Background
BASF SE is one of the worldโs largest chemical companies. BASF Agricultural Solutions is a division of BASF, representing around 13 percent of the Germany-based parent companyโs $67 billion in overall sales in 2019.1โBASF Report 2019 โ Economic, Environmental and Social Performance,โ BASF. Archived Sept. 24, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
BASFโs overall sales in 2021 were approximately $78.6 million.2โBASF Report 2021,โ BASF. Archived Jan. 18, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IHIjY. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. BASF has seen rising profits in 2022, in part due to its majority ownership of fossil fuel company Wintershall.3โBASF profits rise despite looming gas crisis,โ Expatica, July 11, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/44zTC Wintershall is said to be โearning record sums from Russian gas,โ as well as sales in other countries due to rising energy prices.4Von Herbert Kordes, Petra Blum, Jan Schmitt und Frank Konopatzki, WDR. โPutins langer Arm nach Deutschland?,” Tagasschau, July 28, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, BASF was the largest beneficiary of the Bank of Englandโs emergency loan program, borrowing ยฃ1 billion.5Richard Partington. โChemicals Firm BASF Biggest Beneficiary of UK Coronavirus Loan Scheme,โ The Guardian, June 4, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/ibTBd
BASF AG is the third largest of the big five pesticide firms, the other four of which are Bayer, Syngenta, DowDuPont, and FMC Corporation. BASF AGโs sales are heavily concentrated in North America, followed by Europe, the combined South America-Africa-Middle East markets, and Asia Pacific.6โPesticides: Competitive Analysis & Leadership Report 2018 โ Bayer Ranks Number One, Followed by Syngenta, BASF, DowDuPont, and FMC Corporation,โ PR Newswire, February 3, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/3PDoU
According to 2022 research by InfluenceMap, BASF is the third most โnegativeโ and โinfluentialโ corporation globally when it comes to lobbying on climate policy. The findings reflect BASFโs โintense policy engagement, including widely supporting expanded oil and fossil gas production.โ7โCorporate Climate Policy Footprint: The 25 Most Influential Companies Blocking Climate Policy Action Globally,โ InfluenceMap, November 2022. Archived November 15, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Stance on Climate Change
On its website, BASF claims that it works โcontinuously to further reduce emissions from our production.โ The firm claims a goal of reducing emissions โ25โฏpercent by 2030 compared with 2018โ while increasing production levels.8โOur Climate Protection Goal,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/0io8H
The company also supports the Paris Agreement and, according to its web pages on sustainability, has been a member of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which โcalls for more corporate engagement to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.โ9โBASF Advocates Globally For More Climate Protection,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020, Archive URL: https://archive.fo/xFzuT
BASF lists examples of its โclimate protectionโ products. Under agriculture, the company says it uses a nitrification inhibitor which โensures that the ammonium contained in fertilizers is metabolized more slowly by bacteria in the soil, thus resulting in a reduction in nitrous oxide.โ BASF also claims to support wind power.10โOur Solutions: Products For Climate Protection,โ BASF. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/1aOSF
Reacting to the Paris Agreement in 2015, Brigitta Huckestein, BASFโs senior manager of energy and climate policy, said, โWe support the United Nationsโ goals for achieving a global, long-term and reliable agreement to reduce emissions — preferably with an internationally binding price for CO2.โ11โExecutives From BASF & Others React to Paris Conference,โ SBC Magazine, December 15, 2015. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/uYNkN
In a 2019 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) disclosure, BASF described itself as a company that creates โchemistry for a sustainable future,โ writing that โwe combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility.โ12โCDP Disclosure โ 2019,โ BASF. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The company went on to disclose that from 2019 onwards it has pursued a new goal: โCO2-neutral growth until 2030.โ CDP recognized BASF as a โglobal leader in corporate climate action and water security,โ awarding the company an A rating in the 2018 Climate Change List.13Martin Menachery. โCDP Recognises BASF As Global Leader in Corporate Climate Action and Water Security,โ Refining & Petrochemicals, January 24, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/GAyf3
In February 2020, BASF became the first โCarbon Literate Organizationโ in the UK chemical sector, after working with the Carbon Literacy Project to develop an โaccredited, company-specific course which allows participants to be certified as โCarbon Literateโ.โ14Tony Heslop. โBASF in the UK Accredited as Carbon Literate,โ Carbon Literacy, February 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/lRNPO
U.S.-based nonprofit the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in 2019 described BASF as one of โa number of leading companiesโ that has reversed the trend of American businesses staying silent on climate policy, using its โinfluence to build momentum for Congressional action on climate change.โ15Tom Murray. โThe Businesses That Are โ And Are Not โ Leading on Climate Change,โ Environmental Defense Fund, November 9, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/mBJL9
But a 2017 report by Influence Map, tracking 50 large corporations most influential in shaping climate policy globally, found that 35 of the firms were actively lobbying against climate policy. BASF was listed as the sixth worst in terms of โincreasing opposition to Paris Aligned Climate Policy.โ The company sat alongside other environmentally destructive and anti-climate policy corporations including Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Dow Chemical.16โCorporate Carbon Policy Footprint,โ InfluenceMap, September 2017. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
