Sustainability

Reducing emissions along the value chain

Continuous improvement is a core element of our corporate culture. We optimize our Verbund with integrated energy concepts or minimize the loss of valuable carbon atoms to CO₂, to name just two examples.

Climate protection is a central component of the BASF strategy. For many years, the company has been continuously reducing its CO2 emissions. For further significant reduction, innovative processes such as methane pyrolysis are developed as part of our Carbon Management R&D Program. In the project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany), BASF researchers are working on a new reactor concept in which hydrogen can be produced without CO2 emissions. The construction of a test facility is a decisive step towards large-scale implementation. Plant designer Christina Maisel (left) and engineer Bernd Zoels (right) inspect the assembly of the reactor of the test facility at the Verbund site in Ludwigshafen (Germany).

CO₂ avoidance in our production

The Verbund system is the key to a carbon-optimized energy supply at our sites.

Biodiversity and ecosystems

Biodiversity, which describes the variety of life forms on Earth and is essential for functioning ecosystems, is under threat. As a chemical company, we utilize valuable resources from nature, directly interacting with natural habitats that we also impact through our activities. Therefore, the protection of biodiversity is a fundamental part of our commitment to a sustainable future.

BASF SE with its main site in Ludwigshafen is the heart of the BASF Group. With around 250 productions facilities, hundreds of laboratories, technical centers, factories and offices in an area of approximately ten square kilometers, the site is the largest integrated chemical complex in the world.As the headquarters of BASF it is also the cradle of the Verbund concept, where production facilities, energy flows and logistics are linked together intelligently in order to utilize resources as efficiently as possible.

Water

Worldwide, water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. The sustainable use of water and worldwide conservation of natural water resources are therefore of concern to us.

engineer working at BASF production site at night overlooking the city

Process Safety

Process safety is a core part of safe and efficient production. We follow our strategy and never compromise on safety in the construction and operation of our plants.

Chemical production requires a large amount of energy and some processes also create greenhouse gases as by-products. Our aim is to continuously reduce the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the generation of energy in power plants and from the production processes. Our experts are constantly working on further improving the processes and setup of our installations.

Since 1990, we have been able to lower our overall greenhouse gas emissions from BASF operations by 57.8% and even reduce specific emissions (per metric ton of sales product) by 74.5%

CO₂ emissions along the BASF value chain in 2024^a

Million metric tons of CO₂ equivalents

^aAccording to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standard; Scope 1, 2 and 3; reported categories within Scope 3 are shown in parentheses. Scope 3 emissions in category 10 (“Processing of sold products”) are not reported according to the standard for the chemical sector. Only direct use phase emissions are reported in the customer category (Scope 3.11). Excluding greenhouse gas emissions from BASF trading business.

Nitrous oxide decomposition catalysts

The use of nitrous oxide (N₂O) decomposition catalysts is an important lever for emission reduction in our production. We have installed our own N₂O decomposition catalysts in all plants where nitrous oxide is created as a by-product.

Sustainable energy supply for production sites

Energy is one of the main cost drivers of production. Therefore an efficient energy generation and use of energy in the production is very essential for BASF. The Energy Verbund and combined heat and power plants are of major importance in that respect.

We are continuously exploring the use of renewable energies. To ensure access to energy from renewable sources, we are pursuing a make and buy approach. Firstly, BASF is investing in its own renewable power assets, particularly offshore wind farms. Secondly, BASF will purchase green power on the market through long-term supply agreements with plant operators, green power agreements or renewable energy certificates, depending on the region and market regulations. A key purchasing criterion is the “additionality” of the energy purchased. This means that power is primarily generated by new wind and solar farms.

Energy Verbund

Overview of production factory at night lit with yellow, orange and blue lights

The Verbund site Ludwigshafen

The Verbund system is also key to carbon-optimized energy supply at our sites. It helps us realize synergies and manage value chains in a resource-efficient way. For example, waste heat from one plant’s production process is used as energy in other plants. The Verbund saved us around 17.3 million MWh in 2023, which translates to 3.5 million metric tons less CO₂ released into the atmosphere. With combined power and steam generation as well as our continuously optimized Energy Verbund, we were thus able to avoid a total of 5.7 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions in 2023.

More information on BASF's Verbund

Combined heat and power

Efficient power generation with combined heat and power plant

In 2023, we covered 51% of our electricity demand with our own gas and steam turbines in highly efficient combined heat and power plants. Combined heat and power generation reduces the carbon footprint of our energy production and ensures that fuels are used as efficiently as possible: For instance, compared with separate methods of generating steam and electricity, we saved 10.8 million MWh of fossil fuels and avoided 2.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2023.

More on energy supply of the BASF group

Energy Management, Energy Efficiency and ISO 50001 at BASF

Through our operational excellence projects, we aim to make our plants and processes even more efficient and resource saving, thereby avoiding CO₂ emissions. Certified energy management systems according to DIN EN ISO 50001 at all relevant production sites4 play a particularly important role here. These help us to identify and implement further potential for improvement in energy efficiency. This not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves valuable energy resources but also increases our competitiveness. In 2023, 78 production sites worldwide had certified energy management systems, representing around 89% of our primary energy demand.

You can find a leaflet on “Energy Management, Energy Efficiency and ISO 50001 at BASF” here. Certificates are available on request.

Raw materials and suppliers

The close cooperation between partners along the entire value chain is a major factor in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, because often opportunities for reducing emissions can only be achieved as a joint effort. Reducing Scope 3 emissions presents us with particular challenges, as these are only partly within our own direct sphere of influence and are subject to a large number of external factors. In recent years, we have been able to considerably increase the data availability and thereby transparency of our Scope 3.1 emissions. With our new target and dedicated measures, we want to control upstream emissions in a more targeted manner in the future.

More on acting responsibly in the supply chain

More on the Product Carbon Footprint of Raw Materials

Transport

Intermodal transport is an important lever to reducing emissions in logistics. Transporting goods by rail instead of by road reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 65 percent. BASF uses intermodal transport at its major production sites at Ludwigshafen, Schwarzheide and Antwerp.

More on BASF intermodal transport terminals