We create chemistry for a sustainable future

The world’s population and its needs will continue to grow while the planet’s natural resources are limited. Sustainable development, which aims to harmonise economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, is therefore a key element of our future. Awareness, as a breakthrough factor in this area, is growing on a daily basis. It is therefore important to maintain an open dialogue with our business partners and with all other stakeholders. The mission of BASF is to create chemical products for sustainable development by delivering innovative solutions, providing people with a better quality of life while minimising environmental impact.

At BASF, we support environmental, economic and cultural development in our social responsibility projects, in parallel with the company’s activities. Promoting the personal development, productivity and creativity of individuals enables them to be concerned about the environment and to contribute to society. Therefore, BASF places education at the core of its social responsibility projects.

At BASF Poland, we have long been engaged in activities aimed at promoting chemistry and the opportunities for a sustainable future that this branch of science creates.  For the last ten years, as a partner of the chemical laboratory at the Copernicus Science Centre, we have been involving children, young people and adults in discovering the secrets of chemistry. Our employees develop the laboratory’s programme together with the Centre so that the experiments are substantive and interesting. Another long-term educational initiative, which is particularly important in times of pandemic, is BASF Polska’s ‘Chemiatomy’ profile on Facebook. Through ‘Chemiatomy’, BASF Polska provides continuous access to chemical curiosities and the most interesting news from the world of chemistry.

As part of its educational projects, BASF Polska also works with universities, and this is definitely an area that we plan to continue to develop in 2021. A combination of science and business, the exchange of experiences and R & D projects is necessary for companies from the chemical industry to create innovations that are needed in sustainable development. ‘Technological business management’ is a series of lectures conducted by BASF representatives at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Warsaw University of Technology that provides knowledge and information in various fields, such as industrial chemistry, company management, PR and sustainable development. In recent years, dozens of students have enrolled on the programme every semester. Through the lectures, young people have an opportunity to get to know the chemical business from the inside.

To support education, BASF Polska created the original BASF Agro Ambassadors programme, intended for students at agricultural universities. This long-term project is aimed at building a lasting partnership in student education between business and the academic community.  The aim of the programme is to promote knowledge about innovation, the safe use of crop protection products and sustainable agriculture.  

Environmental initiatives are included in the company’s strategy and we treat them as an obvious part of our business. If we are talking about BASF innovations for a sustainable future, we should definitely mention the ones that are already available on the Polish market, but also the global ones. Thanks to the catalysts manufactured in our plant in Środa Śląska, new cars meet the increasingly stringent exhaust emissions standards, which helps in the fight against smog. It is worth emphasising that these catalysts can reduce the emissions of pollutants by up to 99%. Furthermore, Ecovio®, a certified compostable polymer with organic elements, can be used in the manufacture of agricultural film, waste bags or coating disposable cups. The future in Poland, and even the present in certain European markets, is the BASF ChemCycling™ project, in which plastic waste is recycled and introduced as a raw material at the beginning of the value chain.

These are just some examples of the company’s activities, but they offer an excellent illustration of the direction in which BASF and many other companies in the industrial sector are heading. This is exactly what responsible business means to us – responding with innovative products to climate and environmental problems and to offer reliable education in this area.

Author:

Katarzyna Kowalewska, CSR and public relations specialist at BASF Polska

Last Updated on March 3, 2021 by Karolina Ampulska