A 2011 Greenpeace report titled โWhoโs holding us back? How carbon-intensive industry is preventing effective climate legislation,โ likewise revealed how โmajor polluting corporationsโ like BASF, Shell, Eksom, and Koch Industries were โinfluencing governments and the political process on climate legislation.โ The report also noted that during the 2010 U.S. elections, โBASF strategically donated US$61,500 US dollars to ‘Senatorial candidates who have been outspoken in their opposition to comprehensive climate policy in the U.S., and candidates who actively deny the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is caused by people.’โ17โWhoโs Holding Us Back?,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
In 2007, then-BASF CEO Jurgen Hambrecht said in an interview for Der Spiegel that he had โa problem with the term โclimate changeโ,โ adding that it was โladen with fearโ and that the climate โhas always changed.โ18Kate Sheppard. โBASF CEO Questions Whether Climate Change is a Problem,โ Grist, June 28, 2007. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/NSWKl
Regarding solutions within the agriculture sector that could help the industry adapt to climate change, BASF CEO Martin Brudermรผller told Politico Europe in a sponsored piece that โinnovative seed breeding is needed to develop crops that are resilient to climate changeโ and that achieving sustainable farming would only be possible if โpolicymaking and regulatory requirements support the necessary levels of investmentโ to โincrease innovation in biological and chemical plant protection products with more sustainable profiles.โ19Martin Brudermรผller, โSuccess of the EU Green Deal will depend on tech,โ Politico Europe, November 16, 2020. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5jrsY
In response to a question about whether EU policies with climate implications for the agriculture sector, including the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy, would threaten BASFโs crop protection business, Brudermรผller said that the groups want to help transform European agriculture using innovation by โactively reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting biodiversity and minimizing the use of natural resourcesโ but added that the success of those goals would depend on โrealistic targets that are based on scientific evidence.โ20Martin Brudermรผller, โSuccess of the EU Green Deal will depend on tech,โ Politico Europe, November 16, 2020. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5jrsY
Majority ownership of oil and gas company linked to Russian operations
BASF holds 67 percent of shares in oil and gas company Wintershall Dea AG, according to BASFโs 2021 Annual Report.21โ10. Investments Accounted for Using the Equity Method and Other Financial Assets – Annual Report 2021,โ BASF. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/Pitx9 In 2020, Wintershall derived roughly a fifth of its pre-tax profit from operations in Russia, according to the Financial Times.22Joe Miller. โWintershall Dea to receive no Russian revenues until sanctions lifted,โ Financial Times, March 2, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aeTNj
Wintershall is a joint venture with LetterOne, a global investment company.23โ10. Investments Accounted for Using the Equity Method and Other Financial Assets – Annual Report 2021,โ BASF. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/Pitx9 Co-Founders of LetterOne, Mikail Fridman and German Khan, were sanctioned by the UK and the EU following Russiaโs February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.24Ludwig Burger and Thomas Escritt, โSanctioned Russian oligarch steps down from board of BASF’s oil joint venture,โ Reuters, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/N5zgJ 25โConsolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK,โ Gov.uk, July 26, 2022. Archived August 2, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 26โFourth package of sanctions in view of Russiaโs military aggression against Ukraine: 15 additional individuals and 9 entities subject to EU restrictive measures,โ European Council, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WNuB
The EU Sanctions report stated that Khan, who resigned his board positions at LetterOne and Wintershall after being sanctioned, is โbelieved to be one of the most influential persons in Russia,โ and that he โcontinues to trade significant favorsโ and maintain a โclose relationshipโ with Russian president Vladimir Putin.27โCOUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2022/429 of 15 March 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,โ Official Journal of the European Union, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 28โChange in the Supervisory Board of Wintershall Dea AG,โ Wintershall Dea, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SPTY7 29Rupert Neate. โThree more Russian billionaires resign from LetterOne board,โ March 7, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1CoWE
In March 2022, Wintershall announced that it was stopping all payments in and out of Russia with โimmediate effect,โ which Financial Times described as โone of the largest corporate casualties of the invasion of Ukraine so far.โ30Joe Miller. โWintershall Dea to receive no Russian revenues until sanctions lifted,โ Financial Times, March 2, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aeTNj
In July 2022, German news program Tagesschau published an article stating that โenergy producer Wintershall Dea is currently earning record sums from Russian gas.โ The article suggested that Wintershallโs profits were helping to โfill Russiaโs war chestโ at a time when German industry was โsounding the alarmโ on threats to German gas supply due to the war, โwith the chemical giant BASF leading the way.โ31Von Herbert Kordes, Petra Blum, Jan Schmitt und Frank Konopatzki, WDR. โPutins langer Arm nach Deutschland?,โ Tagesschau, July 28, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The article stated:
โCritics see the company from Kassel [Wintershall] as a lobbyist for the Russian energy giant Gazprom. โฆ Internal documents belonging to the ARD magazine monitor available show how Gazprom has tried to use Wintershall to pursue its interests: โWintershall is our biggest supporter in Europeโ, it says there. Gazprom expects the cooperation to result in โa stronger lobbyโ in Germany and โbetter protection against sanctionsโ for Russia.โ
Wintershall stated that it did not know of such a communication strategy, and that its own communication strategy was never shaped by Gazprom.
