USDA Certified Biobased Product Label Awarded to Several Profile Products
BUFFALO GROVE, IL (November 19, 2019) — Five of Profile Products erosion and vegetative solutions products have earned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased product label. The label displays a product’s biobased content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source, such as plant, animal, marine, or forestry feedstocks.
The BioPreferred Program is a USDA-led initiative that assists the development and expansion of markets for biobased products. The BioPreferred Program has two initiatives aimed at transforming the marketplace for biobased products: mandatory purchasing requirements for Federal agencies and Federal contractors and voluntary product certification and labeling. Biobased products span a diverse range of applications including lubricants, cleaning products, chemicals, and bioplastics. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label communicates a product's biobased content. Expressed as a percentage, biobased content is the ratio of non-fossil organic carbon (new organic carbon) to total organic carbon in a product. New organic carbon is derived from recently-created materials. The total organic carbon in a product consists of new organic carbon and old organic carbon, which originates from fossil carbon materials such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas. More than 3,500 products have earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product label.
The following Profile products have earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product label:
“The goal of erosion control and revegetation is to enhance the environment, and we’re proud to say this label proves that our sustainable products accomplish that goal,” said Jim Tanner, president and CEO of Profile Products. “This label is a badge of pride not only for us at Profile, but for everyone who chooses to use these environmentally friendly products.”
According to a report that the USDA released in July 2019, biobased products contributed $459 billion to the US economy in 2016 (a 17% increase from 2014) and support, directly and indirectly, 4.6 million jobs. The report's research team estimates the reduction of fossil fuels and associated greenhouse gas emissions from biobased products equivalent to approximately 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) prevented as of 2016. The increased production of renewable chemicals and biobased products contributes to the development and expansion of the U.S. bioeconomy — where society looks to agriculture for sustainable sources of fuel, energy, chemicals and products.
"We applaud Profile Products for earning the USDA Certified Biobased Product label," said Kate Lewis, USDA BioPreferred Program. "Products from Profile are contributing to an ever-expanding marketplace that adds value to renewable agriculture commodities, creates jobs in rural communities and decreases our reliance on petroleum.”
Third-party verification for a product's biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program, an initiative created by the 2002 Farm Bill (and recently reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill).
To learn more about the USDA Certified Biobased Product label please visit www.biopreferred.gov.
