BASF Report 2021 Management’s Report – We Value People and Treat Them with Respect 104 Responsibility for Human Rights rights are integrated into supplier assessment processes and our practical implementation of human rights due diligence in GRI 102, 103, 406, 410, 411, 412, 413 global monitoring systems for environmental protection, safety and 10 companies” commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for SUPPLIERS BASF CUSTOMERS security, health protection and product stewardship. They are also Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German part of the evaluation of investment, acquisition and divestiture Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). BASF acknowledges its responsibility to respect inter na- projects, assessments along the entire product life cycle, and sys- tion ally recognized human rights. For many years now, we tems to monitor labor and social standards. In addition, aspects of We strengthened awareness of our due diligence obligations in have engaged in constructive dialog on human rights with human rights topics are part of the global qualification r equirements procurement by including additional information on human rights other companies, nongovernmental organizations, inter na- for our security personnel and are incorporated into agreements topics in training. In addition, the human rights risk assessment is tional organizations and multi-stakeholder initiatives to bet- with contractors. more systematically incorporated into strategy development in our ter understand different perspectives and address conflict- procurement segments (see page 109). ing goals. BASF is a founding member of the U.N. Global Our compliance unit is responsible for steering human rights top- Compact and a member of the Global Business Initiative ics and coordinates the work of the cross-unit Human Rights Expert We also further improved our grievance mechanisms and intro- on Human Rights (GBI), a group of globally operating com- Working Group, which we established in 2020. In it, employees from duced a standardized global external and internal hotline and panies from various sectors. The initiative aims to ensure specialist units – procurement, legal, HR, environmental protection, reporting system in 2021. For example, we expanded the number of implementation of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business health and safety, sustainability strategy, site security, supply chain, languages available. A new website provides information about the and Human Rights. communications and government relations – and the operating divi- hotline and the grievance procedure, and now also offers the option sions work closely together. The expert working group provides of contacting the company anonymously online in addition to local At a glance support and advice in challenging and critical situations, on the telephone numbers. Employees can also contact specialists directly development of internal processes, and on the creation of informa- via an internal online platform or the corresponding app. The pro- ▪ Human rights due diligence as a Group-wide task tion and training offerings, among other things. This is how we cessing status of a submitted report can be tracked anonymously. ▪ Systematic and extensive anchoring of human rights topics in ensure that we approach our human rights responsibility holistically Moreover, submitted cases will be able to be recorded and evalu- company processes and culture and that we can continually improve our performance. ated more systematically in the future (see page 171 onward). In 2021, 206 human rights-related complaints were received by phone In 2020, we conducted a comprehensive review of our human as well as by post and e-mail. All complaints were reviewed and We see human rights due diligence as an important, all-encom- rights management system and the related processes. This forwarded to the relevant departments for in-depth investigation. If passing task that we can only perform by working together as showed that we have achieved important milestones regarding justified, appropriate measures were taken. a team throughout the entire organization. That is why we have our due diligence obligations. However, the analysis, which was embedded our responsibility for human rights into our Code of discussed by the Board of Executive Directors, also identified poten- We see assuming our human rights responsibilities as a continuous Conduct and set this out in our human rights position. We uphold tial for improvement, for example with regard to awareness of human process. That is why we continuously review our policies and pro- our standards worldwide, including where they exceed local legal rights topics within our organization and relating to the integration of cesses and update them whenever necessary. We are currently require ments. All employees and leaders are responsible for ensur- these topics in our guidelines and processes. examining further development measures in various working groups ing that we act in accordance with our Code of Conduct and our against the backdrop of new regulations such as the German Act on human rights position. We therefore launched a global, internal campaign in April 2021 to Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG) and raise awareness on the topic of human rights. Externally, we were the forthcoming E.U. legislation on due diligence in the supply chain. We rely on a systematic, integrated, risk-based approach and involved in the U.N.’s International Year for the Elimination of Child established monitoring and management systems. BASF is Labour through two initiatives and together with other partners, We established a Human Rights Advisory Council in 2020 to also active in initiatives such as Together for Sustainability (TfS) and and committed to specific joint measures in the fight against child systematically integrate external expertise. Its members include Responsible Care®, which promote sustainability in the supply chain. - labor. Together with other DAX-listed companies, we also partici independent international human rights experts. The trust-based Our measures and criteria for monitoring and observing human pated in the study “Moving with responsibility toward success: dialog on human rights topics helps us to better understand different