BASF has indicated that it wishes to sell its stake in Wintershall. In January 2022, Reuters reported that BASF was hoping to sell its stake on the stock market.32โBASF presses for Wintershall Dea IPO in dispute with co-owner,โ Reuters, January 31, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0ZFSS In May 2022, Bloomberg reported that BASF was โexploring a plan to offload energy assets in Russia belonging to its Wintershall Dea AG unit to its Russian billionaire joint venture partner.โ33William Wilkes, Laura Hurst, and Eyk Henning. โBASF Studies Splitting Wintershall Into Russia, Other Assets,โ Bloomberg, May 3, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4IKBw
Digital and precision agriculture
BASF promotes precision agriculture strategies, which proponents say will allow farms to use high-tech gear to increase their resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.34โPrecision Agriculture in the Digital Era,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/BvupE On its website, BASF describes some of the activities involved in precision agriculture and compares its technical complexity to drilling for oil.35โPrecision Farming: Farming with maps, GPS and mobile devices,โ BASF. Archived April 11, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vBxwe
BASF has promoted precision farming in the context of the EU Farm to Fork deal. In a 2022 BASF press release published by Danish website Via Ritzau, BASF Nordicโs head of agricultural services stated:36BASF A/S. โNye digitale redskaber kan minimere brug af plantevรฆrn og gรธdning, men mere end hver tredje landmand er ikke i gang,โ Via Ritzau, August 31, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
โIn light of the EU’s Farm to fork strategy, where farmers must reduce the use of plant protection by 50% by 2024, it is thought-provoking that so many farmers do not use precision technology today. Precision technology makes it possible to treat the soil with exactly what it needs, and this typically means spraying and fertilizing less. …the technology will also make it possible to introduce CO2 improvements where it makes sense.โ
Speaking at a forum on climate change and agriculture, Luke Bozeman, BASFโs director of North American crop protection, said that agriculture will need to change as the climate changes, referring to precision agriculture and digitization. โWhat weโre going to see is a lot more collaborations to share the costs and the risks of investing in some innovations for future potential changes,โ he said.37John Hart. โAg Must Adapt to Climate,โ South East Farm Press, March 10, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/IcFlN
In early 2020, BASF announced an increased sales projection for its agricultural innovation products to more than โฌ7.5 billion. The firm declared that by 2029, it would launch over 30 key projects in line with its agricultural strategy.38โBASFโs New Focused Approach Boosts Agricultural Innovation Pipeline by 25%,โ Seed World, February 28, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Tndo4
In September 2020, BASF sponsored an article in Crop Production Magazine that promoted the transition towards regenerative agriculture as a path that โcan take us to net zero without any loss in productivity.โ39Tom Allen-Stevens. โClimate Change Champions โ Each Plant is Important,โ Crop Production Magazine, September 7, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/lPNL9
On a webpage titled โThe future farm,โ BASF wrote that โwater stress, rocketing energy and production costs will drive innovation solutions,โ claiming that farming in the future will โdemand better soilโ and โmore advanced crop protection solutions.โ40โThe Future Farm,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/vEXKn
In 2019, BASF Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director Geoff Mackey spoke on an Innovation Forum podcast about the importance of precision agriculture now and in the future. โWe need to look at the benefits of having technology and bringing innovation,โ he said, adding that โI think drone technology is a very interesting and developing area.โ When asked about the future of precision agriculture, Mackey said, โPerhaps I could talk about the use of drone technology applying products, planting, harvest without the use of human feet. Perhaps we set technology loose and actually control it from a different view.โ41โBASF on Why Precision Agriculture is the Future,โ Innovation Forum, February 20, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/scuaQ
In a Friends of the Earth report which looked at whether digital farming can address the causes of agricultureโs environmental impacts, BASF was mentioned as among the โBig Fourโ agrochemical giants that want to โmaintain their market share.โ42Mute Schimpf. โDigital Farming,โ Friends of the Earth Europe, February 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The report referenced a separate report by the Konkurrenz Group stating that the agricultural race โwill be to increase the farmersโ dependence on the Big Fourโs digital platforms, where based on the data collected, farmers will rely more (rather than less) on the Big Fourโs traits, seeds and pesticides for their increasingly automated precision farming.โ43โAn Updated Antitrust Review of the Bayer-Monsanto Merger,โ The Konkurrenz Group, March 6, 2018. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Read more: Digital and Precision Agriculture โ Criticisms and Concerns
Role in Pesticides Controversy
Roughly a third of BASF AGโs 2019 sales were herbicides, 30 percent fungicides, and 10 percent insecticides. The remaining 27 percent were other agricultural products such as seeds.44โBASF Report 2019 โ Economic, Environmental and Social Performance,โ BASF. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
A February 2020 investigation by Greenpeaceโs Unearthed journalism project found that โclose to half (41 percent) of the leading products of the agrochemical giants BASF, Bayer, Corteva, FMC and Syngenta contained at least oneโ highly-hazardous pesticide.โ This included glufosinate, a chemical manufactured by BASF that can impair fertility and harm human fetuses.45Crispin Dowler. โRevealed: The pesticide giants making billions on toxic and bee-harming chemicals,โ Unearthed, February 2, 2020. Archived August 20, 2020. Archive URL: http://archive.fo/lPZS5
BASF has been the target of lawsuits alleging that BASF and Bayer knew that their dicamba pesticides would spread from farms where they were sprayed, but predicted that other farmers would then be driven to buy dicamba-resistant seeds โ allegations that the company has denied.46Jef Feeley, Tim Bross, Bloomberg. โBayer Is Facing A New Wave of Herbicide Lawsuits โ And This Time Itโs Not Over Monsantoโs Roundup,โ Fortune, February 17, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/l3erd โA federal jury determined that German agribusiness giants Bayer and BASF will have to pay US$250 million in punitive damages to Bader Farms, the largest peach farm in Missouri, for damage caused by their dicamba-related products,โ Investigate Midwest reported in February 2020.47Johnathan Hettinger. โJury Orders Monsanto, BASF To Pay Peach Farmer $250 Million in Punitive Damages,โ Investigate Midwest, February 15, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Xlvaa โBader Farms is among thousands of farms, comprising millions of acres of crops, that have alleged dicamba damage since 2015,โ the story said.48Virginia Gewin. โBeyond Damaging Crops, Dicamba is Dividing Communities,โ Civil Eats, November 8, 2018. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/Hdy07
A 2020 investigation by the Guardian revealed that BASF and fellow agriculture giant Monsanto โwere aware for years that their plan to introduce a new agricultural seed and chemical system would probably lead to damage on many U.S. farms,โ with some internal emails showing BASF and Monsanto employees joking about hoping to stay โout of jail.โ49Carey Gillam. โRevealed: Monsanto predicted crop system would damage US farms,โ The Guardian, March 30, 2020. Archived November 10, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/bJx9C
Lobbying against EU Farm to Fork
BASF has lobbied against targets to halve pesticide use in Europe included in the EUโs Farm to Fork strategy.
