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Who we are
Sustainability in Procurement
Our focus is mainly on our suppliers, their products and services, and the supply chain as a whole.
In order to pursue sustainability in procurement we believe it is essential that our suppliers follow our commitment. Our Supplier Code of Conduct as well as the “Together for Sustainability” initiative play an important role for the integration and development of sustainability in procurement.
Marikana: What is BASF’s commitment?
We are involved on three levels to help improve the living and working conditions in and around Marikana:
- We are working intensively with Lonmin and, according to our capabilities, we are exerting our influence to ensure that the company complies with its legal obligations within the framework of social and work plans as well as with the U.N. Global Compact principles it has committed to. To this end, we have conducted a sustainability mining audit at Lonmin and are working together with Lonmin at the operational and management levels to review the findings, follow up on action and regular re-audits according to our “Together for Sustainability” audit scheme. We are thus fulfilling our due diligence in line with international standards.
- BASF played an active role in establishing the sustainability initiative of the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA). This initiative unifies local platinum group metals (PGM) mines and fabricators using platinum in their production. The aim is to help improve structural challenges in South Africa’s platinum mining belt and tackle these together.
- We have been intensively exchanging information on this topic with civil society and politicians in South Africa and Germany for years. We held dialogs with Lonmin, union representatives, community representatives, the Marikana victims, Amnesty International and other NGOs. Our last visit to South Africa took place in November 2018, when BASF management from Ludwigshafen met with representatives from the Bench Marks Foundation in South Africa, including Chairman Rev. Dr. Jo Seoka and Executive Director John Capel, as well as other relevant stakeholders.
As part of the collaboration with Lonmin, BASF is focused on supporting the company in finding long-term solutions and undertaking efforts to overcome identified problems. This collaboration is based on clear goals and our expectation that measurable, verifiable and documented progress is being made by Lonmin.