Sustainability
Corporate Volunteering at BASF
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.
World Clean-up Day - China (2023)
Since 2020, BASF China, in collaboration with the environmental NGO Pickup China, has been actively organizing employee volunteer coastal Clean-up programs, supported by the China Leadership Team. In 2023, BASF launched two parallel initiatives: First, an onsite activity at the Pudong site marking a pioneering effort in China to solicit donations of unused personal electronic devices. These devices were collected for responsible recycling or redistribution to children in migrant schools by our NGO partner. The second initiative expanded the Clean-up efforts offsite, with 13 locations across 11 cities launching volunteer campaigns, where more than 500 colleagues participated.
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Kids‘ Lab - Greater China (2023)
BASF Kids’ Lab is a free interactive chemistry educational program for school children aged from 6-12. In 2002, BASF staged it outside Germany for the first time, and chose Beijing, China as the place to do it. From then on, BASF Kids’ Lab has been expanded to other cities in China including Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Wuhan, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan. Since early July 2023, the program was launched across seven cities: Taipei, Kaohsiung, Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chongqing, and the latest addition, Zhanjiang.
"Anpack-Tag" - Ludwigshafen, Germany (2023)
Renovating and building play equipment, sanding down, and painting a wooden hut, building raised beds and much more: Once again this year, around 100 BASF and city employees got down to work. Rolling up their sleeves together to create space for encounters, play and discovery and to strengthen social interaction. The volunteers in Ludwigshafen-Mundenheim took part in this year's "Anpack-Tag", BASF's volunteering day.
Additionally, employees had the opportunity to engage in other social volunteering projects as well as mentoring programs.
Volunteering for #SustainableFuture – Berlin, Germany (2023)
At #BASFHubBerlin, we offer various activities in which our employees can get involved on a voluntary basis - this is how we realize a #SustainableFuture together. For example, we organized a Clean-up campaign to collect garbage in our district. Our volunteers spent a morning together to make one of the city parks (close to the office) at least a little cleaner and safer. Another project in which our Hub employees could volunteer was the cooperation with the non-profit organization Tafel e.V. Here, BASF employees supported the NGO in helping people in need and contributed to waste reduction.
Support of local soup kitchen - Ludwigshafen, Germany (2023)
In 2023, BASF employees once again helped out at the soup kitchen in Hemshof, Ludwigshafen, as they did in 2021. BASF catering staff prepared soups and stews, which were then distributed to those in need.
Launch of seventh school in remote areas of Vietnam – Tra Vinh province, Vietnam (2023)
Volunteers from BASF and co-sponsors, who are our longstanding customers and partners, built two classrooms and a playground with a total area of 328m2 to elevate the academic environment for about 100 primary school pupils in a remote area of Tra Vinh province, Vietnam.
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Launch of 7th public playground - Bình Tân, Vietnam (2023)
Volunteers from BASF and local Youth Union inaugurated the seventh public playground in Vietnam to over 18,000 children in Bình Tân, a rural district of Ho Chi Minh City with majority of population are immigrant workers. All the facilities were installed and decorated by volunteers from BASF and the local youth union. The facilities were made from child friendly and environmentally friendly materials such as eucalyptus wood from responsible sources, old tyres and panels made from plastic waste.
Kids' Lab@Earthquake Region – Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (2023)
On 6th of February 2023, Turkey had devastating earthquakes with more than 50,000 death tolls according to official numbers. As BASF Turk, through our Volunteers Club campaign, we supported the supply of immediate relief materials like shelters, hygiene products and food for the affected people. Soon after the earthquake, “Red Kids Organization” of Turkey opened a children support center in Kahramanmaraş – epicenter of the earthquake. Just on April 23rd, National Children's Day, they launched the center with a festival for the kids in the area who are living in tents. And as volunteer colleagues, we opened a Kids’ Lab booth in the festival area and hosted 400 kids on the same day.
