The Impaakt Team
7 min Read Time | October 15th 2021
Welcome to the article of the week, highlighting the environmental and social impact of a company through a recently published article on the Impaakt platform. Every article measures how sustainable a business really is, ultimately looking at their core impact.
The winner this week is:
Written by: Jennifer Tapia Boada
Company: BASF
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Read the full article below.
Chemicals are used in every product and play a crucial role in making people’s life better1 by making homes more comfortable, keeping food fresh, and improving hygiene2;ss0:15-0:48. Chemicals can also protect crops, prevent diseases1, be used to make smartphones, textiles, and products found in factories, farms, and hospitals (such as pipes, fertilizers, medical equipment)3. For instance, ethylene is crucial for producing plastics, dyes, and synthetic rubber4, while propylene is vital for processing industries5. Plasticizers are used for producing bendable and durable PVC (e.g. toys and medical devices)15.
BASF is the world’s largest chemical company with ≈USD67.5bn in sales in 20206. It runs six segments7: The Chemical segment, offering Petrochemicals (acrylic monomers, styrenics, plasticizers, etc.8) and Intermediates (butanediol, amines, polyalcohols, etc.9) makes $9.46bn in sales/year (14% of BASF’S sales)10. The segment’s largest sales come from Europe but reach markets across all regions8 9.
With 67% of Chemical sales ($6.36bn)10 and holding global leader positions8, the Petrochemicals division provides a variety of everyday fossil fuel-based cracker products such as ethylene and propylene5. In 2018, BASF expanded its ethylene capacity to ≈1M tonnes/year in China: the world's top chemicals consumer11. By 2019, BASF reached an annual capacity of 1.2M tonnes in Europe (400k+845k)12. At the world's largest steam cracker in TX (US), BASF produces ≈920k tonnes of ethylene and 550k tonnes of propylene/year13.
Further, BASF’s plasticizers help make numerous products flexible and last longer14. The division is No 3 European leader in the plasticizers market8. BASF’s non-phthalate plasticizers, for instance, are used for products that come into close contact with humans such as toys15, with an annual capacity of ≈200k tonnes16.
BASF is a global leading provider of a variety of chemicals that make possible the massive production of useful everyday items for society.
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