Toronto, Ontario — BASF has announced that it is continuing to engage in discussions with industry partners to establish a global certification standard in the automotive refinish industry.
According to a recent report, industry partners in this instance specifically include industry associations, insurers, work providers, fleet leasing operators and bodyshops. Dialogues with these groups originally began in 2023 concerning the criteria needed for an industry-wide independent sustainability standard.
From these discussions, BASF has developed the Global Life Cycle Assessment of Automotive Surface Solutions (GLASS), which is said to help manage the growing demand for accident repairs to be sustainable while also meeting a uniform standard based on tested criteria.
“Reducing the ecological footprint towards CO2 neutrality is a significant goal for many industries and value chains, including the coating and pre-treatment processes of the automotive industry. Through its GLASS tool, BASF’s Coatings division offers an analysis approach that enables transparency and supports customers in making informed decisions for sustainable surface solutions,” a recent press release noted.
“A coating with its various layers of paint contributes approximately 30 kg of CO2 per manufactured vehicle,” Sabrina Platzek, Vice President of Global Marketing Automotive OEM Coatings at BASF reported.
“However,” she continued, “the actual application process has a much larger impact, accounting for at least 150 kg of CO2 per vehicle, which makes approximately one-third of the vehicle manufacturing process.”
BASF’s GLASS model is based on an adapted life cycle analysis model that considers individual aspects of the paint application process, such as specific ovens or coating systems, but also allows BASF Coatings and the customer to analyze the environmental impacts of all essential components throughout the application process and across all layers in a modular approach. Regional and site-specific factors, such as local climate conditions, energy use, and customer-specific application processes or production structures are also considered. The modular structure of the model allows for consideration and analysis of specific aspects of interest or the entire painting line.
“We aim to lead the way in sustainability in our industry. Therefore, it is at the center of all our actions. The positive feedback from the market proves that this is the right way. That is why in the long term we are looking forward to offering GLASS not only to the automotive OEM coatings industry, but also to other application areas,” adds Dr. Markus Piepenbrink, Director Sustainability, BASF Coatings.
All information on products assessed via BASF’s CO2 footprint calculation method is available and usable in the GLASS tool of BASF Coatings. For more information click here.
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