Our Strategy

Chemistry is our passion. Our ambition is to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. With our “Winning Ways” strategy, we aim to grow profitably and create value for our shareholders based on a broad portfolio as well as our product and process innovations. Simultaneously, we are further developing our performance culture. We rely on four levers to successfully implement our strategy: Focus, Accelerate, Transform and Win. We are systematically integrating sustainability topics into our strategy and business as well as into our assessment, steering and compensation systems. This principle is embedded in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future.

Humankind is facing enormous challenges in its efforts to preserve a world worth living in for future generations. The climate is changing, natural resources are becoming scarcer, pressure on ecosystems is increasing and our growing world population needs to be fed. More and more urgently than ever, solutions are needed for a more sustainable future. Chemistry is of key importance as an essential part of our everyday lives and the foundation of nearly all industries. It can pave the way to greater sustainability and accelerate the transformation needed to achieve this.

Competitive conditions in the chemical industry are changing. Our customers are also adapting their business models – for lower CO₂ emissions and a more circular economy. The speed of this development varies across regions and customer industries. We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We are committed to the green transformation of our own production and our product portfolio (for more information, see the section on the strategic lever Transform).

We aim to grow profitably and create value for our shareholders with our broad portfolio as well as our product and process innovations (for more information on our portfolio management, see the section on the strategic lever Focus and for more information on accelerated value generation, see the section on the strategic lever Accelerate). Our goal is for customers to be successful in their respective markets thanks to our products. Our solutions and technologies contribute to the more efficient use of raw materials, reducing waste, and enabling healthy and affordable food as well as climate-smart mobility, for example.

Our focus as a company is also on cash generation. Significantly lower capital expenditures compared to a record level in 2024, which was mainly due to the establishment of the Verbund site in Zhanjiang, and the consistent implementation of our cost savings programs stand for a high degree of capital discipline (for more information on capital and resource allocation under the strategic lever Focus).

At the same time, we are further developing our performance culture with the aim of making BASF an even more performance-driven organization. To this end, we have established nine actionable Winning Behaviors (for more information, see the section on the strategic lever Win).

As an international chemical company, we operate in countries and markets with different guidelines and conditions. We are guided by our values and our global standards in order to act responsibly and maintain our license to operate. The main guidelines are primarily summarized in our BASF policies on compliance, human rights, labor standards and in the Supplier Code of Conduct. With appropriate management and monitoring systems, we want to ensure that we act in line with the applicable laws and take responsibility for the environment and society. Customers, shareholders, partners and employees can rely not only on the high quality of our products, but also on the way in which we conduct business.

With our CORE values, we combine economic success with the creation of value for the environment and society and stand for respectful interaction with each other and with our customers and partners:

C – creative: We make great products and solutions for our customers. This is why we embrace bold ideas and give them space to grow. We act with optimism and inspire one another.

O – open: We value diversity, in people, opinions and experience. This is why we foster feedback based on honesty, respect and mutual trust. We learn from setbacks.

R – responsible: We value the health and safety of people above all else. We make sustainability part of every decision. We are committed to strict compliance and environmental standards.

E – entrepreneurial: We focus on our customers, as individuals and as a company. We seize opportunities and think ahead. We take ownership and embrace personal accountability.>

Our standards are based on, and in some cases, exceed existing laws and regulations and take internationally recognized principles into account. We respect and promote:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (U.N.) and the two U.N. Human Rights Covenants
• The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact
• The core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy
• The United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• The Responsible Care^® Global Charter of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA)
• The German Corporate Governance Code (GCGC)

Business and competitive environment

As a global company, BASF is present in a large number of markets and operates under various local, regional and global conditions. These include:

• Global economic and political developments
• Legal and political requirements
• International trade agreements
• Industry standards
• Environmental agreements (such as the EU Emissions Trading System)
• Social aspects (such as the UN International Bill of Human Rights)

BASF supplies products and services to around 75,000 customers¹ in almost every country in the world. Our customer portfolio comprises mainly major global customers and medium-sized enterprises. We focus on a business-to-business model and on being a partner for a wide range of downstream industries.

We work with more than 70,000 Tier 1 suppliers² worldwide. They provide us with important raw materials, chemicals, investment goods and consumables, and perform a range of services (for more information, see Report 2025).

Our most important global competitors include Arkema, Bayer, Celanese, Clariant, Corteva, Covestro, Dow, DSM-Firmenich, Eastman, Evonik, Huntsman, INEOS, Johnson Matthey, LyondellBasell, SABIC, Sinopec, Syensqo, Syngenta, Umicore and Wanhua and many hundreds of local and regional competitors. We expect competitors from Asia, North America and the Middle East in particular to gain increasing significance in the years ahead as a result of advantageous raw materials and energy prices. BASF is a top-three market leader in over 80% of its core businesses. Equally, our standalone businesses have good to leading positions in their respective markets.

  

¹ The number of customers refers to all external companies (sold-to parties) that had contracts with the BASF Group in the business year concerned under which sales were generated.

² BASF considers all direct suppliers of the BASF Group in the business year concerned as Tier 1 suppliers. These are suppliers that provide us with raw materials, investment goods, consumables and services. Suppliers can be natural persons, companies or legal persons under public law.