Sustainability

Stakeholder Engagement

For BASF, it is important to have a continuous dialog with various stakeholder groups. We leverage the expertise of our stakeholders in our own advisory bodies, global networks and worldwide initiatives. The importance and long tradition of stakeholder engagement for BASF can be seen, for example, in the fact that we have been a founding member of the U.N. Global Compact since more than 20 years ago. As member of the U.N. Global Compact, we consistently support responsible business and the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, BASF has established a new stakeholder engagement format with the Sustainability Lab. The Sustainability Lab is a further development of the Stakeholder Advisory Council. In the Sustainability Lab, BASF is now deepening specific sustainability topics, because sustainability topics are becoming ever more complex. At the first meeting, the participants worked out what BASF and other stakeholders can do to contribute to a successful energy transition.

The following table now shows numerous examples of our stakeholder engagement as well as selected results.

Commercial Stakeholders

Customers

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Formats Exemplary Results & Achievements
Attractive prices Innovative and sustainable solutions Reliable partner	~50 strategic customer networks Customer-specific business models based on i.e., TripleS methodology	Product Carbon Footprints of ~45,000 sales products calculated to create CO₂ transparency for us and our customers Offering innovative products and solutions supporting our customers to achieve their sustainability goals Quality Management System focused on customer satisfaction Pursuing decentralized certification approach for business units and subsidiaries according to international standards, such as ISO 9001, GMP, considering our customers’ requirements

Suppliers

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Formats Exemplary Results & Achievements
Fair and reliable business relationships Support in complying with our Supplier Code of Conduct	Supplier CO₂ Management Program Supplier Code of Conduct Audits & Trainings Joint initiatives with suppliers and partners Sustainability-oriented supply chain due diligence management Supplier diversity programs in North and South America	668 suppliers assessed by BASF as part of Together for Sustainability (TfS) framework; 2,100 participants at TfS trainings Cobalt for Development initiative: Improving working and living conditions for artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo Responsible Lithium Partnership with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Daimler Truck, Fairphone and GIZ Responsibly Active program bundles activities in area of bioactives (i.e., argan and moringa supply chains) Collaborating in TfS on standardizing calculation methods of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain and on digital exchange platform for Product Carbon Footprint data

Investors

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Formats Exemplary Results & Achievements
Attractive dividend yield Strong long-term share performance Transparency and risk minimization	Events with institutional investors, rating agencies and retail investors (one-on-one meetings, roadshows, conferences, informational events) Active participation in ESG ratings	Participation in numerous ESG events and conference calls in 2023 Investor Update event on differentiated steering and new climate targets to reduce Scope 3.1 emissions on December 7, 2023 CDP disclosure: Leadership status achieved in 2023 in “Climate,” “Water” and “Forests” categories Renewed Prime status in the ISS ESG rating from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), placed in the top 10% of the companies assessed Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Rating: BASF belongs to the best category for “diversified chemicals” with a medium ESG risk and was recognized for its risk management, for example, in the areas of CO₂ emissions, wastewater and waste, and occupational health and safety “Investors’ Darling” prize for sustainability communication from Manager Magazin

Non-commercial Stakeholders

Employees

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Exemplary Results & Achievements
Attractive and fair employer Health protection Opportunities for professional development	Employee engagement: Global employee surveys Regular leadership feedback ‘Continuous Meaningful Conversations’ between leaders and employees, annual employee dialog Trust-based cooperation with employee representatives Occupational safety initiatives & networks	Employee engagement goal: More than 80% of our employees feel that at BASF, they can thrive and perform at their best, engagement index of 79% in 2023 Global target to promote female leadership, increase proportion of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2030: 28.4% female leaders with disciplinary responsibility at the end of 2023 Health Performance Index: 0,96 Regularly reviewed safety concepts, emergency systems, and crisis management structures Group-wide compliance program ensures adherence to legal regulations, company‘s internal guidelines and ethical business practices 64 internal audits on adherence to compliance standards > 122,000 participants in compliance trainings

Communities

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Exemplary Results & Achievements
Safe, disruption-free operations Attractive jobs Support for local communities	Societal Engagement Community Advisory Panels (CAPs)	€37 mio investment in Societal Engagement activities at BASF sites around the world to support future health, skills, and resources for a sustainable future For 26 years now, children and young people in 45 countries have been able to take part in experiments in BASF Kids’ Labs. The Virtual Lab program was expanded to include the ProtAct17 app. Eight Starting Ventures projects empower people from low-income communities to improve their economic opportunities and quality of life BASF Stiftung is active in the area of international development cooperation as well as disaster relief management e.g., with an employee donation campaign which collected €1.6 mio to support people in Turkey and Syria following the earthquakes in 2023 Community Advisory Panels offer a continuous forum for open dialog with local communities at our sites In the “Young Voices for a Sustainable Future” project more than 1,000 young people from eight countries supported by more than 100 BASF employees were able to address the impacts of climate change in their communities with their ideas.

Societal stakeholders

Stakeholder Expectations	Key Engagement	Exemplary Results & Achievements
Jobs and taxes Responsible and trustworthy partner Production of safe products in compliance with environmental and social standards	Sustainabaility Lab Advisory Councils Multi-stakeholder initiatives Sustainability networks	Sustainability Lab: introduced as new stakeholder engagement format, focus in 2023 on energy transition Human Rights Advisory Council: systematic integration of external expertise to advance BASF`s human rights management Nature Advisory Council: newly established to obtain independent perspectives on our activities related to nature and biodiversity topics Active participation in various sustainability networks and platforms (UN Global Compact, WBCSD, Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW)) Co-foundation of Global Battery Alliance (GBA) – development of standards and tools to create a sustainable value chain for batteries Meaningful and systematic interaction with NGOs and civil society Political dialog: political advocacy conducted in accordance with transparent guidelines and our publicly stated positions Regularly exchange with government departments, members of parliament and other stakeholders in many countries

Sustainability Lab

An inherent part of our sustainability management is the continuous exchange with our stakeholders. In order to involve our stakeholders more intensively and to dive deeper into specific sustainability topics, we established the Sustainability Lab as new stakeholder engagement format in 2023.

Cropped shot of a group of businesspeople discussing something on a laptop

Human Rights Advisory Council

The Human Rights Advisory Council promotes a constructive exchange on human rights, helps us to better understand different perspectives and address conflicting goals

Community Advisory Panels

As a company in the chemical industry, we are aware of the particular responsibility we have towards our neighbors. Thus we set up neighborhood dialogues, mostly at our larger production sites.

Nature Advisory Council

In the Nature Advisory Council, we discuss BASF's business approaches and their impact on nature and biodiversity with international experts from the fields of agriculture, ecology and climate research. We derive impulses for the further development of our approaches and support the sustainable development of BASF.