in the short vs. longer term are and, more importantly, why. Transport a resilient spirit – A “we can do” mindset is of utmost importance. Keeping the spirits of the team high despite the obstacles and emphasising that our best days are still ahead of us.

I think everyone has become very aware that we need to keep going, that we need to keep the peace and protect the environment. These considerations, of course, extend into the consumer goods sector. The focus of consumers has shifted significantly in recent years.

What do you mean by that? Could you explain this more precisely?

A jolt has gone through our society. Driven by a new seriousness, society’s collective awareness to counter climate change, challenge resource savings and sustain diversity is changing peoples’ sphere of action. Now, it is time for a paradigm change. 

Many are willing to use the impetus of recent times to critically review their consumption behavior in personal care. Hence, consumers and stakeholders are seeking transparency and a deeper understanding of beauty products to substantiate their decisions. More than ever, beauty is defined on an individual basis, and the interplay between people and the environment is crucial in shaping opinions. In order to create a sustainable balance, the industry needs to recalibrate, to rethink. 

Are these also your driving forces behind the concept for in-cosmetics this year?

‘Re_think’ extends beyond a concept. It is our commitment to how we approach the personal care market now and in future. ‘Re_think’ takes into consideration on one hand the paradigm shift within the society that we observe and on the other hand, the strong need for transformation. Already in recent years, health, safety and well-being have been growing closer together. Now they have become guiding lights. With ‘Re_think’, we want to highlight how we seamlessly merge innovative solutions, sustainability initiatives, market insights and digital services to develop resilient and responsible offerings that connect our customers with the future of beauty. Our goal is clear: Preserving the world in all its diversity for future generations is our daily motivation. We hope to make a significant contribution to the collective sense of responsibility for environmental awareness. The access to the right quality of information and data will become key for comprehensive understanding, as well as responsible and actionable decision-making within personal care. And we want to support this development in all its facets.

Is it always that simple? Is it a common movement that was inevitable? 

Sometimes you have to stop and readjust your inner compass. This applies not only to us as a company, but also to each one of us as individuals. Consumers critically re-examine their behaviour with the aim of making active contribution to protecting our planet. So do we. How we source, how we produce, how we formulate and our impact on the environment and human wellbeing – all these aspects make the compass needle move, and every day we work to make sure it points us in the right direction. “Re_think” is a journey that we are embarking on together with our customers and end consumers.

"We are proud of what we have achieved in recent years."

You just mentioned sustainability. How is this practiced in BASF’s personal care business?

We set ourselves a clear goal of developing innovative solutions and future-proof production processes that allow us to offer high performing ingredients through biobased and biodegradable offers. To achieve these goals, we build on various pillars. One of them is our approach to sustainable sourcing. 

Moving toward more renewable raw materials usually comes with more diversified and often more complex supply chains. Renewable raw materials provide significant positive effects like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, however, it is important to also be mindful of the impact on the areas in which the materials are sourced, such as biodiversity, land use and working conditions. Therefore, we carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable resources and also utilise recognised certification standards, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, to curb negative environmental and social impact caused by raw material sourcing. We are proud of what we have achieved in recent years, including our comprehensive activities in connection with our voluntary time-bound commitments on sustainable palm and palm kernel oil. 

Beyond our current certified sustainable sourcing of palm, argan and rambutan, over the past years, we have extended our sourcing to the co-development and utilisation of newly established standards for certified sustainable castor oil and certified sustainable coconut oil. To implement a sustainable value chain, we certified our production site in Holthausen in Germany according to the SuCCESS (Sustainable Castor Caring for Environmental & Social Standards) Code for sustainable castor oil at the end of 2021, and our production site Cassina Rizzardi in Italy according to the Rainforest Alliance certification standard for sustainable coconut in mid-2022, resulting in our ability to be the first to offer products based on certified sustainable castor oil and certified sustainable coconut oil to the personal care market.

Additionally, we are taking steps to minimise the impact of our own operations. To increase transparency of the environmental impact of the production of our products, we now provide our customers with Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data for the majority of our sales products on our online D’lite platform. The PCF sums up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the different stages of its life cycle. A cradle-to-gate (partial) PCF provided by our service considers all the processes, from extraction of resources through to the manufacture of precursors and the final product itself up to the point where it leaves the BASF factory gate. 

We utilise general industry standards for life cycle assessment (ISO 14044) and carbon footprints of products (ISO 14067), as well as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard to calculate the PCF of our products. However, these standards still leave room for interpretation that makes it challenging to compare data across companies. BASF is committed to supporting industry-wide harmonisation of product-specific guidelines for the calculation of PCFs to allow for comparability of products.

