Sustainability

Corporate Volunteering

Social commitment is an important cornerstone of social cohesion. BASF is determined to contribute to this area and is therefore offering various regional volunteering options for its employees.

BASF employees in Ludwigshafen and Shanghai take an active role in the fight against waste pollution

As a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), BASF is collaborating with around 50 companies worldwide to develop new solutions for the management of plastic waste. To collect plastic waste from the environment, 300 BASF employees and volunteers took part in the alliance's "All Together Global Cleanup" campaign on September 19, 2020 in Ludwigshafen and Shanghai.

BASF Volunteers Cleanup Coastline at Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park

BASF co-organized a coastal cleanup program in Shanghai with Rendu Ocean on April 25, 2021. 76 BASF employee and volunteers gathered on the coastline where Huangpu River, Yangtze River and East China Sea meet, and cleaned up a total of 222.75 kg of wastes, including 1,422 pieces of plastic foam, 269 cigarette butts, and more than 200 PET bottles.

Connected-to-Care

Our employees are passionate about creating chemistry – not just in research but also in their teams and the communities around our sites.

A vivid society with high social cohesion needs voluntary engagement. Therefore, BASF is determined, as part of its societal engagement, to contribute to a sustainable society and supports its employees to engage in various local volunteering options. Employees at all BASF sites around the world are “Connected-to-Care” and are taking part in individual formats to strengthen team spirit, develop their social and professional skills and actively shape their social environment.

Corporate Volunteering Guidelines

We want to make a difference. This is why our volunteering activities follow common guidelines:

Relevance: All activities address relevant needs of the communities around our sites.

Focus: All activities contribute to a sustainable society by supporting our global focus areas future health, future skills and future resources.

Impact: All activities are designed to create long-term social and environmental impact and are planned and measured accordingly.

Connection: All activities connect two or more BASF employees and are conducted together with local partners.

Learn more about BASF's Societal Engagement

Juguetón Educativo, Hidalgo/Mexico (2021)

Due to the pandemic, millions of children had to take clases at home but this is specially difficult for children in low income communities who do not have access to an internet connection at home. For this 2021 edition we decided to put special attention to these communities and instead of delivering toys, 63 employees delivered educational kits to 129 children.

Painting the Future, Guadalajara/Mexico (2021)

Due to their vulnerable situation, hundreds of kids are unable to continue their education. In partnership with the homeschool Villa de los Niños in Guadalajara two BASF experts teach low-income high school students in automotive refinish. 43 students graduated in 2021 and 38 more are started the course. With this initiative we ensure the students can find a well-paid job and support their families to improve their quality of life.

Supporting people from vulnerable social background, Argentina (2020)

Through the volunteering commissions in Argentina, BASF impacted the communities near the production sites with initiatives including the renovation of community spaces, food and Christmas present donations as well as reading activities for children in hospitals and vulnerable social situations.

Transforming a school yard, Midrand/South Africa (2021)

25 volunteers from the BASF Office in Midrand, South Africa helped transforming a school yard in the vicinity of their office from a desolate settlement to a safe learn and play area. To help the water drainage at the school, we provided our sustainable paving solution Elastopave.

Disaster Relief Campaigns, Turkey (2020)

BASF in Turkey organized and enabled three different campaigns. (1) During the pandemic, BASF donated masks, disinfectants, and protective shields to a health center in Istanbul. (2) Grocery vouchers were distributed to disadvantaged families in districts of Bursa. (3) A donation campaign for people affected by the Izmir earthquake was started by BASF employees and matched by the company. Families who lost their houses were provided with white goods for their new houses.

Beach clean cleanup, Greece (2021)

As part of its societal engagement, BASF Hellas S.A. organized a beach cleanup activity, in cooperation with the Association of Hellenic Plastic Industries (AHPI) and the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA). More than 25 BASF Hellas, AHPI and HELMEPA volunteers participated in a beach cleanup, in Faliro, Athens, Greece. The goal was not only to clean up as much litter as possible but also to get more valuable information about the type of waste on the coastal environment and its origin.

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All together Global Cleanup Campaign, Ludwigshafen/Germany (2020)

In September 2020, 170 participants collected a total of 7,500 liters of mainly plastic waste in Ludwigshafen during the volunteering day of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. BASF organized the campaign for a clean future together with the city of Ludwigshafen, the port operations and the Wirtschaftsbetrieb Ludwigshafen.

Soup kitchen, Ludwigshafen/Germany (2021)

BASF employees helped at the soup kitchen in Hemshof, Ludwigshafen twice in 2021. BASF Gastronomie prepared soups and stews, which were then distributed to those in need.

Support for communities around the BASF site, Münster/Germany (2020)

In 2020, donations were made e. g. to support an association to help young people find a vocational training or to help families with children suffering from cancer. Corporate volunteering projects included the support of pensioners with their shopping, sewing masks to support sports camps for children or supporting a youth orchestra.

Family Day Clean-up, China (2021)

In April 2021, BASF organised its "Family Day" in Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park. 76 employee volunteers and their families gathered on the coast and collected a total of over 200 kg of waste.
Five months later, BASF launched its first nationwide clean-up campaign in five cities in China. Once again, 311 volunteers took part in this action and collected around 1051 kg of waste.
Corporate-led cleanup volunteer activities help to raise BASF employee awareness of climate protection and demonstrate the need for environmental protection to all participants.

School renovation, Vietnam (2020)

Together with the NGO Saigon Children’s Charity and other partners, BASF employees supported the renovation of a primary school in Hau Giang province in January 2021. The construction provided 90 children with a cleaner and safer learning environment, including a new classroom, toilets, and a playground.

Beach clean-up, Taiwan (2020)

In 2020, Taiwan employees and their families participated in beach clean-up events in Northern and Southern Taiwan. In addition, the employee engagement activities included visiting and delivering gifts to the elderly living alone, before the autumn festival as well as hosting Christmas celebration activities for the social welfare organizations in Taoyuan for many years.

All together Global Cleanup Campaign, Shanghai/China (2020)

In September 2020, BASF organized its first corporate cleanup volunteering activity in Shanghai in cooperation with Pickup China, a Shanghai-based environmental non-governmental organization. 120 BASF “trash hunters” including BASF colleagues and their families gathered near Suzhou River to clean up wastes including plastic waste in the city center of Shanghai. Within 90 minutes, the volunteers cleaned up a total of 116.3kg of waste.

Encouraging school children from vulnerable backgrounds, NZ/Australia (2020)

In this project, BASF partnered with the grassroots Indigenous STEM charity organization DeadlyScience, to donate 450 science books to remote schools in Australia. BASF colleagues were invited to personalize the books by writing a message of hope and support to the future readers.

Schools support during the pandemic, Ethiopia/Kenia (2020)

BASF supported schools with the donation of preventive equipment and materials.