E2 Pollution Prevention

Strategy and Governance

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General information on our overarching policies can be found in the General Disclosures chapter of the (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement (see Minimum disclosures regarding policies, actions and targets). These include, among other things, our Responsible Care Management System and, as part of this, our global standards in terms of environmental protection, process safety, product safety and transportation safety as well as emergency and crisis management. BASF’s Position on Water Protection, our risk-based sustainability management for procurement and the Supplier Code of Conduct can also be found there. The specific aspects of these policies are explained in the following section.

When developing our business strategies, we also consider the resilience of our business models (for more information, see Double Materiality Assessment).

Environmental protection in our production

BASF intends to continue to drive forward the transformation of its production and its product portfolio. In order to prevent or reduce negative environmental impacts due to regular emissions to air and water, as well as due to potential product spills, a holistic approach is needed to ensure efficient and resource-saving production and continuous monitoring to protect the environment.

We aim to further reduce emissions to air from our production by means of process improvements and new technologies. Similarly, we strive to reduce negative impacts on water quality as part of responsible handling of water as a resource and sustainable water management. This is also reflected in our position paper on water protection.

• More information on our position paper on water protection

Responsible Care Management System

We have established Group-wide management and control systems for our own production. BASF is involved in the International Council of Chemical Associations’ (ICCA) global Responsible Care^® initiative. Our Responsible Care Management System, which is based on this, also covers environmental protection in addition to the topics of safety and health (see chapter S1 Own Workforce). We have defined our global standards for emissions to air and water in Group-wide requirements. These requirements apply to substances that have a potentially harmful impact on the environment and also cover the aspects of process and transportation safety in order to prevent production and transportation-related product spills and leakages into air and water as effectively as possible (for more information, see Process, product and transportation safety and Global Targets). For example, these stipulate that water protection concepts must be implemented at all production sites in order to prevent unforeseen emissions and the pollution of surface or ground water.

The Corporate Center unit Corporate Environmental Protection, Health, Safety & Quality defines the management and control systems and monitors compliance with internal and legal requirements, while the sites and Group companies are responsible for the implementation of and the compliance with the requirements locally. We continuously update our requirements and guidelines, which can be accessed via an internal BASF database. To this end, we exchange information with authorities, associations and international organizations. We also share information, experiences and practical examples in the global BASF network of experts.

Continuous monitoring, documentation and control of emissions to air and water as well as the implementation of measures for improvement are an integral part of our environmental management and at the same time serve to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and actions. The key figures for process safety incidents with significant environmental impacts and transportation incidents with significant environmental impacts are also an important indicator of the effectiveness of our policies and actions (for more information, see Global Targets). The Corporate Center unit Corporate Environmental Protection, Health, Safety & Quality regularly reviews our performance and progress, and hence the effectiveness of our requirements in the areas of environmental protection and safety as well as health, in the course of Responsible Care audits (for Responsible Care audits in the field of occupational medicine, see chapter S1 Own Workforce), for example in the areas of Organization & Management System, Product Stewardship, Transportation Safety, Process Safety, Environment (Air, Water, Waste) or Emergency Response. The 130 audits performed in 2025 (2024: 121) primarily served to systematically assess risks and monitor the correct implementation of legal and internal requirements – both globally and locally. The regularity of the audits contributes to ensuring uniformly high standards of environmental protection and safety within the BASF Group.

The regulations on which Responsible Care audits are based are also bindingly set out in a global requirement. The audits are conducted at regular intervals of every three to six years at all BASF sites, as well as at companies with BASF majority shareholdings that operate production facilities. They are based on a risk-based approach that ensures that particularly critical areas are audited in a targeted and appropriate manner. A central database secures global coverage and the transparent traceability of all audits. As part of the audits, we create an environmental and safety profile that shows whether the existing environmental and safety performance is sufficient to properly address the existing hazard potential. If deficiencies are identified, we define binding corrective measures, the implementation of which takes place within a defined time frame and is reviewed in follow-up audits. In addition to production sites and plants, the audit process also includes laboratory units, infrastructure units and larger workshops.

