BASF wins award for best sustainability report

* Praise for information on product safety, responsibility in the supply chain and climate protection
* Ranking of the 150 largest German companies

Ludwigshafen , Germany - BASF today received an award for the best German sustainability report in 2008. The award, which was made at the annual conference of the German government’s Council for Sustainable Development, is bestowed every two years by the German Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and future e.V., an environmental initiative founded by a group of small and medium-sized German enterprises. The German labor minister, Dr. Franz Josef Jung, and the Chairman of the Sustainability Council, Dr Volker Hauff, act as patrons for the award.



The ranking assesses the transparency, completeness and thus the reliability of the information published by Germany’s 150 largest companies on sustainability issues such as environmental protection and employer responsibility. In addition, specific criteria for various industries are used to ensure comparability across industrial sectors.



According to the jury, BASF’s report was particularly convincing because of its structured treatment of the topics product safety, climate protection and responsibility in the supply chain. The company’s integrated approach was also praised: Since 2007, BASF has combined financial and sustainability reporting in a single publication.



“BASF is the first company to submit an integrated report to the ranking,” said Jana Gebauer, project leader at the IÖW. “This shows that sustainability topics can be treated in appropriate scope and depth even if they are integrated in a corporate report. BASF has succeeded in creating added value with the combined form.”



Sustainability is a key element of BASF’s strategy, and the company won third place in the 2007 IÖW ranking. ”Sustainability is not a fair-weather topic at BASF. It is something that is increasingly being integrated into our management systems. Through sustainability, we minimize risk and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. This approach is also reflected in our integrated report ,” said Dr. Ulrich von Deessen, head of the Competence Center Environment, Health & Safety and Climate Protection Officer at BASF. ”Our report is the result of great team work, and we’re therefore very happy to receive recognition in the form of this respected award.”



BASF has published a completely integrated report since 2007. The company presented its first environmental report in 1988 and first issued a corporate report combining economic, environmental and social data in 2003.



More information about IÖW, future e.V. and the ranking is available on the Internet: http://www.ranking-nachhaltigkeitsberichte.de/index_e.html



Further information on the BASF report: basf.com/report



More about BASF and sustainability is available on the Internet: basf.com/sustainability



About BASF

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008 and had approximately 97,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.