Sustainability

Our Carbon Management

Rays of sunlight and Green Forest

We want to live up to our responsibility for climate protection. One way we do this is with our products, which enable our customers to lower CO2 emissions. But that is not all: We also become more efficient in our production and energy use, we will increase our use of renewable energies and we will accelerate the development and deployment of new CO2-free processes for the production of chemicals.

Several new technologies for reducing CO2 emissions in the chemical industry are being developed at BASF. These include the electrically heated steam cracker furnace and the CO2-free production of hydrogen. If it is not possible to produce CO2-free, we also want to examine the use of storage processes for CO2.
We are increasingly using biomass in our production, which partially replaces fossil raw materials.
Line graph describing BASF was able to halve its CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2018, while production volume doubled.
Between 1990 and 2018, BASF cut its CO2 emissions by half while its production volumes doubled. This was accomplished by many efficiency-boosting measures as well as the use of catalysts to reduce nitrous oxide emissions. We want to utilize any remaining potential.
In order to be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale, the focus is on switching to renewable energy sources. This is because the use of new technologies will replace fossil fuels such as natural gas with electricity from renewable sources in the future. 
Around 200 production plants at the site produce numerous products for customers from virtually every industry.
Another lever for reducing CO2 is the use of electric heat pumps to generate CO2-free steam from waste heat and use it at our sites.
“We have created climate change collectively, and we need to address it collectively”
Interview with Youba Sokona, Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and member of BASF’s Stakeholder Advisory Council, and BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller

BASF is setting itself an ambitious goal of net zero by 2050 because we are convinced of the long-term strategic necessity and technical feasibility. Nevertheless, most new technologies are not yet competitive under the current conditions. Since the replacement of existing highly efficient production processes by new plants is very capital-intensive, BASF is working on German and European funding programs such as the IPCEI (Import Project of Common European Interest).

In addition, we work with numerous partners from universities, research institutes and companies on sustainable solutions for a carbon neutral future. We are convinced that the challenges of climate change can only be mastered together with our partners.

How can we build a more climate-friendly chemical industry? 

While continuing to focus on efficiency, we must also pursue breakthrough technologies and utilize renewable energy.“

Dr. Martin Brudermüller

Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE

News board