SIBUR and BASF discuss best practices for sustainable development

Moscow, 8 December 2020. A two-day workshop for representatives of SIBUR and BASF has taken place as part of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding that formalised the two companies’ partnership on sustainable development and circular economy and was signed in November 2019. This year, the meeting took place online, providing for an expanded range of participants and bringing together 80 managers and experts. Helping to advance the dialogue on sharing insights, the event covered topics for joint analysis and was aimed at improving ESG management to ramp up capabilities of both companies and enhance the expertise of their employees.

The welcoming address was delivered by Katja Scharpwinkel, President EMEA at BASF, Christoph Roehrig, Vice President, Market Area Head in Russia & CIS at BASF, and Darya Borisova, Management Board member and Managing Director at SIBUR. They emphasised the importance of the strategic partnership between the companies in achieving global sustainable development goals.

Darya Borisova, member of the Management Board and Managing Director, SIBUR:

“Sustainable development and social responsibility are major issues that no company can solve in isolation. Joint efforts and cooperation are key to accelerated achievement of our goals and a more flexible response to external challenges. BASF, a leading global chemical company that boasts decades of experience and expertise, has been our strategic partner for several years now. A cooperation format like this allows us not only to share experience but to establish stronger ties with each other and to define initiatives that we can implement together in terms of market development and technological advancement.”

Christoph Roehrig, Vice President, Market Area Head in Russia & CIS, BASF:

“The principles of sustainable development are the cornerstone of BASF’s corporate strategy. Our international expertise in many industrial sectors combined with significant research capabilities enables us to find new ways to harmonise the economy and ecology. In addition to introducing innovations at its own facilities, BASF also supports customers in their strive for responsible and successful growth. We are proud of our cooperation with SIBUR, a recognised leader in the Russian petrochemical industry. Bringing together the talent and resources of both companies, we regularly discuss and implement initiatives aimed at ensuring the best practices in health, society, and environmental protection.”

During the first day of the meeting, representatives of SIBUR and BASF discussed their strategic vision of the sustainable development agenda, its integration into corporate strategies, and key metrics and instruments to implement them. One of the meeting’s priorities was sharing best practices. During the workshop, representatives of BASF gave insights into their experience of creating and implementing the Carbon Management Program as well as using different tools in assessing product solutions for compliance with sustainability criteria.

The SIBUR team spoke about the Company’s sustainable development standards and initiatives and stressed the importance of the petrochemical industry’s contribution to achieving circular economy goals. During his speech, Maxim Remchukov, Head of SIBUR’s Sustainable Development, focused on the first results of SIBUR’s 2025 Sustainable Development Strategy. He specifically mentioned the fact that ESG components had already been deeply integrated into the Company’s business processes and now inform its investment decisions.

Another important matter on the agenda was the implementation of Responsible Care, an international programme that had been introduced by both companies. The programme helps leading chemical businesses improve their HSE practices, including keeping customers aware of potentially dangerous properties of the products.

At the end of the workshop, the partners discussed what strategic initiatives can be implemented using, among other things, Sustainable Solution Steering®, a comprehensive instrument that makes it possible to analyse market needs and sustainable development trends across value chains, determine the product’s efficiency in terms of sustainable development, and develop plans for scientific research and further commercialisation. During the webinar, participants looked into a portfolio of environmentally friendly products and solutions that can minimise unwanted industrial impact on the environment and facilitate making the best use of available resources. Those products included polymer additives proposed by BASF, such as state-of-the-art Irganox® antioxidants and Irgatec® polymer modifiers as well as a wide range of Clean Air catalysts for managing industrial emissions and enabling GHG reductions.

The second day of the workshop focused on promoting circular economy with an emphasis on novel approaches to polymer waste handling, including methods for mechanical and chemical recycling, in particular BASF’s ChemCycling™ project. The discussion also covered issues and challenges faced by market players. As a co-founder of the non-profit global Alliance to End Plastic Waste, BASF has been developing, introducing and promoting solutions aimed at reusing polymers in line with the concept of a waste-free economy. BASF’s experts shared insights they had gained during their participation in Together for Sustainability, a chemical initiative that streamlines risk management in procurement.

In turn, SIBUR’s representatives spoke about a project already underway to manufacture green PET granules at SIBUR’s POLIEF facility in Blagoveshchensk, Republic of Bashkortostan. The production of granules will rely on some 34 kt of recycled plastics annually. The approved technology is an eco-friendly advanced way of industrial PET recycling, unique in Russia.