Global labor and social standards

• Alignment with U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Adjusted management process for monitoring adherence to labor and social standards

Our voluntary commitment to respecting international labor and social standards is embedded in our global Code of Conduct. This encompasses internationally recognized labor norms as stipulated in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy of the International Labour Organization (ILO). BASF strives to uphold these standards worldwide. In countries where national laws, rules and customs deviate from international standards, we take on the challenge of finding appropriate solutions that respect local customs by engaging in dialog with stakeholders.

We check regard for international labor and social standards using a global monitoring system comprising three instruments:

• External compliance hotlines
• The annual survey of our Group companies
• Close dialog with our stakeholders, such as employee representatives and international organizations

In order to even better inspect compliance with international labor and social standards around the world, we began restructuring our management process in 2015. Step by step, the annual survey of our Group companies will be replaced with a process through which we can more efficiently monitor worldwide adherence to international labor standards based on a globally applicable BASF guideline. The management process is geared toward internal regulations on compliance and risk management, as well as requirements with respect to the U.N.’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.