BASF employees often dedicate their time and talents in ways that go beyond monetary contributions. For example, BASF sites in Southeast Michigan partner with local nonprofit LifeRemodeled in an effort to revitalize Detroit. Over the past five years, BASF volunteers and LifeRemodeled have refurbished three Detroit high schools, renovated a middle school into a community resource and business innovation center, and created greener, safer spaces in what had been abandoned areas. It’s the largest volunteer initiative in the state of Michigan for BASF, and one of the proudest nationwide. Every year before the project kicks off, BASF meets with the LifeRemodeled team to review the scope of work and match jobs to employee talent. The BASF Southeast Michigan workforce has many technical and trade workers in diverse areas. Ken Perry, Technical Operations Director, was himself an alumnus of Detroit’s Denby High School. “The first year I volunteered, I just wanted to do some manual labor and help out, but then our volunteer group increased, and I wanted to step up and be a team leader,” said Perry. “In 2016, we worked on Denby High, my alma mater, where I haven’t been in 40 years. I got to go in my old classroom, sit at my desk and take a picture at my old locker. Then I was really hooked, because I could see how much of a difference we made.” Perry was so passionate about the project that he brought his family members — also Denby alums — to work alongside him and his BASF colleagues. “If Detroit wins, we all win,” said Marika Diamond, Public Relations and Communications Manager. “Giving people a better place to live, children a safer path to walk, breathing life into a community that wasn’t on track for renovation — to see the transformation gives a feeling of satisfaction and possibility,” she said. LifeRemodeled noted that in 2016 in their project area, crime dropped in 10 out of 11 categories, making the community a safer place to live. This also serves as a reminder that, while no one can put a price on such important work, to be able to gauge how it’s going is a valuable advantage. we@BASF is a resource that provides similar perspective. In addition to being a unified approach to BASF philanthropy, a one-stop shop for employees getting and giving aid, we@BASF provides “a way of capturing all the great work our employees are doing,” said Andrea Studwell, Corporate Communications. “Now we can tell the stories of how many people volunteered, how many volunteer hours were contributed, and how employees are giving back to their communities.”

Caring about our community is an everyday commitment, and one that BASF employees take seriously. At every level, employees pitch in during disaster relief, contribute money towards funds for their fellow employees, and work with local agencies who know best how to help. We make a promise to positively impact our communities and help those in need, both inside and outside the company, and this has been demonstrated time and again during times of challenge and celebration.

Everyone needs help at one time or another. The we@BASF tool is a nexus for employees to make gifts to institutions of higher education (which BASF will match), to make charitable contributions, to learn of volunteer opportunities, to access scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and Scholarship America, and to benefit from the Employee Assistance Fund. This fund was established to help employees with financial hardships caused by disasters or a run of bad luck. Employees can submit an application online, with their identity not known to BASF. A third party (Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s respected Employees 1st program) handles the application and award process based on BASF guidelines. we@BASF also enables employees to make donations which directly help other employees; “There’s a sense of pride in this,” Studwell said. “People know they are making a difference.” Still, contributions to organizations outside of BASF have a vital role to play. The Southeast Region relied on United Way during and after Hurricane Michael, as Communications Manager Blythe Lamonica said. At the Attapulgus, Georgia and Quincy, Florida sites, “every employee was impacted by the storm, ranging from loss of power to complete destruction. BASF acted quickly to get the necessary supplies to employees at both sites.” Simultaneously, BASF donated $50,000 to each of the site’s local United Way organizations. United Way disseminates donated money to local agencies such as food banks, The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, and others who have missions very specific to that area. In this situation, donations to local charities can be the quickest way to help the local community. “BASF provides more than financial resources in a crisis,” Lamonica added. “We also offer essential products and materials, as well as human and community resources.” These resources include the industrial cleaning supplies and materials that Geismar offered to several area nonprofits impacted by flooding, or teams of employees that helped gut and rebuild homes, offices, and community centers in impacted neighborhoods. Lamonica also speaks approvingly of how, when her site donated to the local Red Cross for flood recovery, after initial needs were met, the organization was able to share the funds with the United Way and Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes in the parishes hardest hit by the flooding. “BASF has done a very good job in taking care of our own during these past few years of weather-related crises,” she said. “Through our donations to area organizations, we help take care of the families and neighbors of our employees.”

Sometimes the relationship with outside organizations is more of a two-way partnership. The Houston Food Bank is a good example. They’re the largest food bank in the Gulf Coast area, and BASF’s Houston site has a close collaboration with them. Robert Sawchuk, Business Director, Joint Venture Strategy, has supported the Houston Food Bank for many years. He has served on the Houston Food Bank Board and has encouraged BASF to support them in a variety of ways. BASF is a sponsor of the Run for Food Houston Marathon Team and regularly holds volunteer and team-building events at the Houston Food Bank. Shannon Cranson, Engineering & Maintenance and Houston Communications Manager, said, “During Hurricane Harvey, the Food Bank was gearing up to support our community. They are set up to expand and condense as the situation calls for, and during this crisis, were getting contributions from all over the country and volunteers wanting to help. During this time, we recognized an opportunity to support them in a unique way. Through Robert, we approached them to have us come in and review their safety procedures.” A walkthrough identified some 40 opportunities for improvement, which the Food Bank started acting on swiftly. “For us, it’s just thinking outside the box,” she said. “It doesn’t always have to be funds; we looked after their safety needs, and at their logistical expertise that we could learn from.” BASF also works with groups that help us protect nature. According to Sharon Tucker, Remediation Support Specialist, Environmental Health & Safety, BASF has 13 sites that have received certification by the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC). WHC monitors environmental conservation and habitat restoration on corporate lands. At Fighting Island in LaSalle, Ontario, BASF received gold certification from the WHC in 2017. This is the highest honor awarded by WHC. BASF has fostered native revegetation and reforestation, and in conjunction with Essex County schools has turned the island into an outdoor classroom, providing a hands-on learning environment that has hosted more than 30,000 local students. BASF also donates microscopes and iPads to four portable classrooms/environmental labs for students there. Similarly, there is a LEED-certified education building at a remediation site in Rensselaer, New York. Kids from the local schools have done work there to help connect all BASF’s Northeastern sites as a flight path for migratory birds. In 2018 the site also earned both gold certification and a Pollinator Project Award from WHC, the latter for its plantings attractive to species like bees and butterflies. Other plantings, birdhouse and bat house building, Boy and Girl Scout programs, and more occur at sites in Williamsburg, Virginia; Whitehouse, Ohio; and Belvidere, New Jersey. Tarrytown, New York may be the next site to get certified, and the program has much room for growth. The North American headquarters sets the tone in its local community, with an annual Earth Day event at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in New Jersey. “Of all the volunteer events I run, this is by far the one the employees get most excited about,” said Andrea Studwell. The NatGeo LIVE! series this year brought in a marine biologist and photojournalist, Cristina Mittermeier, who took visitors through her journey to investigate sustainable ways of living in indigenous communities from the Amazon to Hawaii. BASF’s grant for the program covers transportation and attendance by local school children by day. That evening, free tickets to a more grownup version of the program are offered to the general public, with some reserved for BASF employees, contractors and their families. It’s a good lesson in what can be learned between people who come from all types of settings and can speak of many different circumstances. The organizations BASF works with, Lamonica said, “help in multiple ways that you and I wouldn’t even imagine until we have to experience it personally.” And as BASF employees and those we join with discover every day, when you reach out, you can always find someone with whom you can work hand-in-hand.

BASF charitable contributions are part of the solution whenever needs arise

BY ADAM MCGOVERN