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Topics on this page:
2008 goal
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REACH
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REACH implementation at BASF
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Responsibility for our products worldwide
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Environmental and toxicological testing
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Safe handling of nanomaterials
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Responsibility for Our Products Worldwide |
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We make sure that our products are safe and do not pose a danger to people or the environment when they are used responsibly and in the manner intended. We ensure that our information on this topic is always up to date and are quick to include new information in our risk assessments. Thanks to the fact that all regions are incorporated into a global product database, we are able to provide information about our products worldwide at any time.
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2008 goal
In 2003, we set ourselves the goal of completing the data records for all substances in our product range where we handle more than 1 metric ton per year. We will achieve this goal as planned in 2008.
Product safety officers from all company divisions and regions are working on this together with the corporate department for product safety. Working as a team, they record information worldwide regarding potential hazardous properties of our substances and products, and carry out any necessary supplementary investigations. Our experts from around the globe share their ideas and experience at our annual product safety workshop, which enables us to network our knowledge between our various sites and across international boundaries. At the end of 2007, we successfully established a global product database for all regions. This allows us to evaluate all our substances and products worldwide according to uniform standards and to provide new information to our customers as soon as possible. Due to BASF’s continually changing portfolio of BASF, we will continue to incorporate new substances and products for 2008 and beyond.
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REACH
The European chemicals directive REACH sets out terms for the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals in the European Union. With its networked structure and extensive chemical portfolio, BASF is one of the companies most heavily affected by REACH. We are well aware of the changes it will bring, which prompted us to start preparing for REACH as far back as 2004. BASF will register several thousand chemical substances under the terms of REACH. Until completion of implementation in 2018, the company expects REACH to lead to annual costs of €50 million for products such as compiling registration documents and carrying out additional studies.
2015 GOAL
Based on a rsik assessment, we want to review all substances produced or sold worldwide in the BASF Group in quantities of more than 1 metric ton per year by 2015.
For BASF, information regarding the hazardous properties of substances is simply one component that is needed for the safe and responsible handling of chemical products. Further information such as the type and extent of potential exposure to humans and the environment is also required in order to assess all possible risks. In conjunction with our voluntary commitment, we will review our risk assessments of all substances and conduct new risk assessments in line with REACH specifications.
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Responsibility for our products worldwide
BASF provides safety data sheets for all the products it sells, not just where legally required. We update the data sheets as soon as new data become available. They are now available in 34 languages. To encourage the safe use of our products, our BASF companies offer training courses and workshops specially tailored to individual customer needs.
Our customers and employees can also obtain information on BASF products around the clock using our global network of emergency hotlines. On request, we also carry out eco-efficiency analyses for our customers.
BASF has a broad range of products for applications in numerous industries. A product may consist of just one substance or a large number of substances.
2020 GOAL
By 2020, we want to conduct a risk assessment for all products of which quantities of more than 1 metric ton are sold worldwide in the BASF Group per year.
Through this new goal, we take our responsibility for BASF products much further than all existing legal regulations. Risk assessments will be available for all BASF products of which we sell more than 1 metric ton – regardless of the volumes of individual substances used in them. We will provide both our customers and the general public with transparent information about these risk assessments. BASF will issue annual reports on the processes for assessing substances and products, the way in which substances and products are handled, and our progress in achieving the goals we have set ourselves. Through these product safety goals, we are supporting the Global Product Strategy (GPS) and other initiatives proposed by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).
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