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Newsletter |
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December 2003 |
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Our newsletter "Sustainability and BASF" reports on related projects, workshops and other news and will now appear three times a year.
If you would like to receive this free newsletter by mail, simply drop us a line.
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BASF in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index once again
For the third successive year, BASF has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). This means that once again we rank among the top 10 percent of companies represented not only in the Dow Jones Global Index but in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, too. The selection criteria are based on how companies handle the opportunities and risks associated with sustainability. BASF was awarded good marks for its risk and crisis management, environmental policy, product stewardship, commitment to stakeholders and sustainability reporting. The DJSI indexes are among the world’s most prestigious sustainability indexes. Close to €2.2 billion is currently invested on the basis of the DJSI indexes.
http://www.sam-group.com/d/about/1331.cfm
Propylene carbonate: eco-efficient solvent for the production of wire coatings
Wire coatings are used in a number of applications including electrical motors, transformers and electrical measurement instruments. Cresol, a solvent often used in wire coating production, was compared with propylene carbonate in an eco-efficiency analysis. There is very little difference between the two solvents as far as raw material and energy consumption is concerned. One of propylene carbonate’s major advantages over cresol lies in its lower toxicity potential. Cresol applications also require a greater use of cosolvents (solvent naptha). Since the overall costs are identical for both, propylene carbonate is more eco-efficient due to its lower environmental impact. BASF has developed a dedicated software tool, the so-called eco-efficiency manager, to enable customers to independently calculate eco-efficiency based on their own company data.
http://www.basf.de/en/sustainability/oekoeffizienz/
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European Conference: "City of the Future" in Ludwigshafen
The city of Ludwigshafen, housing companies LUWOGE and GAG and BASF AG jointly hosted the international conference on sustainable urban development, ‘City of the Future’, on 8 and 9 September. More than 300 delegates from 20 countries discussed issues ranging from the future of Europe’s cities to the success factors for sustainable urban development. Keynote speaker was Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary General of the UN and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT. Numerous municipal and international projects were presented, for example the 3-liter low-energy house in Ludwigshafen’s Brunck district and Europe’s SUREURO (Sustainable Refurbishment Europe) initiative, which promotes the sustainable refurbishment of post-war housing. The conference also debated visions for the future, such as the introduction of energy passport for buildings, similar to those for refrigerators.
http://www.stadtderzukunft.net/; http://www.unhabitat.org/; http://www.europolis.org/; http://www.sureuro.com/
Construction begins on new combined heat and power (CHP) plant on BASF’s Ludwigshafen site
Work has begun on BASF’s Ludwigshafen site for the construction of a second combined-cycle (CHP) power plant. The plant, to be built by Siemens Power Generation (PG), will operate on the basis of combined heat and power. The combined generation of electricity and steam means the plant will be able to achieve an energy efficiency of 90 percent. The plant, which will cost €240 million, will supply 440 megawatts of electricity and 650 metric tons of steam per hour to BASF’s Ludwigshafen production facilities by the end of 2005. The plant will reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 metric tons per year from 2006.
http://www.basf.de/en/corporate/news/presse/-systemdoc_news.htm?doc_id=1225141
From residue to substitute fuel
Changing pipes and cables can turn waste into a raw material. BASF Ludwigshafen’s isophytol plant has examined more than 20 by-product streams from their cleaning stages for their thermal processing properties. A high calorific value heating oil-type substitute fuel is now being used instead of natural gas purchased externally. What was once waste is now a resource that enables raw material consumption to be reduced. The investment costs of €1.3 million for new technical equipment and pipelines will be offset by lower disposal and transportation costs as well as the value of the substitute fuel.
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BASF's sustainability reporting: reader survey
A survey conducted among readers of BASF’s environmental report, published in July, has shown that BASF’s sustainability reporting is very well received by readers. Topics of special interest were climate, consumer and health protection, product declaration, corporate citizen-ship and developments in BASF’s R&D activities. BASF’s credibility was underscored in the eyes of the respondents by the fact that the reports also included negative aspects. 60 percent were in favor of integrating case studies in the reports to illustrate company activities more clearly. Although the design of the report was praised, more than half wanted to see a different style of illustration. 40 percent said they were willing to get more information via BASF’s website. BASF plans to take these suggestions on board and integrate them into its future sustainability reporting.
