BASF: Chemistry and Sustainability – A Perfect Match

“Chemistry and sustainability are a perfect match – as BASF has recognized for a long time. As the world’s leading chemical company, we provide innovative solutions that make an important contribution to supporting the sustainable transformation of society and the optimal use of limited resources,” said Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner, member of the Board of Executive Directors and chief technology officer of BASF, at the company’s Research Press Conference. Maas-Brunner and BASF’s technology experts highlighted current innovation projects as concrete examples of this contribution.

BASF continuously develops new and even more sustainable products and technologies.

“This is possible thanks to our unique innovation power, the success of which is evident in numerous indicators,” Maas-Brunner said.

In recent years, the company has continuously increased its sales generated with products launched on the market in the past five years that stemmed from R&D activities; they rose to around €12 billion in 2022. This innovation power is also reflected in the more than 1,000 patent applications filed last year, making BASF a leader in the industry once again.

“I am particularly happy that 40 percent of these patents are inventions with a particular focus on sustainability and a further 20 percent are related to digitalization,” said Maas-Brunner. Around 10,000 employees in research and development worldwide have contributed to these successes. “As chief technology officer, I am very proud of this highly qualified research and development team.”

One current research project that Maas-Brunner discussed in detail was the development of materials that significantly enhance the efficiency of water electrolysis. Water electrolysis is used to produce CO2-free hydrogen that is essential for the transformation of the chemical industry.

Making Sustainability Transparent

To support its customers on the journey to greater sustainability, the company co-developed an internationally recognized method that it uses to continuously evaluate its product portfolio: Sustainable Solution Steering, also known as TripleS.

With this evaluation method, BASF analyzes the sustainability contribution of its products and classifies them in five categories: Pioneer, Contributor, Standard, Monitored and Challenged. If products are found to have a considerable deficit in terms of sustainability (Challenged), BASF takes them off the market within five years.

In 2023, BASF launched a revised TripleS method that will make its product portfolio even more aligned with climate protection, resource efficiency and the circular economy. The BASF Report 2023, which will be published on February 23, 2024, will specify the proportion of sales generated in each of these five categories. The company will set a new goal for the share of sales to be generated with products in the two highest categories (Pioneer and Contributor).

“With TripleS we are transparently measuring the sustainability of our activities and how we are improving,” said Maas-Brunner.