Regulatory developments

Our emissions to air and wastewater are subject to stringent controls. We assess their impact carefully and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In this context, we evaluate whether regulatory developments concerning emissions to air and water require investments in our infrastructure and the further development of our systems. The chemical industry is facing substantial risks due to changes to and reforms of regulatory requirements or approval conditions, including in relation to the areas of environmental protection, biodiversity and ecosystems. More stringent regulations may limit the approval, use or marketing of certain chemicals. BASF plans to address regulatory changes with a combination of proactive and reactive measures. These include continuous monitoring, analysis of the regulatory framework and steering of our product portfolio using the TripleS method (Sustainable Solution Steering; see General Disclosures). We also invest in research and development in order to continuously develop chemicals with improved toxicological and ecotoxicological properties and to thus meet the new requirements. Moreover, BASF is committed to working closely with stakeholders and regulatory bodies to ensure that company practices comply with the latest standards.

Process, product and transportation safety

In particular, the reliable and safe operation of our plants represents a key element of our Responsible Care Management System. In the area of process safety, we take extensive preventive measures in order to counteract incidents at our plants and continuously improve our production processes. Opportunities arise in particular in the automation and digitalization of processes.

The topic categories of product and transportation safety, emergency response and remediation of contaminated sites also form part of our Responsible Care Management System. With comprehensive safety concepts and globally binding standards and requirements, we aim to prevent resulting environmental damage to the best extent possible. Here, we rely on comprehensive preventive measures and clearly defined responsibilities. We also continuously further develop our production and logistics processes as well as our product stewardship approaches.

As a chemical company, we also transport dangerous goods. We want to ensure that our products are loaded, transported and handled in accordance with the relevant regulations and their hazard potential, thereby minimizing the risk along the entire transportation chain. To this end, the managers responsible and their employees are regularly trained, advised and supervised by our transportation safety experts, and the reliability of logistics partners is regularly reviewed. All BASF products intended for transportation must be clearly identifiable, classified, securely packaged and labeled.

Should a crisis situation, however, be caused by process safety incidents, product spillages or emergencies, we wish to be as well prepared as possible at global, regional and local level. We have established structures and processes for emergency preparedness and emergency response that enable an effective response. Our emergency and crisis management focuses on the protection of our employees, contractors and neighbors, the safety of our plants and the protection of the environment. Unusual incidents are recorded and reported centrally in accordance with a standardized Group-wide procedure. The aim is to identify risks at an early stage and, if necessary, initiate appropriate remedial and communication measures. Incidents are followed up on to identify potential for improvement, which is integrated into existing concepts as needed.

In order to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment, we continuously invest in process, product and transportation safety. By means of Responsible Care audits in the areas of Organization & Management System, Product Stewardship, Transportation Safety, Process Safety, Environment (Air, Water, Waste) and Emergency Response, we are able to verify compliance with our policies and requirements. We also establish appropriate provisions for environmental protection measures, including provisions for the remediation of contamination at our sites (for additional information, see Note 22 to the Consolidated Financial Statements).

Contamination exists at former and active sites, and/or at sites for which we have taken on responsibility in connection with acquisitions. It is our principle to manage these contaminated sites in close consultation with the responsible authorities in such a way that no negative impacts arise on the environment. We develop remediation solutions that aim to balance nature conservation and climate protection concerns, costs and social responsibility. These site and case-specific measures take into account the legal frameworks and currently available technology. We document contamination risks and the status of soil and groundwater for our sites worldwide in a database. Ongoing remediation work continued on schedule in the reporting year and planning was completed for further measures.

In order to minimize the impact of substances of concern and substances of very high concern on human health and the environment in the downstream value chain, such substances are used in accordance with statutory requirements, such as the EU’s REACH regulation. In addition, our TripleS method for steering the sustainability performance of our product portfolio (see General Disclosures) takes into account substances of concern and of very high concern with respect to proactive portfolio and substitution planning.

For more information on substances of concern or of very high concern, as well as their potential impact on human health and the environment, see Substances of Concern or of Very High Concern.

Responsibility in our value chain

We are also committed to our responsibility for environmental protection throughout our entire value chain in order to reduce the impacts of emissions to air and water. Alongside production at our plants and the activities at our sites and warehouses, this also applies to the procurement and transport of our raw materials as well as the distribution and usage of our products.

