Grade C-
ChemScore report card 2024

Braskem

About the company

Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, Braskem is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America. It is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world’s largest producer of biopolymers. It has industrial units and offices throughout the Americas, including five polypropylene plants in the United States. The company produces a range of chemicals such as ethylene, polymer and chemical grade propylene, as well as fuels such as gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
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Total score
14 out of 48 points
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Product Portfolio
2 out of 18 points

To reach a final score in this category, we assess the company’s transparency in chemical production. Lower transparency makes it harder to achieve a good score. If the product portfolio transparency is very low, a company producing just one or even zero toxic chemicals (according to available data) might receive the same poor score as one producing 50.

Visit the methodology to delve deeper into the ChemScore ranking.

Registered hazardous chemicals 9
Chemicals on the EU’s Candidate List 0
Chemicals on the EU’s Authorisation List and/or POP substances 0
Persistent chemicals 0
Product portfolio transparency 25%
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Development of Safer Chemicals
7 out of 12 points
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Management & Transparency
5 out of 12 points
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Lack of Controversies
0 out of 6 points

Action points 🔍

1. Increase transparency

Although Braskem has responded to our request for more information regarding the company’s chemicals management, much is still unknown about Braskem’s production and use of hazardous chemicals. To demonstrate a commitment to transparency, Braskem should disclose both the share of revenue and production volume of products that are, or contain, hazardous chemicals. This information should cover all operations, including subsidiaries, worldwide. Sabic provides a good example, as it has disclosed its full chemicals portfolio, including production volumes and locations.

2. Map and phase out persistent chemicals

According to public registries in the EU/US, Braskem is not responsible for placing any persistent chemicals on these markets. However, the company might be using persistent chemicals, bought from other producers within the EU/US. They should, like Sika and LyondellBasell, disclose the share of revenue generated by products containing PFAS or other persistent chemicals. If that figure is 0%, the company should, like Sasol, clearly state that they do not buy or produce any PFAS, then expand that to include all persistent chemicals.

3. Develop safer solutions

Braskem currently lacks a strict policy for limiting hazardous chemicals in its new product development. As a result, both its existing and future product lines are dependent on substances that run the risk of becoming regulated. Therefore, Braskem may face growing challenges in maintaining profitability in the long term. The company should set a 2030 target for the share of revenue generated by products free from hazardous chemicals and develop a strategy to achieve it. A first step should be to, similarly to Lanxess, publicly state that it will not develop or market new end-products containing more than 0.1% of substances that have the characteristics of a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHCs).

Category breakdown

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Company facts
Founded
2002
Headquarters
São Paulo, Brazil
Revenue
14.5 Billion USD
Market capitalization
3.6 Billion USD
ISIN
BRBRKMACNOR1
Category
Basic
Plastic & Rubber & Fibres
Other years
Year Rank Total score
2024 28 / 51 14 / 48
2023 31 / 50 13 / 48
2022 31 / 54 12 / 48
2021 24 / 50 13 / 48
2020 20 / 35 12 / 48