Do we like them?

Do we like BASF?

World's largest chemical company: chemicals, materials, coatings, agricultural solutions. Based in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Our score: 5 out of 10. Mixed. It's a huge industrial firm with a long record of fines and pollution cases, and it has public climate targets. Its emissions are due to rise in 2026, and it lobbies to ease carbon costs.

BASF is the German chemical giant from Ludwigshafen. Markus Kamieth took over as CEO in 2024, and he also heads the European chemical association Cefic. He started under heavy pressure from weak markets and has pushed a new strategy.

The past is messy. BASF was part of the 1990s vitamin cartel and paid out in the US, Canada and the EU. Its US catalyst unit settled asbestos-talc claims in 2020 without admitting wrongdoing. It also faced a Brazil contamination case with Shell.

On climate, BASF aims to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions 25% by 2030 against 2018, and to reach net zero by 2050. But it projects 2026 CO2 of 17.2–18.2 million tonnes, higher than the year before, because of its new Zhanjiang site in China.

Kamieth has urged the EU to reform its emissions trading system quickly to limit industry costs. That is a fair business worry, but it is also lobbying against carbon pricing. We score it 5: it has real targets and a messy track record.