Responsibility for Human Rights

BASF acknowledges its responsibility to respect internationally recognized human rights. For many years now, we have engaged in constructive dialog on human rights with other companies, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations and multi-stakeholder initiatives to better understand different perspectives and address conflicting goals. BASF is a founding member of the U.N. Global Compact and a member of the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (GBI), a group of globally operating companies from various sectors. The initiative aims to ensure implementation of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

We see human rights due diligence as an important, all-encompassing task that we can only perform by working together as a team throughout the entire organization. That is why we have embedded our responsibility for human rights into our Code of Conduct and set this out in our human rights position. We uphold our standards worldwide, including where they exceed local legal requirements. All employees and leaders are responsible for ensuring that we act in accordance with our Code of Conduct and our human rights position.

We rely on a systematic, integrated, risk-based approach and established monitoring and management systems. BASF is also active in initiatives such as Together for Sustainability (TfS) and Responsible Care®, which promote sustainability in the supply chain. Our measures and criteria for monitoring and observing human rights are integrated into supplier assessment processes and our global monitoring systems for environmental protection, safety and security, health protection and product stewardship. They are also part of the evaluation of investment, acquisition and divestiture projects, assessments along the entire product life cycle, and systems to monitor labor and social standards. In addition, aspects of human rights topics are part of the global qualification requirements for our security personnel and are incorporated into agreements with contractors.

Our compliance unit is responsible for steering human rights topics and coordinates the work of the cross-unit Human Rights Expert Working Group, which we established in 2020. In it, employees from specialist units – procurement, legal, HR, environmental protection, health and safety, sustainability strategy, site security, supply chain, communications and government relations – and the operating divisions work closely together. The expert working group provides support and advice in challenging and critical situations, on the development of internal processes, and on the creation of information and training offerings, among other things. This is how we ensure that we approach our human rights responsibility holistically and that we can continually improve our performance.

In 2020, we conducted a comprehensive review of our human rights management system and the related processes. This showed that we have achieved important milestones regarding our due diligence obligations. However, the analysis, which was discussed by the Board of Executive Directors, also identified potential for improvement, for example with regard to awareness of human rights topics within our organization and relating to the integration of these topics in our guidelines and processes.

We therefore launched a global, internal campaign in April 2021 to raise awareness on the topic of human rights. Externally, we were involved in the U.N.’s International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour through two initiatives and together with other partners, and committed to specific joint measures in the fight against child labor. Together with other DAX-listed companies, we also participated in the study “Moving with responsibility toward success: practical implementation of human rights due diligence in 10 companies” commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

We strengthened awareness of our due diligence obligations in procurement by including additional information on human rights topics in training. In addition, the human rights risk assessment is more systematically incorporated into strategy development in our procurement segments.

We also further improved our grievance mechanisms and introduced a standardized global external and internal hotline and reporting system in 2021. For example, we expanded the number of languages available. A new website provides information about the hotline and the grievance procedure, and now also offers the option of contacting the company anonymously online in addition to local telephone numbers. Employees can also contact specialists directly via an internal online platform or the corresponding app. The processing status of a submitted report can be tracked anonymously. Moreover, submitted cases will be able to be recorded and evaluated more systematically in the future. In 2021, 206 human rights-related complaints were received by phone as well as by post and e-mail. All complaints were reviewed and forwarded to the relevant departments for in-depth investigation. If justified, appropriate measures were taken.

We see assuming our human rights responsibilities as a continuous process. That is why we continuously review our policies and processes and update them whenever necessary. We are currently examining further development measures in various working groups against the backdrop of new regulations such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG) and the forthcoming E.U. legislation on due diligence in the supply chain.

We established a Human Rights Advisory Council in 2020 to systematically integrate external expertise. Its members include independent international human rights experts. The trust-based dialog on human rights topics helps us to better understand different perspectives and to deal more openly with critical situations. At the same time, the renowned external experts show us where we have potential for improvement and help us to build on our strengths in how we handle human rights. The meetings, which are chaired by our Chief Compliance Officer, are also attended by employees from the sustainability strategy and compliance units. Other representatives, for example, from the operating divisions or procurement, are invited depending on the focus topics. In this way, the Human Rights Advisory Council provides an external perspective on establishing and improving our processes, and contributes this in discussions with the leadership team.

We maintained our dialog with the Human Rights Advisory Council throughout 2021, both with the body as a whole and in small groups, and with individual experts. The topics discussed included responsible supply chain management, for example in challenging supplier relationships or in high-risk regions. Our contribution to the responsible use of our solutions and products was also discussed.

In 2021, we stepped up our commitment to action areas with increased risk potential, such as battery materials (see box below). Where conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, their ores and gold) are used, we pay attention to the implementation of the relevant E.U. regulation in our supply and value chains. We also set store on certified sustainable supply chains and fair working conditions in the procurement of raw materials such as palm oil, palm kernel oil and castor oil. We maintain dialog with national and international NGOs and are involved in numerous networks and partnerships. These include the Cobalt for Development initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Responsible Lithium Partnership in Chile, the Global Battery Alliance and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

As an international company, we are a part of society in the countries in which we operate and have business relationships with partners around the world. We are confronted by the fact that there are states that do not honor their obligation to protect human rights. People are particularly at risk in such countries and companies’ ability to act is often limited. We are committed to our values – including and especially there – and contribute to the respect of human rights.

We have trustful working relationships with our partners (customers, suppliers, joint venture partners, contractors), expect them to comply with internationally recognized human rights standards and to demand the same of their partners further along the value chain. We support our partners in their efforts to meet their respective responsibilities.

We can only meet our goal of eradicating human rights abuses along our value chains if we work together. We have defined our expectations in a binding Supplier Code of Conduct. We are in close contact with our business partners, especially in higher-risk areas and regions, and monitor the implementation of required standards and measures for improvement. We use recognized assessments and audits to verify this.

We report on our global targets, monitoring systems and measures to integrate human rights topics into our business activities in publications such as this report and online.

• More information on standards in our supply chain
• More information on mineral raw materials
• More information on our production standards
• More information on systems for monitoring labor and social standards
• More information on corporate governance and compliance
• More information on the human rights position and a comprehensive report on the implementation of due diligence in human rights in accordance with the requirements of the National Action Plan developed by the German government, and in accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• More information on the Human Rights Advisory Counci