Sustainable Solution Steering

Analyzing our products' contributions to the sustainability needs of our customers' value chains

Society and our customers have been taking a greater interest in the business contribution to sustainability over the past decades. We are committed to understand these evolving expectations, so we might seize opportunities as well as minimize risks.  

Why – Objective

Our customers can expect from BASF the consistent and innovative solutions they have always received. At the same time, they are looking to contribute to a more sustainable future where being environmentally and socially responsible goes hand in hand with running a profitable business. Therefore, BASF has embedded sustainability in its corporate purpose: “We create chemistry for a sustainable future.” This ambition is directly linked to a number of business factors:

• Growing customer needs to differentiate with sustainability
• New regulations and standards in value chains
• Changing societal and business environments prompting demand for sustainable products

We therefore cooperate with our customers in creating and driving more sustainable solutions, which makes good business sense for both.

How – Evaluation of each solution

By identifying key drivers and issues in our customers’ industries, we are able to assess the sustainability contribution of each of our products in its specific application.

With our approach we evaluate the entire value chain considering industry- and region-specific views in our markets. We strive to achieve a balance between the three dimensions of sustainability:

• Economy: e.g. potential cost savings for customers through the use of our products
• Environment: e.g. ensuring standards are met, developing environmentally sound solutions
• Society: e.g. enhancing safety in production, use or end-of-life, stakeholder perception of solutions

Finally each solution is assigned to one of four categories (Accelerator, Performer, Transitioner, Challenged) according to its contribution to sustainability. Although different industries vary in their specific needs, we are able to cluster our Accelerator solutions into predefined universal sustainability benefits (e.g. resource efficiency).