Since all aspects in the creation of a product have an influence here, we cannot only refer to the type of sourcing, but also have to be in close coordination with our production sites. Any progress towards sustainable production has a positive impact be it the optimisation of a plant or the power supply of an entire site. 

Therefore, we are also very proud that the Çayırova production site in Turkey, for example, has taken an important step in reaching its emission targets by obtaining the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC). The classification confirms that the electricity the production site consumes is generated from 100% renewable resources. The I-REC Standard is acknowledged by major reporting frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP).

Are there also new developments at pro­duct level that support your sustainability goals?

Of course, we want sustainability aspects to reach the consumers in tangible form as well. That is why we always strive to offer our customers sustainable alternatives. We recently launched Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (and) Cocamidopropyl Betaine (and) Glyceryl Oleate, the first wax-based COSMOS compliant pearliser for personal care products, which combine excellent performance with sustainable benefits.

In addition, we always strive to make complete use of our resources, thus ensuring that we treat the environment responsibly. To date, we have about a dozen bioactives in our portfolio that were created through upcycling or by-product valorisation. Their areas of application are as varied as their origins. A new plant-based solution for hair care applications is the latest addition to our Circular Beauty portfolio. This extract is the result of upcycling milk thistle seedcakes, a by-product of milk thistle oil production. The milk thistle we use is grown in France for oil production and is based on a traceable and sustainable supply chain. Our new circular extract provides a sustainable alternative to animal keratin that makes hair stronger and helps keep its color longer.

In our quest to contribute to the paradigm shift in the personal care industry, an important aspect is the biodegradability of our products. Therefore, we work ceaselessly to expand our biopolymer portfolio for personal care applications. All biopolymers united in our star lineup of biopolymers in personal care meet this demand. Additionally, they are manufactured from 100% renewable raw materials. One of the latest additions to this product group is ‘Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch’, a plant-based sensory powder that is ideal for matte type cosmetics. It is perfectly suited for various fields of natural and organic cosmetics and provides a light and smooth skin feel. Produced from non-GMO upcycled rice sourced within the European Union, ‘Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch’ offers excellent oil absorbency. The biopolymer’s compatibility in different formulations results in shine control and a mattifying effect. Stickiness reduction and spreading enhancement are additional benefits. 

How else do you support your customers in mastering formulation challenges?

Our long-standing proximity to customers is a decisive advantage that we appreciate. Through this close relationship, we know our customers’ wants and needs. We experience appreciation that we are happy to return – through insights and transparency. 

Our responsibility doesn’t stop at providing sustainable ingredients for the personal care market. That’s why we want to use our expertise to help our customers break new ground with courage and confidence. With D’lite, we translate our expertise into a digital service and fill the temporal and spatial gap of our physical absence. We are constantly developing this offer. We present our latest addition, the Surfactant Navigator, at in-cosmetics 2023, which is the first digital service on surfactants and our response to the increasing demand to replace current surfactant combinations with natural alternatives without compromising on performance. It provides a quick access to sustainable surfactants and blends according to the customers’ needs. Our service will suggest combinations between other surfactants and BASF’s high-performance, natural specialty surfactants with which the formulator can achieve an even better performance. This not only saves time in the laboratory, but we are also lowering the barrier to switching to sustainable alternatives and thus shaping the market.

Digitalisation and sustainability are two buzzwords that have transformed the personal care market in recent months. How do you think it will develop in the near future?

Digitalisation enables us to transform the industry and to speed up sustainable innovation. For example, we utilise digitalisation and automation to fundamentally understand the relationship between chemical structure and biodegradability to speed up the development of new, tailor-made, certified biodegradable products. Additionally, as described above, we are providing and continue to develop digital services for our customers to support sustainable formulation development. Recognising that most sustainable innovations are not drop-in solutions and that reformulations are often needed, we utilise machine learning to provide combinations of sustainable materials that offer performance and sensorial benefits in comparison with less-sustainable benchmarks. Thus, digitalisation is an important pillar on our ‘Re_think’ journey. The overall composition and the firmly established pillars of digitalisation and sustainability enable us to drive developments and be a thought leader. We want to turn sustainability from a challenge in the daily work of the personal care industry into an opportunity to rethink and shape. Digitalisation is a gateway to this approach. 

Mr McAlpine, what are your goals for this year?

The personal care market continues to experience growth as a result of reopening markets demand for more sustainable products, transparency and personalisation. Therefore, our priorities in 2023 will remain unchanged, but rather we will continue with even more passion and intensity. ‘Re_think’ will lead us through the future, combining our three main pillars of innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability, which are the main driving forces behind our further development. We invite our customers and partners to join us in this progress, with all its positive but also challenging aspects.