Upstream value chain

For our upstream value chain, our procurement organization has established guidelines in a global risk-based management system that define how we implement our due diligence processes (see S2 Workers in the Value Chain, Procurement guidelines). In the event of specific incidents in this context, our management processes come into effect (see S2, Evaluating and developing our suppliers and Management of specific incidents). We expect our suppliers to comply with internationally recognized environmental standards. In addition, we call for our suppliers to reduce regular emissions to air and water and to prevent product spills in upstream processing. Our expectations are set out in the globally valid Supplier Code of Conduct (see S2, Procurement guidelines), which also includes emissions to air and water. We strive toward a situation where our suppliers comply with the requirements set out in the Supplier Code of Conduct. As part of our supplier management, we therefore review compliance with our required criteria when selecting suppliers and evaluating supplier relationships. We arrange for third parties to evaluate suppliers with a high sustainability risk. Supplier evaluation is mainly performed as part of the chemical industry’s Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative (see S2, Evaluating and developing our suppliers). Depending on business requirements, we perform our own Responsible Care audits at selected contract manufacturers if material risks have been identified with respect to environmental protection. This also includes the topic of emissions to air and water.

Downstream value chain

In our downstream value chain, we want to collaborate continuously with our customers on the development of innovations and solutions that are designed to enable their green transformation and make a significant contribution to sustainability (for more information on the TripleS methodology, see General Disclosures). We offer our customers a wide range of products that enable them to reduce regular emissions to air or water, from industrial process catalysts and fuel additives to precursors used to produce coagulants for water treatment.

We have also established relevant global management systems in our downstream value chain. We address the safe handling and application of chemical raw materials and products as part of our product and transportation safety management, for example. BASF regards product stewardship as an integral component of all business processes, as a key element of our risk management and as a vital pillar of our commitment to Responsible Care^®. We aim to continuously minimize negative impacts on people and the environment and to improve the safety and sustainability of our products on an ongoing basis.

Before our products are launched on the market, they undergo various tests and evaluations – depending on legal requirements and their application profile. These tests enable us to identify potential hazard characteristics as well as health and environmental risks at an early stage. On the basis of the results, we devise precautionary and protective measures and develop recommendations for safe handling – from production to application through to transportation and disposal.

By consistently implementing external and internal requirements, we also aim to ensure in the downstream value chain that our customers receive their goods in harmless condition as well as in safe packaging and transport containers. To this end, we rely on the qualified selection, approval and clear labeling of packaging and transport containers as well as the accompanying transport documents and multiple checks. We communicate product safety information via our safety data sheets. These contain, for example, information on the physicochemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological properties of our products, as well as on potential hazards, first aid measures, measures to be taken in the case of accidental release and disposal, and on safe handling. We thereby wish to contribute to the prevention of leakages and emergencies and to mitigating and limiting their impacts. Should emergencies occur, nonetheless, we provide our customers with the support of our expert network.

Actions

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Our actions for avoiding and minimizing environmental pollution often entail decentralized activities, projects and initiatives. They are not governed by a centrally managed action plan. Instead, they – like our management and monitoring systems – aim to ensure continuous optimization and further development and fall within the responsibility of the sites and Group companies. This goes hand in hand with the BASF approach to sustainability steering (see also General Disclosures).

Actions in our own production

Our activities for avoiding and minimizing environmental impacts due to emissions to air and water take effect right at the start of the product life cycle: We invest continuously in research and development (for additional information, see Innovation) in order to design products in such a way that their impacts on the environment are as minimal as possible. Drawing on TripleS, we review our relevant global product portfolio continuously (for more information, see General Disclosures). Moreover, we evaluate the effectiveness of our actions as part of our Responsible Care audits (see also Responsible Care Management System).

Through our focus on operational excellence, we continuously design our plants and processes to be more efficient and resource-saving. This creates direct incentives for investing in efficiency projects and contributes to reducing emissions. Corresponding projects address all levels of the mitigation hierarchy: prevent, reduce, recover and reuse, restore and regenerate. We therefore further reduce regular emissions to the air through various actions, such as lowering the emission of nitrogen oxides using catalysts, and feed waste gases back to the production process.

Also when it comes to emissions to water, our approach is to reduce wastewater volumes and contaminant loads at the source in our production processes and to reuse wastewater and material flows internally as far as possible. To treat wastewater, we use both central measures in wastewater treatment plants and the selective pretreatment of individual wastewater streams already before these are sent to the wastewater treatment plant. We use different methods depending on the type and degree of contamination – including biological processes, chemical oxidation, membrane technologies, precipitation or adsorption. At our Verbund site in Freeport, Texas, we commissioned a membrane bioreactor for treating wastewater in 2023, which improved the capacity and cleaning performance of the wastewater treatment plant. In the medium term, the treated wastewater is to be reused, thereby reducing the need for freshwater. In 2025, the first phase of the test operation for reusage took place. Depending on the local situation, we also implement actions together with other stakeholders. For example, at the Tarragona site in Spain, we are working with our water supplier AITASA and other companies to further expand wastewater reuse in the medium term. As part of our water protection concepts, we regularly conduct risk assessments of our wastewater, evaluate it in terms of its risks and derive suitable monitoring measures.

