Sustainability

Leadership & Governance Index

Management of Legal & Regulatory Environment (SASB Code: RT-CH-530a.1)

 

Accounting metric

Discussion of corporate positions related to government regulations and/or policy proposals that address environmental and social factors affecting the industry

 

Information

Political dialog in compliance with corporate values and principles:

We support and promote responsible, accountable, transparent and democratic processes that benefit society at large. This means for us to respect the roles and responsibilities of the institutions and organizations we seek to engage and being open about the interests we seek to advance. Our interaction with politicians is based on evidence. We are open for dialog with all stakeholders. BASF is not affiliated with any political party, individual members of parliament or incumbents or candidates for a political office.

In this context, we commit ourselves to responsible, honest and transparent action based on our values and principles. We are committed to ensuring that our dialogue and advocacy is compliant with our Global Code of Conduct, and the rules and principles set out in our policy.


Integration of ESG in Enterprise Risk Management:
The Group-wide Governance, Risk Management, Compliance (GRC) Policy forms the framework for risk management and is implemented by the operating divisions, the service and research units and the regions according to their specific business conditions.
A catalog of opportunity and risk categories helps to identify all relevant financial and sustainability-related opportunities and risks as comprehensively as possible. We also systematically assess opportunities and risks with effects that cannot yet be measured in monetary terms, such as reputational and climate risks. To reflect these, risks for companies in connection with the transition to a low-carbon economy (transition risks) as well as physical risks as defined by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) were added to the catalog in 2020. We use standardized evaluation and reporting tools for the identification and assessment of risks. The aggregation of opportunities, risks and sensitivities at division and Group level using a Monte Carlo simulation helps us to identify effects and trends across the Group.

Our Group-wide Compliance Program aims to ensure adherence to legal regulations and the company’s internal guidelines. Our global employee Code of Conduct firmly embeds these mandatory standards into everyday business.

 

Source

BASF Report 2020: Opportunities and Risks: Risk Management Process, p. 160
BASF website: Political Communications & Advocacy

 

Critical Incident Risk Management: Operational Safety, Emergency Preparedness & Response (SASB Code: RT-CH-540a.1)

 

Accounting metric

Process Safety Incidents Count (PSIC), Process Safety Total Incident Rate (PSTIR), and Process Safety Incident Severity Rate (PSISR)

 

Information

In 2020, we recorded 0.3 process safety incidents per 200,000 working hours worldwide (2019: 0.3).

BASF has used the criteria and reporting thresholds for process safety incidents developed by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) since 2018.

Our data collection methods for environmental protection and occupational safety are based on the recommendations of the ICCA and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC).

 

Source

BASF Report 2020: Safety and security, Process Safety, p. 123

Further information on our global data reporting: BASF Report 2020: About the Report, p. 6

Critical Incident Risk Management: Operational Safety, Emergency Preparedness & Response (SASB Code: RT-CH-540a.2)

 

Accounting metric

Number of transport incidents

 

Information

We are systematically implementing our measures to improve transportation safety. We report in particular on goods spillages that could lead to significant environmental impacts such as dangerous goods leaks of BASF products in excess of 200 kilograms on public traffic routes, provided that BASF arranged the transport.

We recorded two incidents in 2020 with spillage of more than 200 kilograms of dangerous goods (2019: 3). None of these transportation incidents had a significant impact on the environment (2019: 0).

 

Source

BASF Report 2020: Transportation and storage, p. 129

 

Comment/Additional Information

More information on Transportation and Safety: Distribution Safety