BASF takes its commitment to sustainability seriously and we have set ourselves ambitious climate protection targets. By 2030, we will reduce our global CO2 emissions by one quarter compared with 2018, and by 2050, we want to achieve net-zero emissions whilst continuing to grow our business at the same time.
Before we started our carbon literacy journey, BASF was well developed in its sustainability actions and was considered an industry leader. However, we were keen to translate our corporate strategic sustainability goals into something more tangible for our UK employees and wanted something that could help us engage with our colleagues at a local level, start conversations and encourage behavioural change.
Since 2019 we have been working with Manchester-based charitable organisation the Carbon Literacy Project to discover a credible and effective way of delivering these big concepts, with the belief that good climate education will lead to a genuine impact. In 2020 we proudly announced we were the first Carbon Literate Organisation in the UK chemical sector and then in 2022 we were delighted to have our commitment further recognised by being awarded Silver Status.
Connecting with employees through locally developed training
The Carbon Literacy Project encourages locally developed training delivered by peers in the workplace. Based on the Project’s standards for training and accreditation, BASF has developed a training session that gives attendees the facts they need to be aware of the greenhouse gas impacts of everyday activities, and the ability to reduce emissions by taking steps in their personal lives, communities and workplaces. The training invites participants to take action and make concrete pledges on how to reduce their own carbon footprint as well as their organisation’s.
Big thinking, small steps, definite impact
The course has evolved. Delivered virtually, it reaches our UK employees, our customers and our stakeholders, amplifying awareness of greenhouse gas costs throughout our value chain.
The training encourages participants to think big – asking them to reflect on what we need to do as a society to become carbon neutral and how they can make an impact in their organisations, and on an individual level – committing to personal actions or pledges that will enable carbon reductions. By giving participants the facts, we empower them to make smarter choices about their own carbon footprints.
It is this personal commitment that is key to its success. The action might be small but if the goal is achievable, the impact will be definite.
Overcoming challenges
There is no doubt that the request to make two pledges throws up a challenge. It has been easier to engage people to make change on a personal level but workplace pledges can be perceived as more difficult. Many feel they have limited agency for change, for example those who work in offices have no control over heat or lighting. The variety of participants’ roles can also pose a challenge and there is clearly no ‘one-size fits all’. To overcome this, we keep the course as broad as possible. We don’t just focus on tangible carbon reducing actions but consider the ability of people to use their influence to change others’ behaviour. In all cases, we provide a framework for discussion where we think about actions in terms of impact and ease and get people to think about those actions that deliver greatest impact.
An integrated approach to change hearts and minds
The Carbon Literacy Project calculates that they have certified over 51,000 people to date, estimating a 5-15% carbon reduction per person. At BASF we have currently not attempted to quantify the impact made by the Carbon Literacy training, as the aim was not necessarily an energy or emissions reducing objective per se. Our focus was to change hearts and minds, to get people to care and engage and to encourage real, long-lasting behavioural change. What I have observed is much greater interest in climate topics generally and interest in and understanding of our strategic sustainability goals. We have set up an internal social media channel for employees to share resources, questions and success stories. BASF has recently launched an employee engagement campaign across its sites in Europe, Middle East and Africa, encouraging personal action which fits beautifully with our UK programme. And there is even a BASF app, Green Zorro where users can improve their carbon footprint at home and at work.
The course itself has been immensely well-received and word-of-mouth recommendation has meant that the courses are always oversubscribed.
I would encourage you to take a look and see how this approach could work in your organisation. Certifying our employees as Carbon Literate, encouraging them to ‘speak carbon’, allows all our participants to play their part and demonstrates that BASF is backing up with action our corporate purpose that ‘we create chemistry for a sustainable future’.
