International. BASF's water-based resins for inks and adhesives in flexible packaging are an economically compatible and environmentally friendly alternative to solvent-based technologies. This is the result of an eco-efficiency analysis recently conducted by BASF and based on the previous Eco-Efficiency Analysis (EEA) for water-based printing inks for flexible packaging in 2009, as well as data from a recent survey for adhesives in 2016.
The study considers a wide range of environmental categories of the final product and its raw materials (from cradle to grave) ranging from climate change to resource depletion.
The BASF Eco-Efficiency methodology was validated by NSF International, while the study results were critically reviewed by DEKRA as an independent third party. EeA results demonstrate that water-based inks and adhesives lead to greater eco-efficiency than solvent-based inks and adhesives. The main driver of the environmental differences between the alternatives is the production of inks and solvents.
The analysis showed that solvent-based inks and adhesives perform worse in all impact categories, mainly due to the environmental impact related to the production of the organic solvent for use in the printing process, raw materials for inks and the production of adhesives.
In addition, the EEA demonstrates that switching from solvent-based inks and adhesives to water-based technologies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalents) by up to 15%. This reduction in carbon footprint is of increasing importance to brand owners and converters.
The report further indicates that water-based technologies also have a positive impact on health and safety in the workplace. "As water-based inks and adhesives contain no organic solvents or aromatic isocyanates, production risks are minimized," says Ulf Neidlein, Vice President of Business Management at Resins & Additives Europe. "They offer a huge improvement in industrial safety and are therefore an important step towards more sustainable and safer solutions for flexible food packaging."
