BASF sponsors first C2C Home Design and Construction Competition
EPS supplier helps promote sustainable design in residential construction

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., November 10, 2004 -- BASF’s Styropor® expandable polystyrene (EPS) business is a major sponsor of the first C2C (Cradle to Cradle) Home Design and Construction Competition to be held in January 2005 in Roanoke, Va.

The competition, which will lead to the construction of 10 to 30 new homes based on the winning designs, was conceived to encourage economic growth and development in the Roanoke area, as well as promote sustainable building practices in residential design and construction.

In this competition, entries must be designed with a goal of achieving the standards of sustainability described in “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,” a book by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, who head MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), Charlottesville, Va. MBDC is highly regarded as a leader in assessing and optimizing products and processes for environmental sustainability.

“We are excited to sponsor the C2C Home competition because it presents a unique opportunity to promote ‘cradle to cradle’ thinking in the construction industry,” said Gene Zimmermann, Director of BASF’s Styropor EPS business in North America. “The competition provides an ideal platform to showcase the ‘C2C’ attributes of Styropor EPS foams and their versatility as an insulation and building material in residential systems.”

Last year, MBDC announced that Styropor EPS resins have strong attributes of environmental sustainability in that they can be used and recycled in thermal insulation applications after conducting a rigorous evaluation of the “environmental health and intelligence” of the material.

According to MBDC, the C2C Home Design and Construction Competition will challenge participants to design homes based on four principles. First, the design must adapt today’s modern lifestyle to the model of natural systems. The design must eliminate the concept of waste. Thirdly, the home design must respect and celebrate its neighborhood, in this case Roanoke. Lastly, the designs will be judged on their inclusion of innovative material solutions.

Jurors for the C2C Home design competition are renowned architects Alexander Garvin, Daniel Lebeskind, Bill McDonough, Randall Stout and Sarah Susanka. The winning designs will be announced and shown at a special exhibition in January 2005 at the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke.

BASF – The Chemical Company. We don’t make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®
BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. We employ about 11,000 people in North America and had sales of approximately $9 billion in 2003. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Our goal is to grow profitably and further increase the value of our company. We help our customers to be more successful through intelligent system solutions and high-quality products. BASF’s portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. Through new technologies we can tap into additional market opportunities. We conduct our business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In 2003, BASF had sales of approximately $42 billion. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF), Paris (BA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

For more information, contact:
David A. Elliott
BASF
Tel: (734) 324-6148
E-mail: elliotd1@basf.com