Process safety

In order to take preventive action against environmental impacts due to potential product spills and leakages, we apply demanding safety standards worldwide when planning, building and operating our plants. These meet and, in some cases, go beyond local legal requirements. Our experts develop a safety concept for every plant that takes into account the key safety, occupational health as well as environmental protection aspects – from plant design to the end of production – and stipulates corresponding protective measures. In order to maintain the high level of safety at our plants worldwide over their entire life cycles, we carry out implementation checks at regular intervals and dependent on the risk potential to verify the implementation of our safety concepts. We regularly update the safety and protection concepts of our plants. Here, we particularly take new findings, technological opportunities and regulatory developments into account.

To reduce process safety incidents, we focus in particular on technical measures, digital solutions and a leadership culture that places even greater focus on process safety and dealing openly with mistakes. We use the rate of High Severity Process Safety Incidents (hsPSI) per 200,000 working hours as a reporting indicator (for information on the external validation of metrics, see General Disclosures under Minimal disclosures regarding policies, actions and targets). By 2030, we aim for a rate of no more than 0.10 High Severity Process Safety Incidents per 200,000 working hours worldwide.¹ In 2025, we recorded a global rate of 0.04 hsPSI per 200,000 working hours (2024: 0.03). The rate of Process Safety Incidents (PSI rate; number of Process Safety Incidents per 200,000 working hours) was 0.22 in 2025 (2024: 0.22). We are continuously refining our training methods and offerings to increase risk awareness and strengthen our safety culture. In order to further strengthen the topic of operational excellence in the areas of environmental protection, health, safety and quality (EHSQ), BASF hosted the Global EHSQ Days for all employees worldwide in September 2025. The virtual event aimed to raise awareness of key topics such as process safety, occupational safety, emergency and crisis management and environmental protection, to promote company-wide dialog and to disseminate best practices throughout the Group. The Global EHSQ Days thus also underlined BASF’s commitment to transparency, continuous learning, persistent improvement and an open safety culture. The focus of the process safety area was on the concept of Inherently Safer Design (ISD) – a central principle that aims to systematically avoid potential hazards already during the design process instead of controlling them retrospectively through technical or organizational protective measures.

In order to maintain a mutual exchange with their teams on topics related to process safety, leaders have various options, including short discussions on selected process safety topics or the presentation of incident investigations. In internal and external networks, through our involvement in associations such as the ICCA, the European Process Safety Centre (EPSC) and the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), as well as through our dialog with authorities, we make a continuous contribution to improving process safety worldwide.

In the event of incidents, such as process safety incidents, their handling initially falls within the remit of local crisis organizations and/or local emergency response. We have implemented precautionary organizational measures with clearly defined responsibilities and procedures at all sites for this purpose. The employees responsible receive regular training. This includes safety and emergency drills, which may vary in scope and participation depending on the scenario. Depending on the situation, external stakeholders such as business partners, municipal institutions or neighboring companies are also involved, both in drills and in the event of an emergency. Additional expert teams (working groups) may be called in for emergencies, depending on the development of the damage extent. In the event of a global crisis situation, the Global Crisis Management Support Team (GCMS), led by a member of the Board of Executive Directors, is activated. It defines the strategic direction for crisis management and is supported by topic-specific and specialist working groups. The effectiveness and quality of the actions are continuously improved and reviewed through established control mechanisms such as incident investigations, as well as through systematic learning from incidents and Responsible Care audits. At the Ludwigshafen site, BASF began construction of a new Emergency Response Center (ERC) in 2025. Following completion, which is planned for 2028, employees from the site fire department, environmental monitoring and site security units as well as the fully integrated control center will work there.

Transportation safety

We use a range of tools to minimize transportation risks, such as impacts on the environment due to potential product leakages. For every dangerous good, we verify whether the packaging has been approved for that product and is suitable for the type of transport. We conduct digital dangerous goods checks before shipping orders are released. Vehicles are subjected to a thorough dangerous goods check prior to loading and rejected if there are any issues. Above and beyond this, we use our global requirements to specifically assess the safety and environmental risks of transporting and handling raw materials and sales products with high hazard potential. This is based on the guideline Safety Risk Assessment for Chemical Transport Operations of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC). We stipulate worldwide requirements for our logistics service providers and assess them in terms of safety and quality. Our experts use our own tools as well as internationally approved schemes for evaluation and monitoring. These include, in the area of ship safety inspection, the templates issued by the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF). We remain involved in external networks, which quickly provide information and assistance in emergencies. These include the Intervention in Chemical transport Emergencies (ICE) initiative and the German Transport-Accident-Information and Emergency-Response-System (TUIS), in which BASF plays a coordinating role. We apply the experience we have gathered in the course of this involvement to improve our own processes and set up similar systems in other countries.

