Societal Engagement
Societal engagement is a cornerstone of our corporate responsibility and part of our sustainability management.
Through our activities, we aim to strengthen the connection with the communities surrounding our sites worldwide, contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and have a long-term positive impact on the environment and society. In 2023, we reaffirmed our commitments to improving people’s quality of life and making a positive contribution to society by leveraging our expertise and resources.
Stakeholder and community engagement
At BASF, we aspire to grow our business in ways that are sustainable from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. To foster and enhance mutual understanding with our neighboring communities and stakeholders in an open and transparent manner, we have been actively conducting community programs in China over past two decades.
During BASF’s annual stakeholder dialog, participants understood the importance of sustainable development while playing the board game “Sustainable Monopoly”.
- Continuing dialogs with local communities through Community Advisory Panels
- Stakeholder dialog with NGOs in China
The Community Advisory Panels (CAP) are one of the most important platforms where BASF actively engages with local communities around its major production sites. CAP members selected from the local communities meet up with BASF site management to discuss topics of common interests on a regular basis. In Greater China, BASF supports CAPs in Shanghai, Chongqing, Nanjing, and Zhanjiang.
In Shanghai, the second Community Advisory Panel (CAP) of BASF Shanghai Pudong Innovation Park (Pudong site) organized their first meeting in April 2023. During the meeting, the projects between BASF and Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park was inaugurated. As part of the cooperation, BASF Agricultural Solutions Science Base and Experimental Zone for Crop Protection and Mosquito Prevention & Control Solution has been established in Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park, to support the park’s green ecology.
In Zhanjiang, the 7th CAP meeting was held in July 2023 with the focus on BASF Zhanjiang Verbund site project’s progress, as well as information sharing on traffic safety and health topics and typhoon hazards mitigation.
Read more about Stakeholder and community engagement at BASF in Greater China Report 2023
Science education
Education is key to personal success and the future viability of society. That is why BASF is committed to working with partners at numerous sites to achieve greater educational equality, especially for children and young people. Science education and education for sustainable development are particularly important to us.
During summer holidays in 2023, BASF’s Kids’ Lab program returned to physical events and engaged with over 3,500 schoolchildren across seven cities in Greater China, including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chongqing and Zhanjiang. Through hands-on experiments with focus on ecofriendly printing and climate change processes in 2023, the Kids’ Lab event enabled children to stimulate an interest in chemistry science, foster their curiosity and spirit of exploration and cultivate their sustainable lifestyle.
Kids’ Lab is a global program of BASF and has been promoting science education in Greater China since 2002, inspiring over 214,000 children across the country with interactive, fun, hands-on experiments.
In December, BASF and Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (SSTM) strengthened their strategic partnership by renewing the Strategic Cooperation Framework Letter of Intent. BASF will fully leverage its experience in science education to support redesigning of the Materials Exhibition Area at SSTM, aiming to create a more innovative and interactive platform for science education among younger generations.
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Volunteering for the people and the planet
BASF aspires to contribute to a better planet and encourages its employees to participate in various local volunteering projects.
- Organized various employee volunteering programs, including annual cleaning up campaign, donating idle electronic products and visiting elders
- Contribute to the biodiversity protection in Zhanjiang and strengthened its local community engagements
During 2023 World Clean-up Day, as a co-founder of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), BASF initiated its annual employee volunteer clean-up campaign. The campaign was successfully conducted in 11 cities, including Shanghai, Changsha, Guilin, Korla, Nanjing, Pinghu, Rudong, Shenyang, Shizuishan, Taipei, and Zhenjiang. Nearly 600 BASF employee volunteers and their families collected over 1,300 kilograms of waste from riverbanks, beaches, mountain paths, and urban streets. The campaign successfully elevated environmental awareness while promoting sustainable lifestyles and consumption concepts.
At the headquarters of BASF Greater China, over 50 colleagues contributed to a special cleanup program by donating 60 personal idle electronic products, such as laptops, iPads, keyboards, etc. These products were donated to the NGO Zhonggu Public Welfare for professional regeneration or disposal to protect the environment and promote resource reuse.
BASF actively engages with the local community in Zhanjiang to raise awareness of environmental protection by partnering with
local NGOs.
In January 2023, experts from Zhanjiang Bird Watching Society and BASF volunteers gave a lecture to students of Linxi Village in Mazhang Districts on bird conservation and protection, followed by a field trip to observe and record various bird species. BASF and the Zhanjiang Mangroves and Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF) organized the “Mangrove Art Contest” in November 2023, which attracted over 60 primary school students as well as participation from the local government, community, and BASF employees.
Prizes and awards
In 2023, BASF received multiple public recognitions for its long-standing contributions and achievements of corporate social responsibilities, and sustainable development with positive social impact.
- On 2023 World Earth Day, BASF was honored with the “Carbon Neutrality Role Model Award” at the 1st China Enterprises Carbon Neutrality Performance Award Ceremony, which was co-hosted by Yicai, one of the most influential business media in China, and the Research Institute of Carbon Neutrality of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
- At the 10th China Responsible Care Promotion Conference, BASF was recognized for the 2023 “AICM Responsible Care Company
- Award” and “AICM Responsible Care Initiative Carbon Footprint Award”.
- BASF was awarded the “China CSR 20 Years Special Contribution Award” by Southern Weekly, one of China’s most influential news
- publications. BASF’s Joncryl® 9503AP and Acronal® EDGE 7073 received “2023 Ringier Technology Innovation Award”.
- BASF Taiwan’s Kids’ Lab & Kids’ Farm projects were recognized by the German Trade Office (GTO) Taipei as the top CSR campaign implemented by German companies in Taiwan.
- BASF was also named China’s Top Employer 2024 for the 14th consecutive year.