In response to the announcement of the Farm to Fork strategy, BASF published a document titled โFeedback on the Farm to Fork Roadmap Strategyโ on its website. The document stated that BASF supported the European Green Deal and the โambitious and holistic approachโ of the Farm to Fork strategy, and that โplant sciences, agricultural technologies, including Climate Smart Agriculture as well as innovative animal feed additives have an important role to play in meeting these objectives.โ50โBASF โ Feedback on the Farm to Fork Strategy Roadmap,โ BASF. Archived December 5, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The document also stated that BASF โacknowledge[d] the Commissionโs objective to reduce both risk and use of pesticides based on societal concerns and demands,โ but argued that โresearch in plant science has enabled production of safe and sustainable food, increased yields, reduced food loss, and extended the shelf life of agricultural products,โ and suggested that โadvancesโ in pesticide technologies have โreduced application volumes by 95%โ while โreducing naturally occurring health risks, such as carcinogenic mycotoxins in food.โ
However, pesticide use in Europe was largely โstableโ between 2011 and 2020, according to Pesticide Action Network,51โPesticide Use in Europe,โ Pesticide Action Network Europe. Archived December 5, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wtLZL and worldwide use of pesticides has increased by 80 percent since 1990, according to Friends of the Earth Europe.โ52Heinrich-Bรถll-Stiftung, Friends of the Earth Europe and Pesticide Action Network Europe. โEurope must slash pesticide use to protect peopleโs and planetโs health,โ EU Boell, October 18, 2022. Archived December 5, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/roWJV
BASFโs response to Farm to Fork also argued that โmoving to 100% organic farming would result in an increase of greenhouse gas emissionsโ if the total area of land used for agricultural production โhad to be increased to compensate for reduced productivityโ that could result if pesticide use was reduced.53โBASF โ Feedback on the Farm to Fork Strategy Roadmap,โ BASF. Archived December 5, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The document also claimed that โfor every kilogram of CO2 equivalent invested in the manufacture and use of plant protection products [pesticides and herbicides], at least 10 kilograms of the gas is removed from the atmosphere thanks to [crop] yield increase.โ
While the EU has set targets to increase the amount of organically farmed land in the EU to 25 percent by 2030, it currently has no targets to transition to 100 percent organic agriculture.54โBASF โ Feedback on the Farm to Fork Strategy Roadmap,โ BASF. Archived December 5, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2022
In March 2022, Livio Tedeschi โ BASFโs senior vice president of agricultural solutions for Europe, Africa, Middle East, and CIS countries โ wrote a sponsored article for Brussels Times which questioned the first steps of the Farm to Fork strategy and European Green Deal (which includes the EUโs Biodiversity strategy), writing: โare they going in the right direction to bring the vision into reality?โ55Livio Tedeschi. โFarm to Fork โ setting the right policy direction in times of change,โ Brussels Times, March 6, 2022. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GsSuw
Tedeschi added:
โVarious impact assessments on the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies have shown that the implementation of reduction targets alone without alternative solutions such as the introduction of innovative technologies would have detrimental effects on productivity and competitiveness of the whole agri-food system in Europe. Moreover, the war in Ukraine has made us painfully aware that food security and safe supply chains cannot be taken for granted.โ
Of seven impact assessments on the European Green Deal, five have been funded by the industry, including one by CropLife Europe, of which BASF is a member.56โA loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industryโs lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3 Academics,57Alice Poiron. โWhy Attacks Against the EU Farm to Fork Strategy Completely Miss the Point,โ Slow Food, February 9, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hwUqD. campaigners, and the European Commission itself58โGreen Deal targets for 2030 and agricultural production studies โ Fact Sheet,โ European Commission, February 2022. Archived August 4, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. point out that the studies are โincomplete and partial,โ fail to fully account for positive impacts that could result from more sustainable food production, and do not consider what will happen if no action is taken to avoid climate breakdown and biodiversity loss that could lead to a global crisis in food production.59โA loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industryโs lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
Tedeschi also argued that policies to support sustainable food production should โshift the focus from [agrochemical] reduction to innovation,โ writing: โLooking back at the two years, we see some initial steps in the right direction, however the main focus of the Farm to Fork strategy and its first implementation measures is still more on reduction targets than on new technologies. I believe that producing enough food sustainably cannot be achieved by simply reducing the solutions available to farmers.โ60Livio Tedeschi. โFarm to Fork โ setting the right policy direction in times of change,โ Brussels Times, March 6, 2022. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GsSuw
In March 2022, corporate watchdog group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) released a report that stated BASF was one of the pesticide companies involved in โa counter-lobby of huge proportionsโ against the EU Farm to Fork strategy.61โA loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industryโs lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
The report questioned whether the industry was โco-optingโ Integrated Pest Management (IPM, an integrated system for managing pests, diseases, and weeds favored by the EU) โas a route for agri-industry false solutions.โ Corporate Europe Observatory wrote: โIn a lobby meeting of CropLife Europe (attended by BASF, Corteva, Bayer, and Syngenta) with the Commission, the option was even raised that EU member states would approve IPM crop-specific guidelines designed by industry.โ CEO commented that โit would be a recipe-for-failure if vested pesticide interests were allowed to draft any IPM guidelines.โ
BASF and others have also lobbied on the 2022 revision of the EUโs Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (SUD), which was reviewed in order to align it with Farm to Fork targets.
In BASFโs response to the public consultation on the revision, it indicated that it โstrongly disagreedโ with the a statement in the consultation that read: โIt is necessary to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in the EU.โ62โContributions: Pesticides โ sustainable use (updated EU rules)โ, European Commission, January 18, 2021 โ April 12, 2021. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .csv on file at DeSmog.
According to Corporate Europe Observatory, representatives from Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, and Corteva spoke at the March 2022 CropLife Europe Conference.63โA loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industryโs lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3 The event, which was scheduled in the run-up to the European Commission’s expected publication of its proposal for the revised SUD, involved high-level commission officials and covered topics including the SUD revision, the target to reduce pesticide use by 50 percent, and standards and trade policies pertaining to pesticides.