BASF joins Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids
The GBC’s main aim is to improve the number and quality of corporate Aids programs. GBC investigates new ways forward for companies and supports the development of their anti-Aids strategies. It also encourages governments, the international community and NGOs to join forces with companies. GBC was founded in 1997 and today has a membership of more than 120 companies who have committed themselves to working towards GBC’s goals. BASF joined in 2003.
http://www.businessfightsaids.org/members_companies.asp
Partnership project with NGO in Brazil
In connection with BASF’s worldwide move to equip itself with Dell computers, BASF S.A. has donated its existing computers to the ‘Committee for Democracy in Information Technology’ (CDI). The NGO has worked for the social integration of underprivileged youngsters since 1995. Computer courses improve their chances of taking part in the information society and finding a job. The organization sets up computer schools in different municipalities, which are then run by the municipalities. BASF donated 339 computers and 1,000 additional accessories in 2002, which enabled 26 schools to be established. In 2003, the company donated 219 notebook computers and numerous other pieces of equipment.
http://www.basf.de/en/sustainability/regionen/suedamerika/docs/031110.htm
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BASF Pudong wins 'Model Unit of Pudong New Area' award
BACC (BASF Colorants & Chemicals Co., Ltd.) in Shanghai (China) was awarded the ‘Model Unit of Pudong New Area’ prize for the first time this year. Pudong’s municipal government awards the prize to foreign direct investors who have made a special contribution to sustainable development. BACC received the prize for good corporate management, outstanding products, an excellent corporate culture and stable economic indicators. The award emphasized BACC’s environmental record, its good community relations and its ongoing employee safety training program.
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News
econsense dialogue paper
Together with its members, econsense - the Forum for Sustainable Development of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) - has drawn up a dialogue paper that addresses the key issues of sustainable development for business. The paper focuses on four aspects:
1. Global markets - global networking
2. Environment - securing life-sustaining natural resources
3. Demographics as an economic factor - providing opportunities for the creative minds of today and tomorrow
4. Practising sustainability in the company
Econsense sees its dialogue paper as a ‘live’ working paper that will generate further and critical ideas to stimulate the debate on sustainability.
http://www.econsense.de/de/papiere/Dialogpapier_deutsch.pdf
Global Stakeholder Report 2003 from Kohtes-Klewes
German communication agency ECC Kohtes-Klewes has published the results of its world-wide survey of readers of sustainability reports, its 2003 Stakeholder Report. The report revealed that human rights was the number one issue for all stakeholder groups. Business issues were considered less important, as were corporate citizenship issues. Whenever a coherent, management-driven approach is visible, readers become less interested in individual issues. Stakeholders showed a preference for brief, factual reports over glossy brochures. Overall, according to the study, companies can expect more sympathy from stakeholders if they disclose the business reasons behind their sustainability activities.
http://www.kohtes-klewes.de/
Accidents in the German chemical industry at an all-time low
Accidents reached a historic low in 2002, according to data from the Association of the German Chemical Industry (VCI). There have never been as few accidents in the chemical industry as today, with 7.35 accidents per million hours worked. In 1980, the number was around three times as high.
Child care pays off
In a study conducted for the German family ministry, Prognos AG of Basel, Switzerland, calculated that investing in child and family friendly policies pays off for companies, with savings exceeding costs. The BASF subsidiary Wintershall AG in Kassel has been operating its on-site KIWI children’s center for the past two years. The center has 60 places for children between 6 months and 12 and is open for 11 hours every day. Wintershall has, as one of very few German companies, now been awarded a ‘Career and Family’ certificate of audit by the not-for-profit Hertie Foundation.
http://www.wintershall.de/www/wintershall-web/wintershall.nsf/ContentByKey/PSII-523HTW-DE-p
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Sustainability Center specifics
We would like to express our thanks for the strong interest shown in the online survey we conducted on our newsletter and for the positive and also critical feedback we received. The responses showed that the newsletter enjoys a high level of acceptance. Most readers are interested in sustainable development for professional reasons and want to find out what BASF does in this area. The newsletter is seen as an informative, credible and up-to-date source of information. Readers saw room for improvement through more examples and more thematic links to other pages. Due to the great interest in BASF’s activities, the newsletter is read in great detail. The respondents were satisfied with the topics but also wished for more details on BASF’s SD activities in Europe and more examples, with illustrations wherever possible. BASF’s handling of sustainable development was by no means seen as a public relations exercise but rather as paying this issue the attention it deserves.
The editorial staff continues to welcome feedback from readers. We will do our best to take your suggestions and tips on board and hope our readers will continue to take a critical and favorable attitude to our publication.
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