Our Management and Control Systems

In order to minimize negative impacts and protect the environment, a holistic approach and continuous monitoring are essential. That is why we have established comprehensive management and control systems. Our Responsible Care Management System comprises the global directives, standards and procedures for environmental protection, health and safety.

Responsible Care Management System

BASF is actively involved in the International Council of Chemical Associations’ global Responsible Care^® initiative. Our Responsible Care Management System covers the environmental protection, health and safety aspects that we have identified as material (more information on health and safety). Environmental protection is particularly relevant for the procurement and transportation of our raw materials, the production at our plants, activities at our sites and warehouses, as well as distribution of our products. The Environmental Protection, Health, Safety and Quality (EHSQ) unit in the Corporate Center defines Group-wide management and control systems and monitors compliance with internal requirements as well as legal regulations, while the sites and Group companies implement these requirements locally. Our global network enables information and insights to be shared across the BASF Group on an ongoing basis.

Our policies and requirements are continuously updated. This is why we also maintain dialog with government institutions, associations and international organizations. We set ourselves ambitious goals for environmental protection. We regularly review our performance and progress with audits. In the 120 audits conducted in 2023, we took a risk-based approach. We assess the potential risks and weaknesses of all our major activities – from research and development to production and logistics – and the potential effects of these on the environment. Worldwide, 132 BASF production sites are certified in accordance with the international environmental management standard ISO 14001 (2022: 132).

• More information on Responsible Care^®

More information on our Responsible Care audits:

• Environmental
• Social
• More information on supplier management

Costs and provisions

We continually invest in reducing the impact of our actions on the environment. We also establish appropriate provisions for environmental protection measures and the remediation of active and former sites.

For more information, see Notes:

• Note 9
• Note 22