2021
In an interview published ahead of the 2021 World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, an annual conference for the โglobal agtech industry,โ64โAbout Us,โ World Agri-Tech Summit. Archived January 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/x6Izf Tedeschi stated: โCurrently, the Farm to Fork strategy focuses more on reduction targets than on new technologies. For BASF, innovation is the foundation of sustainable transformation.โ65โInterview: Livio Tedeschi, SVP Agricultural Solutions, EMEA & CIS Countries, BASF,โ World Agri-Tech Summit. Archived December 5, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ptspa
In June 2021, Dirk Voeste, senior vice president at BASF, published an article on LinkedIn titled โChanging The Agricultural Food System For The Better,โ which stated that the company โacknowledge[s] societyโs desire to reduce reliance on pesticidesโ and โunderstand[s] why the EU Commission published its intention to achieve a 50% reduction in use and risk of pesticides by 2030.โ66Dirk Voeste. โChanging The Agricultural Food System For The Better,โ LinkedIn, June 10, 2021. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DTS2l However, the post also called on the European Commission to conduct impact assessments and develop indicators to evaluate the โimpact associated with all available farming solutions, including: land-use efficiency, productivity, quality and food security, water protection, and operator, consumer and environmental safety,โ and argued that it was โa prerequisite that any reduction target will be preceded by a holistic impact assessment considering all relevant EU strategies.โ
Multiple industry members have made calls for a โholistic impact assessmentโ of Farm to Fork measures, with Politico calling it โa key lobbying objective of Farm to Fork skeptics.โ67Eddy Wax. โMEPs vote on EUโs green food plan amid lobbying blitz,โ Politico, October 17, 2021. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6sAeB According to campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory, โsuch assessments tend to favour economic factors over social and environmental ones, only delaying progress towards tackling the climate emergency.โ68Vicky Cann. โExploiting the Ukraine crisis for Big Business,โ EU Observer, July 27, 2022. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XnQF0
In October 2021, AmCham Hungary posted about an online plenary session regarding Farm to Fork, in which Anja Klatt, senior manager of government affairs at BASF, spoke alongside Dr. Zsolt Feldman, Hungaryโs State Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, at the Ministry of Agriculture. Discussing Klattโs keynote speech, the article stated, โany type of reduction target must be preceded by a holistic impact assessment, forecasting the pros and cons of its impact.โ69โFarm to Fork: EU Green Deal WG Discusses Sustainable Agriculture,โ AmCham Hungary, October 12, 2021. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DTxuu
Dr. Forman was said to have emphasized โthe need to keep a delicate balance between environmental measures and their economic impactโ and that โit is important that farmers are not forced to become eco-friendly by way of reprimands. Rather, they must be encouraged to do so with measures that also benefit them in the long term.โ70โFarm to Fork: EU Green Deal WG Discusses Sustainable Agriculture,โ AmCham Hungary, October 12, 2021. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DTxuu
2020
In an interview with Politico in November 2020, BASFโs CEO Martin Brudermรผller argued for โrealistic targets that are based on scientific evidenceโ in the Farm to Fork strategy.71Martin Brudermuller. โSuccess of the EU Green Deal will depend on tech,โ Politico, November 16, 2020. Archived June 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5jrsY He added: โIt will also be necessary to strike the right balance between the need to develop world-class productive farming systems and the need to preserve biodiversity. Economic viability is also part of the sustainability equation.โ
In a June 2020 article in Ag News, which discussed the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction target, Livio Tedeschi wrote: โchemical crop protection products are one of the biggest drivers of agricultural productivity. Such a reduction would lead to considerably lower productivity per hectar of land, if not replaced by alternative solutions. Better management of the food supply chain and food waste will help, but certainly not close the gap.โ72Livio Tedeschi. โWhy the EUโs Farm to Fork Strategy is a unique chance to radically change agriculture and food production,โ Ag News, June 4, 2020. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pQcxi
Tedeschi also argued that โtechnologies such as precision farmingโ can โlead to a reduction of risk and use of pesticides, contribute to a lower CO2 footprint and increase biodiversity,โ but cautioned that the EU would have to โcreate the regulatory and legal environment for them to thrive.โ
He added: “Regulatory restrictions slowing down the introduction of new-generation crop protection products or high hurdles for advanced breeding techniques, for example, will have to be reconsidered if we want a realistic path towards the Farm to Fork goals.โ73Livio Tedeschi. โWhy the EUโs Farm to Fork Strategy is a unique chance to radically change agriculture and food production,โ Ag News, June 4, 2020. Archived December 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pQcxi
Lobbying for trade deal to increase pesticide exports
In April 2022, environmental NGO Friends of the Earth Europe and EU-focused NGO Seattle to Brussels Network published a report on the proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal, which would affect trade between the EU and the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.74Larissa Mies Bombardi, Audrey Changoe. โToxic Trading: The EU pesticide lobbyโs offensive in Brazil,โ Friends of the Earth Europe and Seattle to Brussels Network, April 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DHPVz
The report stated that if ratified, the deal โwill heavily increase crop exports to Europe, and imports of dangerous agrochemicals to South America, particularly Brazil,โ and that the potential for increased agricultural exports โrisks aggravating existing problems with the conversion of forests and other important ecosystems for agriculture, and adds to the toxic burden of pesticide-intensive agriculture on nature and local communities.โ
The report also highlighted that European agrochemical giants including BASF and Bayer โhave been promoting the EU-Mercosur trade deal through lobby groupsโ and โsought to increase market access for some of their most harmful pesticides by joining forces with Brazilian agribusiness associations.โ The report claimed that European companies work with agribusiness lobby groups like CropLife Brasil (which was founded by Bayer and is associated with BASF) to water down environmental policies, writing: โTheir joint lobby efforts have borne fruit: pesticide use has multiplied sixfold over the last 20 years and a record number of new pesticides has been approved in Brazil since Jair Bolsonaro came to power.โ
The report added that Bayer and BASF have benefitted from the proposed deal and government support for pesticides, writing: โTogether, Bayer and BASF have got 45 new pesticides approved over the last three years, 19 of which contain substances prohibited in the European Union.”75Larissa Mies Bombardi, Audrey Changoe. โToxic Trading: The EU pesticide lobbyโs offensive in Brazil,โ Friends of the Earth Europe and Seattle to Brussels Network, April 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DHPVz
A September 2020 report by Public Eye likewise found that: “In 2018, some 30 companies exported banned pesticides from European soil, including German giants Bayer and BASF.โ76Laurent Gaberell and Gรฉraldine Viret, โBanned in Europe: How the EU exports pesticides too dangerous for use in Europe,โ Public Eye, September 10, 2020. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HStYl
Lobbying
In 2021, BASF SE and its subsidiaries spent US$1,680,000 on U.S. lobbying according to OpenSecrets.org.77โBASF SE,โ OpenSecrets.org. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jU2bu Most of the budget, US$1,440,000, went to in-house staff, with the remaining funds going to two lobbyists with the firm McLarty Inbound, which represented โโWintershall Holding (majority owned oil and gas company).78โClient Profile: BASF SE,โ OpenSecrets.org. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EUKcZ
BASF spent โฌ3,000,000-3,399,999 in 2021 on EU lobbying, according to its entry on the EU Transparency Register. Main targets included: โEU Green Deal, Circular Economy, Sustainable Finance, Energy & Climate Policy, Innovation & Research, Trade Policy, Health & Environmental Policy, Chemicals Policy, Construction, Crop Protection Policy, Biotechnology, Internal Market, Competitiveness, Industrial Policy, Social and Employment Policy.โ79โBASF,โ European Union Transparency Register, March 18, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Dzl7W
BASF has had 37 meetings since 2014 with the European Commission, according to its Transparency Register entry.80โMeetings โ BASF,โ European Union Transparency Register, September 5, 2022. Archived September 5, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. According to the EU Transparency Register, BASF SE spent between โฌ3,000,000 โ โฌ3,249,999 on lobbying in 2020.
