Aug 17 2013
BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, marked its 50th Anniversary in the Philippines today. To celebrate this special occasion, BASF showcased its innovations as the key drivers of growth and value creation in the future at the dinner reception for its business partners and employees held at The Tent of Enderun Colleges in Taguig City. During the event, BASF presented in four innovation booths its strength in providing customized solutions that address critical trends and issues in the Philippines.
“Sustainability is at the core of BASF’s purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. The earth’s resources are limited, so the growing world population and its rising expectations are and will continue to be a global challenge. Innovations from chemistry play an important role in ensuring a sustainable future. As the Chemical Company, BASF is in a great position to meet the needs of society: Our broad technology portfolio, market access, resources and expertise contribute to a sustainable future,” said Dean Draper, Managing Director for ASEAN Sub-region, BASF South East Asia Pte. Ltd.
“In the Philippines, we see pressing needs for better housing, food security, clean water and an affordable energy source. Innovation is the key to address these challenges. With strong global R&D capabilities, we at BASF innovate to help our customers to become more successful and in turn improving the quality of life,” added Flor Pan, Managing Director of BASF Philippines, Inc.
Innovations for a sustainable future
In the four innovation booths, BASF demonstrated solutions to address the needs of society:
Food and agriculture
From the farm to the dining table, BASF strives to address challenges on food security and nutritional sufficiency by introducing new technologies, broadening farmer education, increasing investments in production capacity and R&D as well as collaborating with food value chain partners. With BASF’s AgCelence® products, farmers can expect higher yield, improved marketable quality, better stress tolerance and increased production efficiency.
With the need to fill billions of bowls each day, BASF continues to work hard on creating ingredients and solutions to improve nourishment and counteract vitamin deficiency. BASF has taken steps to add vitamin A to staple foods such as flour, sugar and cooking oil.
Construction
BASF develops solutions to make processes faster with easy-to-apply and robust products such as MasterSeal® Waterproofing Systems and Ucrete® Industrial Flooring Systems. Durability, service life of buildings and eco-efficiency are the main drivers for BASF’s innovations. BASF transforms markets with innovative technologies, catering even to the “base of the pyramid” segment. It breaks misconceptions that cheap products are necessary to penetrate mass housing projects. The use of BASF products allow for greater speed of construction while ensuring durability of building structures.
Water and energy
Oil is the basis for nearly all chemical products, but oil will become increasingly scarce in the coming decades, leading to further price hikes. Therefore, experts at BASF continue to research for sustainable processes for using alternative raw materials. BASF supports the development of renewable energy by boosting wind turbines’ efficiency and reliability, with its high-performance epoxy systems, lubricant technology and cooling systems for the wind industry.
Combining a broad set of process chemicals, equipment as well as membrane materials, BASF helps its customers to implement solutions for water recycling and reuse, water savings and water treatment.
Packaging
BASF advocates the need for waste reduction and consumer education on proper solid waste disposal through segregation of waste and recycling. To this end, BASF has introduced the multi-purpose plastic ecovio®. Thanks to its biodegradable and compostable nature, it can be widely applied to a variety of uses, such as the production of mulch films, coated paper, trays, cups and injection moldings.
Partnering with society
Besides offering effective products and solutions for a sustainable future, BASF is also dedicated to making a positive contribution to social development in the country. A number of stakeholder engagement activities have been carried out by BASF for the past years: BASF’s signature program, Kids’ Lab is focused on educating the youth about the crucial role of chemistry in building a sustainable future. It provides hands-on experience for students to learn and appreciate science and chemistry through fun-filled experiments. With BASF’s WASH project (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), students of Paciano Rizal Elementary School in Bay, Laguna, now have access to safe and clean toilets, reducing the risks of health problems. The company adopted a room at the U.P. Institute of Chemistry to support the university’s vision of providing a center of excellence in chemistry and chemical education. BASF has partnered with UN-HABITAT to provide houses for families displaced by typhoons. BASF has also introduced the 50K@10 initiative that aims to plant 50,000 indigenous trees over a period of ten years aligning with the company’s commitment to restore, conserve and preserve the environment. And together with Cargill and the German Agency for International Cooperation, BASF launched this year a program to develop a certified coconut oil supply chain to enhance sustainability and improve the livelihood of coconut farmers.
“Fostering education, science development, social projects and environmental protection will continue to be a core part of our strategy here in the Philippines,” said Flor Pan, Managing Director of BASF Philippines, Inc.
Source: http://www.asiapacific.basf.com/