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Newsletter |
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December 2004 |
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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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From burden to benefit: life-cycle assessments (LCA) point the way
Life-cycle assessments are a modern management tool that play a key strategic role in our investment decisions. This statement came from representatives of BASF, Tetra Pak and HeidelbergCement, who discussed the use of lifecycle assessments with 70 representatives from the political, business, scientific and social world at a joint econsense workshop on November 18 in Hochheim. Using the example of material flows across all three companies, they demonstrated that using them makes sustainable business practices quantifiable and transparent: among other substances, Tetra Pak beverage cartons are coated with polyethylene. The ethylene needed to manufacture polyethylene is supplied by BASF. After it is used, HeidelbergCement recycles the polyethylene along with the aluminum coating in the production of cement.
In his talk “Lifecycle analysis - a modern management tool,” Dr. Peter Saling, senior analyst for eco-efficiency (photo left), presented selected examples of BASF’s eco-efficiency methodology. So far, the eco-efficiency analysis has been used to analyze economic and environmental lifecycles in around 230 studies and has become a standard BASF tool. It is also in great demand externally thanks to its extreme practicability.
http://www.econsense.de/deu/dokumentationen.htm#bilder (available only in German)
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BASF in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fourth year running
For the fourth successive year, BASF has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), the world’s most important sustainability index. BASF has also once again been included in the European benchmark Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX). Both were established in 1999 and are the first indexes to track the financial performance of companies that have pioneered the implementation of sustainable development in their respective sectors.
http://corporate.basf.com/en/presse/mitteilungen/pm.htm?pmid=1554
http://www.sustainability-index.com
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Reducing emissions: BASF takes part in EU sponsored research project
BASF is putting its considerable expertise in gas scrubbing into a European Union sponsored research project set up to systematically investigate ways of removing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from waste gases. One solution to prevent the CO2 from continuing to heat up the earth’s atmosphere would be to store it in empty subterranean oil or gas fields or use it for other purposes. The research project was set up in response to the Kyoto Protocol, whose objective is the long-term reduction of harmful greenhouse gases such as CO2.
Other contributors to the project include power plant operators, oil and gas companies, plant manufacturers, universities, research institutes and public sector authorities from 11 EU countries. BASF is currently looking at ways of modifying its long-established aMDEA® scrubbing procedure in order to use it for scrubbing waste gases from power plants. The project is also aimed at removing and storing the gas at a justifiable cost.
http://www.co2castor.com
http://www.corporate.basf.com/en/presse/mitteilungen/pm.htm?pmid=1637
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New online: corporate reporting based on the principles of the GRI index
For the first time, BASF’s Corporate Report 2003 was drawn up according to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). With immediate effect, an extended overview is available for online users under the link GRI index on our Sustainability homepage. BASF’s online index contains all GRI reporting elements, all GRI core and additional indicators and shows where details can be found in BASF’s online reporting. We also give a brief explanation if no data are available for a given indicator.
Since 2003, BASF has been participating in the feedback meetings of the Global Reporting Initiative and has been working together with experts from industry and nongovernmental organizations, analysts and financial auditors to further develop the guidelines that are intended to standardize global sustainability reporting.
http://corporate.basf.com/en/sustainability
http://www.globalreporting.org
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Our commitment in Brazil places us in Germany’s first Global Compact yearbook
What direction is the Global Compact taking and how are its principles being implemented? These are the questions asked by the Network of German Global Compact Companies in Germany’s first Global Compact yearbook 2004. The 88-page book will be published in January 2005 and will include contributions from Horst Köhler, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Georg Kell, Volker Hauff, Peter Eigen as well as 20 German member companies. BASF’s two-page contribution describes its current projects to promote social dialogue and environmental protection in Brazil.
BASF is a founding member of the Global Compact and supports its 10 global principles aimed at promoting human rights, complying with fundamental labor standards, environmental protection and the fight against corruption. The Global Compact now has 1,700 corporate members.
http://www.umweltdialog.de (available only in German)
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BASF sponsors home design and construction competition in Florham/USA
An international competition to promote innovative and sustainable building practices is being held in Florham in the United States until January 2005. The competition focuses on the use of environmentally friendly construction concepts and recyclable materials. BASF is the principal sponsor.
http://www.basf.com/corporate/111004_c2c.htm
http://www.c2c-home.org/context.htm
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China: Long-term partnership with universities in Shenyang
BASF China awarded scholarships to 22 students from Shenyang Pharmaceuticals University and Shenyang Agricultural University in mid-November. The scholarships - inaugurated by the Fine Chemicals division and awarded for the first time - reward outstanding performance in pharmaceuticals, animal nutrition and veterinary medicine. The partnership with both universities and the scholarships, which will be awarded annually, underlines BASF’s scientific and social commitment in China.
http://sustainability.basf.com/en/sustainability/service/regionen/asien/041111.htm
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BASF promotes eco-efficiency in South America
BASF has established the Espaço ECO foundation in collaboration with the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with the aim of promoting eco-efficiency in South America, fostering environmental protection in Brazil as well as contributing actively to the reforestation of the country’s coastal forests. The three partners have invested €1 million. Espaço ECO works above all to implement environmentally sound processes and has defined three main fields of action: eco-efficiency, training and reforestation.
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BASF ranked second "most admired company" in Brazil
According to a survey conducted jointly by Brazilian business magazine Carta Capital and research institute InterScience, BASF Brazil has risen from third to second place in the chemicals/petrochemicals category of the “most admired companies” rankings. Dow ranked No. 1.
The survey polled 1,054 managers from 40 sectors about image, innovation, social responsibility, global competitiveness, financial strength, product and service quality, customer orientation and ethics.
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