An archive of lobbying disclosures compiled by ProPublica shows that BASF has lobbied on climate change in the US. โBASF supports legislation on climate change that ensures that reduction targets are economically feasible and technologically reasonable,โ BASFโs lobbying disclosure reads. โPolicies must allow energy-intensive and trade-exposed (EITE) companies to remain globally competitive (carbon leakage protection).โ81โBASF Corporation,โ ProPublica. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/ZR13x
Among the lobbying on bills disclosed by BASFโs lobbyists is โEnvironmental Justice and Role of Sustainable Chemistry, S. 3296โ.82โBASF Corporation โ 1/21/2019,โ Lobbying Disclosure Act Database. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. That bill, according to the American Chemistry Council, โwould direct the president to establish an interagency sustainable chemistry entity to promote and coordinate federal sustainable chemistry research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, commercialization, education and training activities.โ83โACC Announces Support for Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act,โ American Chemistry Council, July 31, 2018. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/yPMCW The bill failed to progress in 2018. It was reintroduced for the 2019-2020 session as S. 999.84โS.999 โ Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019,โ Congress.Gov. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/8ig0w According to Gov Track, provisions of the bill were incorporated into H.R. 6395, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.85โS. 999 (116th): Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019,โ GovTrack. Archived December 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NL0DQ
A 2010 report by the Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-E) revealed that a number of large companies, including BASF, Bayer, and BP, had disproportionately donated funds to U.S. Senate candidates who were either โknown climate change deniers,โ or to senators who voted against the Obama administrationโs cap-and-trade legislation, seen by activists as a major contribution to the fight against climate change.โ86Michael Lawton. โEuropean Companies Back Climate Skeptics in US Senate Race, Report Says,โ Deutsche Welle, October 26, 2010. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/q4bc0
BASF was given an overall โCโ grade by NGO Transparency International in its 2018 Corporate Political Engagement Index, with the company given a โDโ for its โresponsible lobbyingโ practices.87โCorporate Political Engagement Index 2018,โ Transparency International UK. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
In August 2020, Norwayโs largest private asset manager, Storebrand, divested its US$2.7 million stake in BASF, as well as its stakes in ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Rio Tinto, โciting their lobbying practices regarding climate.โ Storebrand CEO Jan Erik Saugestad told Reuters that โIf you have corporates that are spending a lot of resources and energy to try to avoid that regulation that is required, that is clearly not supportive and not in the long-term interest of anybody, if you want to reach the climate goals or the [United Nations] sustainable development goals.โ88Gwladys Fouche, Simon Jessop. โStorebrand Divests Out of Exxon, Others Over Climate Lobbying,โ Market Screener, August 24, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/wXxIL
In May 2019, BASF responded to investor pressure and committed to undertaking a review of its climate lobbying activities.89โWe, BASF Commit To Review Climate Lobbying After Investor Pressure,โ Energy Central, May 3, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/gKhqB It was also one of 13 U.S. companies to launch the โCEO Climate Dialogueโ in May 2019, an initiative that was created with the aim of lobbying President Trump and the United States Congress to pass new legislation that would address climate change by introducing a price on carbon, with the goal of reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Other founding members of the โCEO Climate Dialogueโ included DuPont, Shell, BP, Unilever, and Dominion Energy.90โBASF And DuPont Call On US Congress To Enact Business-Led Climate Change Legislation,โ Global Insulation, May 17, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/gKhqB
In February 2021, Corporate Europe Observatory reported that BASF had invited Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to an online wine-tasting to discuss the Farm to Fork strategy.91โBASF wining MEPs in COVID times,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, February 22, 2021. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/UiIGO BASF reportedly offered to send MEPs “six small bottles” of wine to “celebrate Portugalโs unique wines.” Corporate Europe Observatory scrutinized BASF for the event over concerns that transparency rules were not being properly applied. Politico Europe reported that a BASF spokesperson said the event was “in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the European Parliamentโs lobbying rules.”92Lili Bayer. โBrussels lobbying business picks up despite pandemic,โ Politico Europe, March 10, 2021. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/0ZTCX
In June 2021, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a network of over 140 European environmental NGOs, reported that BASF had been among ten companies lobbying to water down draft legislation on the regulation of polymers, the main ingredient in plastic, resin and paint and an ingredient of many products.93โFirst laws to tackle serious polymer health threat being crippled,โ European Environmental Bureau, June 21, 2021. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/UxUOY
BASF engages in media partnerships with Brussels-based media outlets, mainly Politico Europe and EURACTIV, where it promotes and supports content,94โHow is chemistry helping cars shift gears and reach the EUโs 2050 goals?,โ Politico, September 27, 2021. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Qbf2n organizes events and sponsors newsletters targeted towards EU policy makers and stakeholders.95Florian Eder. โPOLITICO Brussels Playbook, presented by Cefic: No Trump for Warsaw โ Battle for Brandenburg โ Save the saunas,โ Politico. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/bAsKX
BASF has been a client of several public affairs consultancies registered within the European Union. In 2020, BASF spent less than โฌ9,999 on the services of FIPRA International SRL,96โFIPRA International SRL,โ Transparency Register. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/1byOV and between โฌ24,000 – โฌ49,999 on the services of EPPA S.A.97โEPPA SAโย European Transparency Register.Archived November 25,ย 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/FBpaB
In February 2024, BASF held a closed event for over 60 chemical and other industrial companies and political leaders in its chemical plant in Antwerp.98Nikolaus J. Kurmayer, โVon der Leyen heads to Antwerp for closed-door meeting with chemicals industry,โ Euractiv, February 20, 2024. Archived June 26, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UFpC This event was co-organised by the Belgian Presidency of the EU, the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and its Belgian member Essenscia.ย