Community gardens – Lombardy, Italy (2023)
With the "Community Gardens" project, we are primarily targeted people with disabilities who live in the area around the BASF site. We were supported by two partners: Maieutica and CADIAI - together we aimed to integrate people with psychophysical disabilities into everyday life through the development of socio-rehabilitative pathways and active community participation. Specifically, the project consisted of creating two raised gardens. Materials for the realization and technical support were provided by BASF. People with disabilities were involved in the design of the gardens and in their management and experienced visits from schools and citizens. In 2023, a total of 40 people with disabilities, supported by 20 teachers, were already involved in the project.
Responsible Care Week – Freeport, USA (2023)
BASF Freeport hosted approximately 1,000 fifth graders over 3 days at our local community college (Brazosport College). Volunteers spent time with students talking about drones, robotics, chemistry, production and construction introducing them to roles of the industry.
Kids’ Lab – Keat Hong, Singapore (2023)
In August 2023, the BASF Kids’ Lab was held at the Keat Hong Community Club as part of the National Day celebration event. More than 230 children participated and learned about the importance of plastic recycling and using renewable and non-renewable resources in producing plastics. In addition, we were also part of the launch of a new outdoor engagement space “Keat Hong SpacE3”, which allows community partners to run educational outreach programs for residents. We had the honor of presenting our sustainability efforts to the Minister for Education, Mr. Chan Chun Sing. 20 employee volunteers, together with 17 student volunteers from National University of Singapore, supported the event.
Adopt A School – Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (2023)
Together with the support of volunteers, the Corporate Affairs Department conducted a CSR event consisting of 2 parallel parts. In the first part, we organized a "Climate Ready Classroom" training with the Green Growth Asia Foundation (GGAF). This equipped secondary school students with the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about their carbon footprint. In the second part, we organized a mini exhibition showcasing products with "BASF inside" that promote STEM education for students. They were shown how science (chemistry) improves the quality of life.
Teachers’ School of Ecology – New Jersey, USA (2023)
In August 2023, BASF and the New Jersey Audubon (NJA) organized the first-ever Teachers’ School of Ecology (TSOE), a three-day workshop for middle and high school teachers to learn about how natural ecosystems are impacted by climate change. Participants were challenged to solve real problems through exploration, discovery and critical thinking. For example, they monitored water quality, assessed habitat and investigated environmental issues. The workshop topics were tailored to New Jersey’s Student Learning Standards, which would in turn make it easy for teachers to adopt the experiments and learnings into their own curricula.
BASF Innovation Hub – South-East Europe (2023)
BASF Innovation Hub is an annual pitch event organized in collaboration between 11 countries of South-East Europe, aiming to support the regional start-up community and accelerate green transition through Cleantech, Circularity and/or Farm to Fork solutions. For BASF employees, this means participation in the project from its conception to final stages of the online event. The activities of the program include managing social media, directly communicating with relevant institutions, NGOs, HUBs, universities, and the start-up community. In addition, the program involves judging all the applied solutions and selecting the best ones for live-pitch events.
Clean-up Day – Basel, Swiss (2023)
16 BASF Switzerland employees cleaned up the streets of Basel. The project benefited both the citizens of Basel and BASF employees, who strengthened their relationship with each other through the joint activity.
Nossas mulheres (pt) / Our Women (en) – Guaratinguetá, Brazil (2023)
The “Our Women” initiative focused on enhancing employability for women and mothers in vulnerable situations. Through different activities such as sewing, cooking, self-care, business planning, digital marketing, and more, the project aimed to empower its participants. At the same time, our dedicated volunteers facilitated art workshops and toy construction for the children of beneficiaries, fostering community cohesiveness. With more than 1,500 employees actively involved, this project made a significant impact in the Pingo de Ouro community, located in Guaratinguetá (SP), by improving the quality of life for female single-parent households, women in social vulnerability and/or mothers of People with Disabilities (PwD).