Sustainability
Business Model & Innovation Index
Product Design for Use-phase Efficiency (SASB Code: RT-CH-410a.1)
Accounting metric
Revenue from products designed for use-phase resource efficiency
Information
A significant steering tool for the product portfolio, based on the sustainability performance of our products, is TripleS. Within the scope of the further development of our method, in 2023 we began to reassess the products in the relevant portfolio with regard to their applications and regional aspects. As a result, we categorize our product portfolio into five segments, taking sustainability-related aspects into account: Pioneer, Contributor, Standard, Monitored and Challenged. The reassessment will be completed in 2024.
Of BASF’s €68.9 billion in sales in 2023, €55.5 billion is relevant for the TripleS evaluation. We have analyzed €52.8 billion of this as part of TripleS by the end of 2023. The relevant portfolio comprises BASF Group’s sales from sales products to third parties in the business year concerned. This excludes business that is not product-related, such as licenses or services.
Source
BASF Report 2023: Our Sustainability Concept, pp. 48-49
Safety & Environmental Stewardship of Chemicals (SASB Code: RT-CH-410b.1)
Accounting metric
(1) Percentage of products that contain Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) Category 1 and 2 Health and Environmental Hazardous Substances
(2) Percentage of such products that have undergone a hazard assessment
Information
We document environmental, health and safety data and the assessments thereof for all of our substances and products in a global database. This information is continuously updated. The database forms the basis for communicating this information in our safety data sheets, for example, which we make available to our customers in around 40 languages. These include information on the physicochemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological properties of products, potential hazards, first aid measures, measures to be taken in the case of accidental release, and disposal. Our global emergency hotline network enables us to provide information around the clock. To ensure that people who buy, sell, use, transport or dispose of our products can quickly find out about our products and the risks associated with them, we use the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) to classify and label our products around the world, provided this is legally permissible in the country concerned. We take into account any national or regional modifications within the GHS framework, such as the E.U.’s regulation on the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation).
Most of the products we manufacture are subject to statutory chemicals regulations. We are bound by the relevant regional and national chemicals regulations, which continue to grow in number worldwide. Examples include REACH in the E.U., UK REACH in the United Kingdom, KKDIK in Turkey, K-REACH in South Korea and TSCA in the United States. BASF Group companies work closely together with a global network of experts to ensure that BASF complies with the applicable regulations.
Source
BASF Report 2023: Product Safety, p. 146
Safety & Environmental Stewardship of Chemicals (SASB Code: RT-CH-410b.2)
Accounting metric
Discussion of strategy to (1) manage chemicals of concern and (2) develop alternatives with reduced human and/or environmental impact
Information
(1) As a chemical company, we have products in our portfolio with physicochemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological properties that may have negative effects on people and the environment if handled incorrectly. We are committed to continuously minimizing these effects and to the ongoing optimization of the safety and sustainability of our products. This commitment to product safety is enshrined in our Responsible Care® charter and the initiatives of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).
(2) A significant steering tool for the product portfolio, based on the sustainability performance of our products, is TripleS. We have integrated the TripleS evaluation even more deeply into the assessment of our R&D development processes, also considering the requirements formulated within the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework by the E.U. Commission. As a result, we categorize our product portfolio into five segments, taking sustainability-related aspects into account: Pioneer, Contributor, Standard, Monitored and Challenged. If, during the reassessment of our portfolio, we identify products with sustainability concerns, we classify them either as “Monitored”, or in case of significant concerns, as “Challenged,” as we did in the past. A description of possible measures is mandatory for both categories. In the case of Challenged products, we develop our own action plans. These include research projects and reformulations to optimize products or replacing the product with an alternative. To systematically align our portfolio with contributions to sustainability, we are generally phasing out all Challenged products within five years of their initial classification.
Source
BASF Report 2023: Product Safety, p. 146
BASF Report 2023: Our Sustainability Concept, pp. 48-49
Comment/Additional Information
More information on our Sustainable Solution Steering methodology: Sustainable Solution Steering
Genetically Modified Organisms (SASB Code: RT-CH-410c.1)
Accounting Metric
Percentage of products by revenue that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
Information
We do not publish this figure, since it is not used for internal portfolio steering purposes of BASF Group.