Content and Structure
The BASF Report, which is published each year in English and German, combines the major financial and sustainability-related information necessary to comprehensively evaluate the company’s performance. We select the report’s topics based on the following principles: materiality, completeness, sustainability context, balance and stakeholder inclusion. In addition to this report, we publish further information online. The relevant links can be found at the end of each chapter.
The management’s reports for the BASF Group and BASF SE have been combined for the first time in this annual report. The reporting period is from January 1, 2023, up to and including December 31. Unless otherwise stated, the presentation of the results of operations, financial position and net assets as well as the expected development with its significant opportunities and risks relate to the BASF Group. Information relating exclusively to BASF SE is marked as such and is dealt with in a separate section (Disclosures on BASF SE in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB)). The combined Nonfinancial Statement (NFS) is integrated into the Combined Management’s Report and includes, as far as possible, the disclosures for the BASF Group and BASF SE as the parent company. Material topics for BASF SE are largely congruent with the topics identified for the BASF Group. Deviations are presented in the separate nonfinancial section on BASF SE. The NFS disclosures can be found in the relevant sections of the Combined Management’s Report and have been prepared in accordance with the appropriate frameworks: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the reporting requirements of the U.N. Global Compact.
The information on the financial position and performance of the BASF Group complies with the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and, where applicable, the German Commercial Code (HGB), German Accounting Standards (GAS) and the guidelines on alternative performance measures from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Internal control mechanisms ensure the reliability of the information presented in this report.
The information contained in this report also serves as a progress report on BASF’s implementation of the 10 principles of the U.N. Global Compact. KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft has performed an independent limited assurance of the disclosures in the online GRI Index. The results of this assurance are also available in the online report in the form of an assurance statement. We also publish additional information on sustainability online in accordance with the industry-specific requirements of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). BASF’s Report addresses elements of the framework of the former International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), which is now incorporated into the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop internationally recognized standards for sustainability reporting. Our involvement in networks and in national and international standard-setting bodies gives us the opportunity to share our experiences of integrated reporting with stakeholders and, at the same time, give and receive inspiration for enhancing our reporting.
Material topics along the value chain form the focal points of our reporting and define the limits of this report. In identifying, prioritizing and validating material, sustainability-related topics, we are guided by the principle of double materiality, taking into consideration financial materiality and impact materiality. General information on the materiality analysis can be found under Our Sustainability Concept. Material topics are explained in the “Material Topics in Focus” sections.
For more information on our sustainability reporting see:
- Our Sustainability Concept
- Environmental, Social and Governance
- Click here for the GRI and Global Compact index
- Click here for the SASB index
