Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited BASF to comment on a letter that emerged from the 2025 Franco-German business meeting in Evian, France. We asked the following two questions:

1. Is it BASF’s position to call for the full abolition of the CSDDD?
2. If it is, has your company considered the human rights risks or impacts of taking this stance publicly, and subjected it to a human rights due diligence process? If so, what have been your company’s conclusions and any action plan?

BASF provided the following response:

Let me first emphasize, that BASF remains fully and unchanged committed to respecting human rights and to following the international standards on responsible business conduct set out in the BASF Group’s Policy Statement on Human Rights.

Regarding CSDDD: We have consistently argued that regulation should be effective and practicable. A single, well-designed European regulation is preferable as a level playing field to a patchwork of national rules.

For us, the core message of the letter is that we must give greater weight to economic competitiveness alongside ecological and social objectives. Many companies, including BASF, want and support a successful sustainability transformation; therefore competitiveness must be balanced with environmental and social considerations.

Although the wording of the individual passages has not been aligned with all companies and therefore does not necessarily reflect our opinion on every single issue, the basic message and the topics addressed in the letter touch on crucial points for competitiveness and thus an important aspect of sustainability of industry and society in Europe.

We therefore see the letter as an appeal to policymakers, society and business to work together for fewer and better rules, and we are committed to continuing a critical yet constructive dialogue with all stakeholders.