The Mass Balance Approach

The chemical industry uses a small number of raw materials to create tens of thousands of different products. The lion’s share of chemical production starts in the steam cracker, where steam is used to split or “crack” naphtha, a long-chain hydrocarbon, into smaller molecules. These molecules then serve as the building blocks for downstream production. They include, for example, hydrogen, methane, ethylene and propylene, which are mainly processed into plastics, coatings, solvents and crop protection products.

Video: BASF's mass balance approach

The principle is therefore similar to when consumers buy “green” or “clean” electricity. Although the consumers cannot be certain that the electricity they use in their homes has come directly from renewable sources, the overall share of green energy in the grid rises in step with demand. In the chemical industry, renewable or recycled feedstock is added at the beginning of the production process and allocated to the end product. This calculation-based principle offers multiple advantages: It reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fossil feedstock inputs, while the quality and properties of a product remain the same. As a result, the products can be processed exactly like conventionally produced materials. There is therefore no need to adapt formulations, plants or processes. And customers who buy mass-balanced products can use them as they would traditional products, while benefiting from the same level of quality.

Independent bodies audit the allocation (i.e., how the volumes of the sustainable raw material are mathematically assigned to the final product). However, at the moment, experts are still using different methods – also known as standards – for auditing and certification.

We engage in collaborating in different stakeholder platforms:

• Associations, e.g. Joint Task Force on mass balance at European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and PlasticsEurope
• Certification schemes: Active participant/member in leading scheme givers like ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification), REDcert, and RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials)
• Member of different public private partnership initiatives, e.g. Circular Plastics Alliance initiated by the EU Commission, Green Deal initiated by the Dutch government
• Norming: Member of different working groups like ISO TC 308 (chain of custody), ISO TC 323 (circular economy), ISO TC 207 (environmental management), ISO TC 61 (plastics)