Innovating Products that protect Natural Resources

Nature is at the heart of what we do, and caring for natural resources is one of our core responsibilities. That is why we develop innovative products, focusing on renewable resources and organic farming practices, preserving biodiversity and forests, while aiming for transparency and traceability of our botanical sourcing.

Already Active for nature

Charlotte from our bioactives team shares insights into the first strategic pillar of our Responsibly Active program. This is where you can find out more about how we plan on doing our part in protecting nature and the natural ecosystems in our botanical sourcing – and why organic farming plays such a vital role.

Our key actions

For the implementation of our Responsibly Active program, we are focusing on the following key actions:

Prioritize certified organic sources for new developments
Drive organic agricultural practices with suppliers
Reformulate existing products with bio-based adjuvants/solvents
Enable a proof-based traceability system that tracks each delivery all the way to the source

Our achievements in 2023

We are committed to maximizing the use of renewable resources, increasing sustainable sourcing and fostering organic farming practices. Digitalization is key to reaching full traceability to the source of ingredients, creating benefits for all participants along the botanical supply chain.

Tradition Meets Innovation with Laricyl®

The power of nature is remarkable and holds great potential for the development of innovative actives. However, we must preserve its delicate balance. Thanks to advances in biotechnology, we have been able to move from wild harvesting to organic certified cultivation of the mushroom Fomes officinalis – the core ingredient of our bioactive Laricyl® – through solid-state fermentation. This allows us to control the growth conditions and imitate the mushroom’s natural habitat without impacting its populations. Moreover, it has been clinically proven that this upgraded ingredient has an immediate pore-tightening effect that is 2.8 times better than the previous wild-grown version.

Check out the full 2023 Update

Already active

Product Highlight

Dermagenist®

This Majoram leaves extract is 100 percent made in France. To improve supply chain reliability and traceability, we started organic cultivation with a local partner in the Rhône-Alpes. Early forecasts and annual commitments on price and volumes ensure planning security for both sides.

Product Highlight

Seanactiv™

Our active ingredient Seanactiv™ is based on the organic-certified marine algae fucus vesiculosus. The seaweed is harvested manually under government license, in line with good collection practices that ensure regeneration of the biomass.

Product Highlight

Nephydrat®

In an ambitious sustainable sourcing project initiated in 2014, we are utilizing by-products of organically farmed rambutan fruits as feedstocks for active ingredients. The program respects the needs and interests of local ecosystems as well as smallholders and workers. Nephydrat®, an extract from the spiny fruit peel, is one of three actives derived from this program.

Meet our heroes

William Marrott, Epilobium Angustifolium supplier for Epispot™

“Wild harvesting requires controlled collection. We strive to find sites where there is sufficient abundance of resources and regularly rotate harvest locations. This way, we achieve a balanced collection rate that will ensure the conservation of the species. A management tool allows us to trace the pickers and the harvest locations for maximum transparency.”
Jean Pascal, Majoram Supplier for Dermagenist™

The implementation of a specific organic cultivation of Marjoram requires practices that are more gentle and much more integrated into the natural cycle. We have setup a cultivation process with end-to-end traceability from the field to the delivery at BASF. For marjoram we can guarantee complete traceability thanks to authentication and securing of botanical species, grower plots and methods, and responsible post-harvest processing with a batch numbering system.
Khan, Rambutan Garden Owner

I am very proud that our Rambutan garden is the first organic certified one in Vietnam. The dedicated Rambutan project with BASF has made us even more aware of how important it is to preserve our land and to set up a rigorous monitoring system for our practices. Thanks to long-term commitment, fair partnership and the valorization of the non-edible parts of the tree, we can create a positive economic and environmental impact.
Han, Salvia Supplier for Collrepair® DG

Our organic cultivation of Salvia Miltiorrhyza contributes to long-term economic progress in respect of the environment and the natural ecosystem. Instead of unregulated wild harvesting, which endangers natural resources and local ecosystems, we privilege farming with manual harvesting and field maintenance. I’m convinced that our success will also contribute to making organic cultivation in Vietnam more popular.
Philippe, Raw Material Sourcing & Extraction Manager, BASF

For more than 25 years, we have been taking sustainability further, where value creation otherwise ends: From the pressed moringa seedcakes – the oil extraction’s waste – we obtain highly effective bioactives. This upcycling creates added value without consuming additional resources. Sourcing is made even more sustainable thanks to the conversion to organic farming. It ensures the use of organic manure, among other things, and thus conserves soil fertility. So, the “wonder tree” really lives up to its name!