In an open letter, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) criticised the Prime Minister for attending this event, arguing that by participating in the event, he was โrewarding big polluting industries with privileged access to high-level decision-makers and the expectation of even more political and policy supportโ.99โCorporate capture wonโt solve environmental crises,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, February 20, 2024. Archived June 26, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qAtyV
Affiliations
BASF is a member of CropLife International, which the firm describes in its 2019 sustainability report as โa global trade association of agrochemical companies representing the plant science industry.โ CropLife International has six member companies: FMC, BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta and Sumitomo Chemical.100โMembers,โ CropLife International. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/PSOBu
Bayer, BASF, Corteva and Syngenta are the four members of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), which claims to โprovide factual information and education about the agricultural use of GM technology in the UK.โ101โAbout ABC,โ Agricultural Biotechnology Council. Archived January 21, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qB0XO
In a 2019 โIndustry Associations Review,โ BASF acknowledged that the American Chemistry Councilโs position on climate policies was โ alignedโ with BASFโs view.102โIndustry Associations Review โ 2019,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
In 2019, Politico reported that four of Europeโs biggest agrochemical companies โ Corteva, Bayer, Syngenta and BASF โ were ending their involvement in EuropaBio, a trade group which represents companies involved in biotechnology.103Cristina Gonzalez. โPOLITICO EU Influence, presented by Deutsche Bรถrse: The vape debate โ Top job vacancy โ Hungarian transparency flap,โ Politico, December 13, 2019. Archived November 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/8TDiF However, as of September 2022, a representative of BASF was still listed as a โregular memberโ of EuropaBio on the groupโs website.104โAbout us,โ EuropaBio. Archived December 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/g4F7u
BASF is a partner of BusinessEurope, which describes itself as โthe leading advocate for growth and competitiveness at European level.โ105โASGroup – our partner companies,โ BusinessEurope. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/t7MzU 106โMission and prioritiesโ, BusinessEurope. Archived September 12, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aAaXZ
In July 2022, Corporate Europe Observatory accused BusinessEurope of โdeploy[ing] the Ukraine crisis to serve their agenda,โ because the organization sent a letter to the European Council in March 2022 which called on the EU to “impose new requirements only when absolutely necessary” and to avoid “burdensome requirements” in light of the invasion.107Vicky Cann. โExploiting the Ukraine crisis for Big Business,โ Corporate Europe Observatory, July 28, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/llm7Y 108โBusinessEuropeโs message to the Spring European Council on 24-25 March 2022,โ BusinessEurope, March 22, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZSGLo
BASF is a member of the Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition (SPG), which was launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021.109โSPG Coalition Members and How to Join,โ US Department of Agriculture. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PWDlI The USDA describes the coalition as a โchannel for cooperation to foster more sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, while ensuring the availability and affordability of food around the world.โ110โSustainable Productivity Growth Coalition,โ Foreign Agriculture Service. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SLTjr
Its members include states (such as the EU, the U.S., and Brazil), academic and research institutions, and foundations and other organizations, alongside the private sector. Private sector members include: Bayer, CropLife International, FMC Corporation, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta, the Fertilizer Institute, and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.111โSPG Coalition Members and How to Join,โ U.S. Department of Agriculture. Archived September 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PWDlI COPA-COGECA described the coalition as โthe building of an anti-F2F group,โ according to Corporate Europe Observatory.112โA loud lobby for a silent spring: The pesticide industryโs lobbying tactics against Farm to Fork.โ Corporate Europe Observatory, March 17, 2022. Archived July 26, 2022. Archive PDF: https://archive.ph/hpFb3
In May 2021, BASF became a founding member of the European Carbon+ Farming Coalition.113โEU Carbon+ Farming Coalition,โ World Economic Forum. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/20FNt According to the United Nations, the coalition โwas launched as part of a larger effort to transform global food systems, under the auspices of the WEF [World Economic Forum]โ and โaims to promote regenerative and climate-smart practices to better Manage Europeโs farmlands, contributing to the decarbonization of the European food system, healthier soils and more resilient farms.โ114Lera Miles, Raquel Agra, Sandeep Sengupta, Adriana Vidal, Barney Dickson. โNature-based solutions for climate change mitigation,โ United Nations Environment Programme and International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2021. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The majority of partners in the coalition are corporations, including Bayer CropScience and Syngenta Group, alongside just one university and one NGO.115โEU Carbon+ Farming Coalition,โ World Economic Forum. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/20FNt
BASF also sponsors and sits on the international board of the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC), a technical group run by agribusiness industry association CropLife International.116โIntroduction to IRAC,โ Insecticide Resistance Action Committee. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IMvb9 BASF also leads its working group on โcrop protection.โ
IRAC describes itself as โthe global authority on Insecticide Resistance Management,โ and focuses on communication and education regarding resistance to insecticides, and developing and implementing โresistance management strategies.โ IRACโs international executive board also includes Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, FMC, Sumitomo Chemical, and Syngenta.117โIntroduction to IRAC,โ Insecticide Resistance Action Committee. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IMvb9
IRAC Europe is represented on and regularly presents its findings to the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisationโs Expert Working Group on Resistance to Plant Protection Products (EPPO), an intergovernmental panel which writes guidelines on pesticides for Europe.118โEPPO Expert Working Group on Resistance to Plant Protection Products,โ EPPO, June 2022. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Virkt Pesticide Action Network says that guidelines written by the group โdirect regulators to approve the most harmful chemicals and dismiss safer alternativesโ in the EU, and that corporations โwrote their own rules in their own interest and [EPPO] officials approved them.โ119โPesticide Paradise: How industry and officials protected the most toxic pesticides from a policy push for sustainable farming,โ Pesticide Action Network Europe, September 2022. Archived November 16, 2022. Archive .pdf on file at DeSmog.
