Water

Strategy

• Sustainable water management

We aim to use water as sparingly as possible and further reduce emissions to water. To do so, we have set out a Group directive with globally applicable standards.

We are introducing sustainable water management at all relevant production sites. These include our major Verbund sites as well as the sites in water stress areas. We have expanded our definition of water stress areas to all areas in which more than 40% of available water is used by industry, household and agriculture (previous definition: more than 60% of available water). Sustainable water management considers the quantitative, qualitative and social aspects of water use. We want to identify where we can improve at our sites, and use as little water as possible, especially in water stress areas. We offer our customers solutions that help purify water and use it more efficiently while minimizing pollution.

In order to ensure transparency in our reporting on water, we once again took part in CDP reporting in 2019. BASF achieved the top grade of A and thus Leadership status for sustainable water management. CDP’s evaluation of sustainable water management includes how transparently companies report on their water management activities and what they do to reduce risks, such as water scarcity. CDP also assesses the extent to which product developments – even at the customers of the companies under evaluation – can contribute to sustainable water management.

Water stress areas around the world

Global goal and measures

Our goal is to introduce sustainable water management at all production sites in water stress areas¹ and at our major Verbund sites by 2030, covering 93% of BASF’s total water abstraction.² We achieved 35.8% of this target in 2019 (2018: 50.0%).¹ In 2019, BASF introduced sustainable water management at eight sites.

We pursue our goal by applying the European Water Stewardship standard, which rests on four principles: sustainable water abstraction, maintaining good water quality, preserving conservation areas, and ensuring continuous improvement processes. We are also a member of the global organization Alliance for Water Stewardship.

Water balance

• Using water responsibly

Our water usage totaled 1,717 million cubic meters in 2019 (2018: 1,743).¹ This demand was covered for the most part by surface water, such as rivers and lakes. At some sites, we use alternative sources such as treated municipal wastewater, brackish water or seawater.

We predominantly use water for cooling purposes (86%), after which we recirculate it back to our supply sources. We reduce our water use by recirculating as much water as possible. To do this, we use recooling plants that allow water to be reused several times.

The water consumption of the BASF Group describes the amount of water that is no longer available to other users. Consumption is mainly attributable to the evaporation of water during closed-circuit cooling. Water consumption in 2019 amounted to around 61 million cubic meters (2018: 70).

In 2019, around 28% of our production sites were located in water stress areas.² These accounted for 1% of BASF’s total water abstraction. Water consumption in water stress areas (as defined by Aqueduct 3.0) accounted for around 14% of our total water consumption and was primarily attributable to evaporation in cooling processes.

The supply, treatment, transportation and recooling of water is associated with a considerable energy demand. We are constantly working to optimize our energy consumption and the amount of water we use, and to adapt to the needs of our business and the environment.

Water in the BASF Group 2019 

Million cubic meters per year

Emissions to water

• Emissions at prior-year level

A total of 1,509 million cubic meters of water were discharged from BASF production sites in 2019,³ including 173 million cubic meters of treated wastewater from production. Emissions of nitrogen to water amounted to 3,000 metric tons (2018: 3,100). Around 12,100 metric tons of organic substances were emitted in wastewater (2018: 12,600). Our wastewater contained 25 metric tons of heavy metals (2018: 23). Phosphorus emissions amounted to 260 metric tons (2018: 220 metric tons). Our wastewater is treated through different methods depending on the type and degree of contamination – including biological processes, oxidation, membrane technologies, precipitation or adsorption.

In order to avoid unanticipated emissions and the pollution of surface or groundwater, we create water protection strategies for our production sites. This is mandatory for all production plants as part of the Responsible Care^® initiative. The wastewater protection plans involve evaluating wastewater in terms of risk and drawing up suitable monitoring approaches. We use audits to check that these measures are being implemented and complied with.