Teaming Up To Train Chinese Suppliers

BASF and Shanghai’s East China University of Science & Technology have agreed to codevelop a training program for BASF’s 2,000 or so suppliers in China. The five-year program will cover topics including environmental protection, health and safety, and labor and human rights and strive to raise the sustainability standards of BASF’s Chinese suppliers.

“China plays a vital role in BASF’s global supplier network,” says Fried Muenstermann, head of BASF’s procurement organization. In China, the firm buys basic chemicals, intermediates, functional raw materials, technical goods and services, and logistics services. BASF says it chose East China University to work with its suppliers because the school is recognized for emphasizing business ethics and corporate social responsibility in educating Chinese managers and executives.

BASF’s China training program falls under the umbrella of Together for Sustainability, an initiative started in 2011 by leading European chemical companies, including BASF, Bayer, and Evonik Industries, to promote sustainability across the chemical industry. Under the program, suppliers’ practices are audited by EcoVadis, a French organization that developed a method for measuring corporate sustainability practices.

Bringing Chinese suppliers up to global sustainability standards is a major undertaking for international chemical companies. The same week that BASF announced its cooperation with East China University, Lanxess, also a member of Together for Sustainability, organized a workshop on sustainability, health, safety, and environmental protection in Ningbo together with the China Petroleum & Chemical Industry Federation. Ningbo government officials, managers of the Ningbo Chemical Park, and foundation representatives attended the event.