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Topics on this page:
Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility
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Contribution to Global Food and Health Care
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Investments in Fuel Cell Technology
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Climate Protection with BASF's Know-how
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Doing Your Own Calculations Keeps You Warm
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Workshop on Distribution Safety in China
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Federal Family Minister Opens BASF's Second Daycare Center
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Promoting Sciences in Brazil
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International Vacation Exchange Program
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Latest Status of Tsunami Aid Projects
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Newsletter |
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March 2007 |
Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility
BASF is the most socially responsible company in Europe. This is the result of the Good Company Ranking, in which BASF achieved the number one position this year. The news was announced at the end of January at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Good Company Ranking is awarded jointly by the German business magazine manager magazin, the audit company Deloitte and the consultancy Kirchhoff Consult. The award honors well-managed, profitable companies that have succeeded in combining a coherent human relations policy with forward-looking environmental and social commitment. "I am very proud that BASF - The Chemical Company is also considered The Responsible Chemical Company", said Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF at the award ceremony. In Davos, BASF was also included in the Global 100 list by the New York research house Innovest for the second year in succession. The Global 100 list comprises the world’s most successful companies in the areas of environmental protection, social affairs and corporate governance.
Further Information
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Contribution to Global Food and Health Care
For World Food Day 2006, BASF and Maplecroft, a civil society research and advisory platform, published an interactive world hunger map, the "Global Map of Hunger". Showing data on the nutritional situation in 173 countries, the map illustrates the problem of global malnutrition, as well as market based company projects for its solution. These programs are specially designed to reach children and adults living in poverty. As a contribution to solving the world’s global hunger problem, BASF is working in partnership with UNICEF and GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) to fortify staple foods with vital nutrients, especially vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency alone affects 40-60% of all children in developing countries and leads via blindness and immune weakness to death. The quality of the nutrients formulated by BASF is valued as an important contribution to making nutrition programs effective. Everyone gains from this economically sustainable partnership: the population in the developing countries, the partner organizations and BASF.
In addition, BASF provides information about the company's worldwide public health activities in a new internet portal. The portal presents initiatives and projects organized by BASF and the international community for the control of pests responsible for spreading diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, drancunculosis and yellow fever.
http://www.food-fortification.com
http://www.basfpublichealth.com
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Investments in Fuel Cell Technology
BASF is extending and strengthening its energy management activities. This area is one of the key technology-driven topics of future relevance which BASF has combined in five growth clusters as part of its research strategy. The acquisition of PEMEAS GmbH, a leading manu-facturer of components for fuel cells, in December 2006 endorsed the activities in the development of new materials for organic solar cells, innovative storage media for hydrogen and units of small portable fuel cells.
Furthermore, BASF is investing in the US company UltraCell that develops and produces micro fuel cell systems yielding twice the power of comparable lithium batteries of the same size. Between 2006 and 2008, BASF is investing around €90 million in energy management research.
Further Information
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Climate Protection with BASF's Know-how
BASF will in future supply PetroChina, one of China's largest oil and gas companies, with the technology to reduce emissions of laughing gas. The global warming potential of laughing gas is 310 times higher than that of CO2.
With the aid of innovative BASF catalysts, laughing gas is split up into the natural elements oxygen and nitrogen. "We are delighted that Petro-China has chosen BASF's innovative technology for its plant." said Johnny Kwan, Chairman of BASF Greater China. Using BASF technology, PetroChina will be reducing its emissions of laughing gas by more than 10 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents.
BASF is furthermore engaged in the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, a high-ranking panel which brings together senior executives from the private sector, leaders of international governmental and non-governmental organizations. In February, this Round Table called for fast and effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Further Information
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Doing Your Own Calculations Keeps You Warm
Construction Assistant is the name of the new consultation and calculation program for private builders and construction specialists that BASF showcased in January 2007. Even laypersons without specialized knowledge of building physics can now quickly gain an overview of the energy-saving potential of specific insulating measures in their own houses. The computer program comprises several databases containing BASF insulating materials for construction elements and listing their most important energy-saving properties. This serves as the basis for a calculation module that determines relevant characteristic values for various building components and insulating measures. The materials used for thermal and acoustic insulation contained in the database of the Construction Assistant can be substituted on a virtual level for existing insulating materials in the house. This allows the energy consumption and costs for the different insulating materials to be determined and reduced.
Further Information
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Workshop on Distribution Safety in China
Safety for man and the environment is a priority at BASF. This includes the safe transportation of chemicals to customers. In China, this is sometimes difficult. To improve the situation, BASF Greater China and other companies organized the "First Road Safety Assessment Workshop" held with 48 participants from 26 organizations in Shanghai. The aim of the workshop was to introduce an assessment system for carriers. Based on the assessment system of the European Chemical Industry Council, it schedules the regular review of logistics companies by independent assessors. The results are made available to all chemical companies in a database and are evaluated by them. All parties benefit from the assessment: the chemical industry which no longer has to gather the necessary data about the logistics companies, the carriers because the customers' individual and differing assessment systems are replaced by one uniform system. And finally, as well as customers and contractors, the general public also benefits from the safe transportation of chemicals.
More Information on Sustainable Development Activities in China
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Federal Family Minister Opens BASF's Second Daycare Center
At the beginning of January, BASF's second daycare center for children was inaugurated in Ludwigshafen. "Corporate child care is an important factor in creating a family friendly company and is the key to the future viability of a company and an entire region", said German Federal Family Minister von der Leyen at the opening ceremony. Other guests included Rhineland Palatinate Minister Doris Ahnen and Hans-Carsten Hansen, BASF's Head of Human Resources.
By setting up the "LuKids Daycare Center South", the company wants to help employees to rapidly resume work after parental leave and to support young parents in reconciling the demands of career and family life. The new BASF daycare center offers a day nursery place for 30 young children between the ages of six months and three years. The care concept includes bilingual education in German and English. This way, children are acquainted with English as a foreign language from the beginning.
Further information on BASF's ways to reconcile career and family
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Promoting Sciences in Brazil
Giving children and adolescents easier access to sciences is one of the main focuses of BASF's global commitment to the communities in which its sites are located. BASF Brazil therefore initiated the "ReAction" program together with partners from Sao Paolo University, the Espaço ECO Foundation and the Guaratinguetá site community.
The program aims to provide children, adolescents and teachers from Guaratinguetá with a better understanding of the world of science. In this way, the basis for a dialogue between the population and the company shall be created.
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International Vacation Exchange Program
The international vacation program "BASF Global Family" started during the summer vacation 2006. 100 children of BASF employees from eight sites worldwide visited each other for two weeks. The initiative was so successful that BASF Global Family will also be held this year, this time 19 sites will be participating.
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Latest Status of Tsunami Aid Projects
A large number of projects initiated by BASF after the Tsunami in December 2004 were completed in 2006. Especially in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand the project results have been presented to the respective communities. In Thailand, for example, the sports hall of a school damaged by the Tsunami was rebuilt. In India, 165 fishermen received 33 new boats and nets to help restore their livelihood. In addition, soil conservation and other aid projects in the agricultural sector were completed. In May 2006, the first phase of a reconstruction project in Sri Lanka was also successfully concluded. In this project, BASF cooperated with "Habitat for humanity" in building 196 houses. Each of the houses has its own energy supply from solar panels.
BASF together with UN Habitat is currently sponsoring the construction of a fish market in Sri Lanka to help local fishing families found a new existence.
Contact:
Tanja Castor
BASF SE
Sustainability Center
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