Overview – About This Report and the Combined Management’s Report
The content of this section is not part of the statutory audit of the annual financial statements but has undergone a separate limited assurance by our auditor.
The content of this section is voluntary, unaudited information, which was critically read by the auditor.
Content and Structure
This integrated BASF Report 2024 documents BASF’s economic, environmental and social performance in 2024. Published each year in German and English, the BASF annual report shows how we as a company create value for our stakeholders and how sustainability contributes to BASF’s long-term success as an integral part of our corporate purpose and our strategy. The annual report 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 principles of completeness, balance, stakeholder inclusion, sustainability context and double materiality with respect to sustainability-related information (see Double Materiality Assessment). In addition to this report, we publish further information online. Relevant links can be found within each chapter.
The Management’s Reports for the BASF Group and BASF SE have been combined where possible and not otherwise stated in this annual report pursuant to GAS 20.22. Information relating exclusively to the parent company (BASF SE) is dealt with in the section Disclosures on BASF SE in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB). The reporting period is from January 1, 2024, up to and including December 31, 2024. Unless otherwise stated, the presentation of the results of operations, financial position and net assets of the BASF Group with its significant opportunities and risks (for more information on the results of operations, net assets and financial position, see Results of Operations). The information on the BASF Group in the aforementioned sections complies with the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS®) and, where applicable, the German Commercial Code (HGB). Internal control mechanisms ensure the reliability of the information presented in this report.
In the 2024 business year, BASF will report pursuant to the CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG) given that the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) had not yet been transposed into German law. The Combined Management’s Report of the BASF Group and BASF SE contains a Combined Sustainability Statement. This was prepared in accordance with the requirements of sections 289b to 289e, 315b and 315c HGB. As a new acknowledged reporting framework in accordance with section 289d, we are voluntarily applying the first set of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), published as a delegated act in the Official Journal of the EU on December 22, 2023, for the first time in full – due to their importance as a reporting standard adopted by the European Commission – and are reporting in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852. The Combined Sustainability Statement includes the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement as well as the Nonfinancial Statement (NFS) of BASF SE as the parent company of the BASF Group. Due to the importance of BASF SE within the BASF Group, specific disclosures are required when reporting key sustainability-related information. Such disclosures also became mandatory for the parent company, BASF SE, as a result of the CSR-RUG, which came into effect in 2017. An incorporation by reference option within the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement was selected in the Management’s Report for the NFS to be issued in the reporting year. The table in section Nonfinancial Disclosures of BASF SE shows the relevant nonfinancial key figures of BASF SE. All disclosures on strategy, due diligence, targets, described processes and key figures contained in the statements in the Combined Management’s Report including the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement apply to the BASF Group including BASF SE. No significant deviations were identified for BASF SE.
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 (see Double Materiality Assessment). Information on the proportion of the Group’s taxonomy-eligible and our Group-wide taxonomy-aligned sales revenue, capital expenditures (including acquisitions and excluding goodwill in accordance with the EU taxonomy) and operating expenditures for the 2024 business year can be found under EU Taxonomy.
Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
BASF supports the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We refer to the TCFD-recommended disclosures in various places throughout this report.
Disclosures required by takeover law in accordance with sections 289a and 315a HGB
The disclosures required by takeover law in accordance with sections 289a and 315a of the German Commercial Code (HGB) can be found in the Corporate Governance section. They form part of the Combined Management’s Report, which is audited as part of the annual audit.
Declaration of Corporate Governance in accordance with sections 289f and 315d HGB
The Combined Declarations of Corporate Governance of BASF SE and the BASF Group, pursuant to sections 289f HGB and 315d HGB, comprise the chapters Corporate Governance Report including the description of the diversity concept for the composition of the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board (except for the disclosures required by takeover law), G1 Business Conduct and Declaration of Conformity Pursuant to Section 161 AktG. Pursuant to section 317(2) sentence 6 HGB, the auditor checked that the disclosures according to section 315d HGB in conjunction with section 289f(2) HGB were made.
Compensation Report
The Compensation Report in accordance with section 162 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) is publicly available on the BASF website together with the assurance statement of the substantive and formal audit issued by the auditor.
Data and scope of consolidation
All information and bases for calculation in this report are founded on national and international standards for financial and sustainability reporting. The data and information for the reporting period were sourced from the expert units responsible using representative methods. More information on our sustainability parameters and collection of the underlying data can be found under General Disclosures in the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement.
The reporting period is the 2024 business year. We include relevant information made available up to preparation of this report by the Board of Executive Directors at the accounts meeting on March 17, 2025 (editorial deadline).
BASF Group’s scope of consolidation for its financial reporting comprises BASF SE, with its headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and all of its fully consolidated subsidiaries and proportionally consolidated joint operations. Shares in joint ventures and associated companies are accounted for, if material, using the equity method in the BASF Group Consolidated Financial Statements and are thus not included in the scope of consolidation. The consolidation principles of sustainability reporting require application of the concept of operational control with respect to individual disclosures relating to ESRS standards E1 (Climate Change), E2 (Pollution)1 and E4 (Biodiversity and Ecosystems). Operational control applies to all fully consolidated subsidiaries included in the financial reporting at a minimum. Other companies under operational control are also covered by these Disclosure Requirements, provided the companies are significant for reporting purposes. All relevant data corresponds with the reporting period for the Consolidated Financial Statements. More information on the scope of consolidation for sustainability reporting can be found under General Disclosures in the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement.
Forward-looking statements and forecasts
This report contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current estimates and projections of the Board of Executive Directors and currently available information. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future developments and results outlined therein. These are dependent on a number of factors; they involve various risks as well as uncertainties; and they are based on assumptions that may not prove to be accurate. Such risk factors include, in particular, those discussed in Opportunities and Risks. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this report above and beyond the legal requirements.
1 Chapter title in the BASF Report 2024: Pollution Prevention
This content fulfills the Disclosure Requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The ESRS Index gives an overview of the references to the ESRSs in this report.