New BASF report makes business sustainability transparent

03-12-2010: BASF creates measurable value for employees, shareholders, customers and society with its products and solutions, as shown in the Report 2009 published by BASF. The report combines economic, ecological and social aspects. The publication meets the internationally recognized Standards of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for sustainability reporting. The independent institution reaffirmed maximum transparency for the third time in succession, issuing an A+ rating.

The report documents BASF's economic, ecological and social performance and shows how sustainability contributes to corporate success even in times of economic difficulty. For example, energy efficiency studies conducted by BASF in 2009 discovered extensive potential savings: more than €10 million at the Ludwigshafen site alone, and another approximately €25 million at the seven largest Asian sites. In North America, measures already implemented last year are saving the company approximately €4 million in energy costs. These savings also mean significantly lower carbon emissions to the environment.

Energy storage is another area where the company and society gain long-term mutual benefit: in collaboration with partners, BASF plans to develop cathode materials for more efficient and higher-performance lithium ion batteries and so contribute to future mobility.

BASF measures its performance on the basis of clearly defined, in most cases long-term targets and reports annually on the extent to which those targets have been achieved. Thus, in the year of crisis 2009, the company still achieved an EBITDA margin in excess of 14%. Cash flow from operations rose by €1.3 billion to a record level of almost €6.3 billion.

Overall, BASF narrowly missed its target of earning a premium on its cost of capital because of the cost of the Ciba integration. Lost-time industrial accidents per million working hours dropped by 46%, and the proportion of senior managers with international experience rose to 77% (in each case versus the respective baseline year).

Last year again, BASF achieved external recognition for its sustainable development strategy and its implementation in the company from a number of sources: for the ninth time running, the company was listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and tops the Materials sector of the prestigious Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. In addition, BASF headed Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and future e.V. rankings for the title of best German sustainability report 2008.