According to a 2021 video of an AmCham EU webinar on the Green Deal and Sustainable Agriculture, Thomas Narbeshuber, Managing Director of BASF Hungary, leads the AmCham EU Green Deal Working Group. Anja Klatt, BASF senior manager of government affairs for crop protection, also spoke during the event.120โAmCham EU Green Deal Plenary Session on Sustainable Agriculture 20211011โ, YouTube video uploaded by user AmCham Hungary on October 12, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
Resources
- 1โBASF Report 2019 โ Economic, Environmental and Social Performance,โ BASF. Archived Sept. 24, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 2โBASF Report 2021,โ BASF. Archived Jan. 18, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IHIjY. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 3โBASF profits rise despite looming gas crisis,โ Expatica, July 11, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/44zTC
- 4Von Herbert Kordes, Petra Blum, Jan Schmitt und Frank Konopatzki, WDR. โPutins langer Arm nach Deutschland?,” Tagasschau, July 28, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 5Richard Partington. โChemicals Firm BASF Biggest Beneficiary of UK Coronavirus Loan Scheme,โ The Guardian, June 4, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/ibTBd
- 6โPesticides: Competitive Analysis & Leadership Report 2018 โ Bayer Ranks Number One, Followed by Syngenta, BASF, DowDuPont, and FMC Corporation,โ PR Newswire, February 3, 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/3PDoU
- 7โCorporate Climate Policy Footprint: The 25 Most Influential Companies Blocking Climate Policy Action Globally,โ InfluenceMap, November 2022. Archived November 15, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 8โOur Climate Protection Goal,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/0io8H
- 9โBASF Advocates Globally For More Climate Protection,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020, Archive URL: https://archive.fo/xFzuT
- 10โOur Solutions: Products For Climate Protection,โ BASF. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/1aOSF
- 11โExecutives From BASF & Others React to Paris Conference,โ SBC Magazine, December 15, 2015. Archived November 11, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/uYNkN
- 12โCDP Disclosure โ 2019,โ BASF. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 13Martin Menachery. โCDP Recognises BASF As Global Leader in Corporate Climate Action and Water Security,โ Refining & Petrochemicals, January 24, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/GAyf3
- 14Tony Heslop. โBASF in the UK Accredited as Carbon Literate,โ Carbon Literacy, February 2020. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/lRNPO
- 15Tom Murray. โThe Businesses That Are โ And Are Not โ Leading on Climate Change,โ Environmental Defense Fund, November 9, 2019. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/mBJL9
- 16โCorporate Carbon Policy Footprint,โ InfluenceMap, September 2017. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 17โWhoโs Holding Us Back?,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 12, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 18Kate Sheppard. โBASF CEO Questions Whether Climate Change is a Problem,โ Grist, June 28, 2007. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/NSWKl
- 19Martin Brudermรผller, โSuccess of the EU Green Deal will depend on tech,โ Politico Europe, November 16, 2020. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5jrsY
- 20Martin Brudermรผller, โSuccess of the EU Green Deal will depend on tech,โ Politico Europe, November 16, 2020. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5jrsY
- 21
- 22Joe Miller. โWintershall Dea to receive no Russian revenues until sanctions lifted,โ Financial Times, March 2, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aeTNj
- 23
- 24Ludwig Burger and Thomas Escritt, โSanctioned Russian oligarch steps down from board of BASF’s oil joint venture,โ Reuters, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/N5zgJ
- 25โConsolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK,โ Gov.uk, July 26, 2022. Archived August 2, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 26โFourth package of sanctions in view of Russiaโs military aggression against Ukraine: 15 additional individuals and 9 entities subject to EU restrictive measures,โ European Council, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WNuB
- 27โCOUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2022/429 of 15 March 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,โ Official Journal of the European Union, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 28โChange in the Supervisory Board of Wintershall Dea AG,โ Wintershall Dea, March 15, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SPTY7
- 29Rupert Neate. โThree more Russian billionaires resign from LetterOne board,โ March 7, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1CoWE
- 30Joe Miller. โWintershall Dea to receive no Russian revenues until sanctions lifted,โ Financial Times, March 2, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aeTNj
- 31Von Herbert Kordes, Petra Blum, Jan Schmitt und Frank Konopatzki, WDR. โPutins langer Arm nach Deutschland?,โ Tagesschau, July 28, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 32โBASF presses for Wintershall Dea IPO in dispute with co-owner,โ Reuters, January 31, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0ZFSS
- 33William Wilkes, Laura Hurst, and Eyk Henning. โBASF Studies Splitting Wintershall Into Russia, Other Assets,โ Bloomberg, May 3, 2022. Archived September 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4IKBw
- 34โPrecision Agriculture in the Digital Era,โ BASF. Archived November 12, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/BvupE
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