Actions in the value chain

We are committed to minimizing the impacts of emissions to air and water throughout our entire value chain. To this end, we work together with our suppliers and numerous partners. Ongoing initiatives serve the purpose of continuous optimization and further development.

Upstream value chain

In the upstream value chain, we take a closer look at suppliers in critical supply chains, such as those for mineral and renewable raw materials and a range of pigments, using a risk-based approach. Upstream stages of the value chain are evaluated in respect of serious sustainability risks, with suitable remedial measures instigated where necessary (see S2, Evaluating and developing our suppliers and Management of specific incidents). In shared initiatives with suppliers and other partners, we also develop and test approaches to making the supply of raw materials more sustainable.

We are constantly working to switch to more sustainable raw material alternatives and to reduce the resources consumed in the manufacturing of our products, for example through more efficient processes and innovative technologies. This also enables us to provide our customers in the downstream value chain with more sustainable solutions and reduce emissions.

Downstream value chain

With TripleS, we have established a steering tool for our product portfolio based on the sustainability performance of our products (for more information, see General Disclosures). Criteria for mitigating environmental impacts, such as reducing emissions to air and water or new approaches to water purification, also form part of the evaluation process.

• More information on TripleS

Together with partners and in dialog with stakeholders in the food value chain, we continuously drive projects aimed at promoting more sustainable agriculture. Misuse of our crop protection products may have a negative impact on human health and the environment. We are therefore focusing our smart stewardship activities on education and continuously improving our solutions for farmers through the use of digital tools and innovative technologies. Alongside aspects such as efficacy and productivity, this also includes safe use by our customers and impacts on the environment. All of BASF’s crop protection products can be used safely under local farming conditions if the information and directions on the label are followed. If they have any questions, complaints or issues, our customers can contact us through various channels, for example, by calling the telephone hotlines printed on all product labels, using the contact forms on our websites or by approaching our sales employees directly. We record all product incidents relating to health or the environment that come to our attention in a global database. If necessary, we take appropriate measures on the basis of this information to minimize preventable incidents. These may include updating the instructions for use on product labels. We communicate these changes and general recommendations on the safe use of our products through channels such as our global training and education activities.

• More information on smart stewardship

In order to protect water as a resource, deepen our knowledge and share our expertise with others, we cooperate with numerous partners along the value chain and from civil society. We are, for example, a member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, which, with its Strategy 2022–2030, calls for collective action to tackle shared water challenges. In addition, we are continuously involved in networks such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), the World Plastics Council and Operation Clean Sweep^® (OCS) to prevent waste from plastic production from entering water bodies. For example, all of BASF’s European production sites for polystyrene, expandable polystyrene, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethanes, engineering plastics, polyamides and specialty polymers are now certified by independent third parties according to the OCS European standard. In South America, we support sustainable development activities, including in the area of water, through Fundação Eco+.

1 Includes BASF employees, agency workers and contractors

Global Targets

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In our global sustainability-related corporate targets (for additional information, see Our Targets and Target Achievement 2025), we see effective levers in terms of environmental protection in general. These include our climate protection targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our target of closing loops, our TripleS-related target, our sustainable water management target and our responsible procurement target.

We also endeavor to minimize potential incidents impacting the environment through our targets for resource-efficient and safe production, particularly our process safety target. A process safety incident, however, does not necessarily have a negative impact on the environment. Since 2025, the environmental impacts from process safety incidents have been systematically recorded in a global database – as was already the case in the past for transportation incidents. In 2025, we had one process safety incident with significant impacts on the environment and no transportation incidents with significant impacts on the environment (2024: none).²

BASF does not have a specific reduction target for emissions to air (excluding greenhouse gases) and water in the topic Pollution Prevention. Relevant indicators are monitored and published on a regular basis (see Metrics section). The ways in which we track the effectiveness of our policies is discussed in the Strategy and Governance section.

