BASF's environmental efforts recognized

BASF has again been included in the prestigious Climate Leadership Index of companies that address the challenges of climate change and reducing greenhouse gases. The index is produced by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an international coalition of institutional investors. The companies in the Climate Leadership Index were honored at a ceremony in Frankfurt. “BASF's re-inclusion in the Climate Leadership Index encourages us in our efforts in the field of climate protection," said Ernst Schwanhold, head of the company's competence center Environment, Safety & Energy. “In the coming years, BASF plans to significantly increase its expenditures for energy efficiency and climate protection. We are continuously developing new products and processes to increase energy efficiency at BASF and for our customers. In addition, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases has been one of our global corporate goals since 2002." In the period from 2006 to 2008, BASF plans to spend €1.2 billion on resource conservation.This corresponds to approximately one-third of the company's total research and development expenditures. The CDP, which is headquartered in London, is an international initiative by 225 banks, insurance companies and pension funds that manage assets of more than $31 trillion. “The global investment community is keenly aware of the risks associated with climate change and hope that corporations such as BASF provide a solid example for others in its peer group to follow," said CDP coordinator Paul Dickinson. The Climate Leadership Index is comprised of 50 of FT500 companies. The goal is to include the opportunities and risks of climate protection in stock analyses. Criteria include a sustainable contribution to climate protection, as well as plausible and transparent management of climate policy issues. At the beginning of September 2006, BASF was again honored for its performance in the area of environmental protection and sustainability and was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the sixth year in succession. The DJSI World is the most important sustainability index and represents the top 10 % of the largest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Index in terms of their economic, environmental and social performance in their respective industries.