We discuss the sustainability topics that are material for BASF at regular meetings with external stakeholders as part of our strategic stakeholder engagement as well as in meetings with investors. Through this, the expectations of our stakeholders are continuously taken into account when setting potential targets.

2 Our methodology for assessing environmental impact is based on chemical-specific standards. It includes criteria such as the amount of substance released into the environment and the actual environmental impact observed.

Metrics

Emissions to air and water

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The emissions figures presented are based on data from over 200 production sites. The reported emissions vary due to site-specific factors, including production volumes, scheduled plant shutdowns, startup and shutdown processes as well as the acquisition and sale of assets. The application of the threshold values according to Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 means that minor emission levels are not included in the overall total. Therefore, emissions may be reportable in one year and not in the following year due to annual fluctuations. In 2025, the total emissions to air remained almost unchanged compared to 2024. The total emissions to water increased compared to 2024. The largest change concerns chloride emissions and is primarily attributable to a technical measure implemented at one of our sites.

For a description of our measurement methods on determining the quantities of substances emitted in connection with environmental pollution and a description of the data collection process for accounting and reporting in connection with the reduction of environmental pollution, as well as general information on the estimation or rounding of individual sustainability metrics, see General Disclosures in our (Consolidated) Sustainability Statement under Sustainability Metrics.

Substances of Concern or of Very High Concern

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Substances of concern or of very high concern may represent an integral component of the chemical raw materials used for production. They can also be found in chemical products. To this extent, a portion of our products, which are key input products in further industrial or professional value creation or application, contain substances of concern or of very high concern. We address the safe handling and usage of chemical raw materials and products as part of our product safety management systems (see also Downstream value chain).

We work continuously on ensuring our products – including those that may contain substances of concern or very high concern – pose no risk to humans and the environment when they are used responsibly and in the manner intended. Thorough safety and risk assessment enables us to serve markets with innovative and more sustainable products that meet regulatory requirements while still responding to changing regulatory frameworks, increasing sustainability requirements, and market and customer needs.

We aim to comply with all relevant national and international regulations and laws. The guidelines, requirements, processes and responsibilities described above in this chapter under Strategy and Governance, also pertain to the handling of substances of concern and of very high concern.

We document and evaluate the safety, health and environmental information for our substances and products in a global database. We update this information on an ongoing basis. The database forms the basis for communicating this information via our safety data sheets (see also Downstream value chain), which we provide to our customers in around 40 languages. Our global emergency hotline network enables us to provide information around the clock. To ensure that people who buy, sell, use, transport or dispose of our products can quickly find information about the products and their associated hazards, we use the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) to classify and label our products worldwide, provided this is legally permissible in the country concerned. We take into account national or regional adaptations within the GHS framework if applicable, such as the EU’s regulation on the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation).

If necessary, we advise our customers on product safety. We set global requirements on the safe transport of dangerous goods for our logistics service providers (see Transportation safety). We also train our employees worldwide on the proper handling and usage of selected products with special hazard potential. In associations and together with other manufacturers, BASF supports the establishment of voluntary global commitments to prevent the misuse of chemicals. We are also involved at national and international level in various initiatives to further develop risk assessments, such as that of the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC).

With such efforts, we aim to ensure that substances or products containing substances with very high hazard potential are safely handled and to ensure that impacts on human health and the environment can be prevented.

Substances of concern and of very high concern are subject to strict regulatory supervision. The list of restricted substances with hazardous properties is continuously growing. This can change both the future availability of raw materials and the market behavior of customers and consumers. Normally, such changes are planned well in advance and transparently, allowing the industry to prepare by taking suitable measures, such as substitution planning or the implementation of derogations. Our proactive TripleS steering instrument, for example, makes a substantial contribution to planning a more sustainable portfolio. A potential material risk for value chains, which would affect the whole industry and not specifically BASF, could only arise in the event of an unforeseen proliferation of regulatory measures.

The substances of concern or of very high concern deployed by BASF in global value chains in 2025 are listed in the following tables.

As an integrated chemical company, BASF manufactures a broad portfolio of products, many of which are further processed by customers in the chemical industry. We handle the substances in our production appropriately and supply our customers with products that can be used safely if handled properly. As a B2B company, we market only a very small portion of our products directly to consumers and end users. The values in the tables below correspond to the tonnages introduced per hazard class. As individual substances can be assigned to several hazard classes and are therefore recorded several times, it is not possible to derive a reliable total tonnage for all substances of concern or of very high concern introduced into the downstream value chain.