Preserving and increasing biodiversity, and specifically protecting pollinators is one of the key topics of Syngenta‘s sustainable plan, The Good Growth Plan since 2013. In line with this, and with the aim of drawing public attention to the importance of the topic, Syngenta Hungary, in cooperation with the NGO Mondolo, has started a community and awareness-raising project focusing on pollinators.

The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, to make their habitat known and to bring them closer to the urban population, and in the meantime to bring’ some nature into the city, increase green covered area.

As part of the project, we have planted bee pastures and installed bee hotels in several locations in Szeged (3rd biggest city of Hungary, located in the southern part of the country), and a street artwork will be completed in June with the support of Syngenta, which will also focus on bees and other pollinators. Thematic pollinator microsite and a community event for pollinator pasture seeds mix distribution to local people to be able to establish their own pollinator pasture at home are also parts of the project.

Beyond our key NGO partner Mondolo, several other partners are participating in the initiative, such as Szeged Central Heating Ltd., Szeged Environmental Management Nonprofit Ltd., Szeged Botanic Garden, Szeged University and Ferenc Móra Scientific Museum Szeged.

Target of net zero CO2 emissions globally by 20501
◼ Significant 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions already by 2030
◼ Investments of up to €4 billion planned by 2030

BASF is setting itself even more ambitious goals on its journey to climate neutrality and wants to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Based on the most recent progress in developing low-emission and CO2-free technologies, the company is also significantly raising its medium-term 2030 target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions: BASF now wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 25 percent compared with 2018 – and to achieve this despite targeted growth and the construction of a large Verbund site in South China. Excluding the effects of the planned growth, this means cutting CO2 emissions in half in the current business by the end of this decade. Overall, BASF plans to invest up to €1 billion by 2025 to reach its new climate target and a further €2 billion to €3 billion by 2030.

In 2018, BASF Group’s worldwide emissions amounted to 21.9 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents. In 1990, this figure was roughly twice as high. The new 2030 emissions goal represents a reduction of approximately 60 percent compared to 1990 levels, which exceeds the European Union’s target of minus 55 percent. “The new climate goals underscore our determination and BASF’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement. Climate change is the greatest challenge of the 21st century. In response, we must adapt our processes and our product portfolio. We need to accelerate this transformation now. We must first concentrate on the initial steps of this journey, not the final ones. That is why BASF will increase its use of renewable energies. And we will accelerate the development and deployment of new CO2-free processes for the production of chemicals. With transparency and offerings to systematically and incrementally reduce the carbon footprint of BASF products throughout the entire value chain, we help our customers in all industries to reduce the carbon footprint of their own products,” said Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

BASF to replace fossil fuels with new technologies

At the heart of the long-term transition toward net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 is the use of new technologies, which will replace fossil fuels such as natural gas with electricity from renewable sources. Most of these technologies are being pioneered by BASF in collaboration with partners and are currently in a pilot stage. Broad scaleup of these technologies will only be fully realizable after 2030. In order to accelerate the avoidance of CO2 emissions prior to that date, BASF also continues to systematically implement continuous improvement processes for existing production plants. In addition, BASF will progressively switch to renewable sources to meet its electricity needs and intends to invest in wind parks to facilitate this. One of the most important new technologies that BASF is currently developing are electrically heated steam crackers for the production of basic chemicals such as ethylene, propylene and butadiene. These chemicals are building blocks for numerous value chains and are essential for chemical production. Hydrogen is another important feedstock for many chemical production processes. To achieve CO2-free production of hydrogen, BASF is pursuing two processes in parallel: the commercially available water electrolysis and methane pyrolysis, for which BASF has developed a new process technology. Another important lever to increase energy efficiency is the use of electrical heat pumps to produce CO2-free steam from waste heat. BASF’s goal is to work with Siemens Energy to gradually ramp up this technology to industrial scale and use it for waste heat recovery at entire sites.

BASF expects that this switch to climate-neutral production processes will lead to a sharp increase in electricity demand at the group’s major sites, including the largest production site in Ludwigshafen, in the coming decade. From around 2035, the group’s electricity demand is expected to be more than three times higher than it is today. “This will require investments for the development and construction of new production plants. A precondition for the transformation of chemical production is the reliable availability of large quantities of renewable electricity at competitive prices. At the moment, that is not the case in Germany. BASF therefore aims to participate in investments in renewable energy generation facilities to meet its own demand. Regulatory framework conditions are also essential for making this transformation economically feasible,” added Brudermüller.

BASF working on numerous flagship projects

In addition to the planned investments in renewable energies, BASF is pursuing a number of specific flagship projects:

• Together with SABIC and Linde, BASF is working on the realization of a pilot furnace for the world’s first electrically heated steam cracker. Compared to conventional crackers, this would enable nearly CO2-free production of basic chemicals. If the necessary funding is granted, start-up of the pilot plant is slated to begin as early as 2023.
• BASF is developing methane pyrolysis technology for the CO2-free production of hydrogen from natural gas. Compared to other processes for emission-free hydrogen production, methane pyrolysis requires only around one-fifth as much electrical energy. A pilot reactor has been constructed in Ludwigshafen and is being started up. Funding for this project was provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
• In collaboration with Siemens Energy, BASF is currently investigating possibilities for the construction of a PEM (proton exchange membrane) water
  electrolysis system with a capacity of 50 MW for CO2-free production of hydrogen from water and electricity at the Ludwigshafen site. This CO2-free hydrogen would be primarily used as a raw material in the Verbund but would also be used to a limited extent to support the launch of the mobility market in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.
• At the Antwerp site, BASF is planning to invest in one of the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects under the North Sea. Together with partners in the Antwerp@C consortium, this creates the opportunity to avoid more than 1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year from the production of basic chemicals. A final investment decision is targeted for 2022.

Competitiveness must be maintained

BASF has set itself an ambitious goal of climate neutrality by 2050 because the company is convinced of the long-term strategic necessity as well as the technical feasibility. However, most of the new technologies are not yet competitive under today’s framework conditions. Since it is very capital-intensive to replace existing highly efficient production processes with new plants, BASF is trying to secure funding from European and national programs such as IPCEI (Important Projects ofCommon European Interest).

“We are convinced that ultimately all players involved will work together to make this once-in-a-century transformation economically successful. This also includes consumers accepting higher prices for CO2-free products throughout the value chain to offset higher operating costs and additional investments. To achieve this, we need new cooperation between industry and policymakers that leads to positive, outcome-oriented regulations and preserves our international competitiveness,” said Brudermüller.

Unilever has so far donated more than 300 million HUF to help fight the epidemic in Hungary. In April, it offered 1,000 gift packages to the staff of the Hungarian Central Honvéd Hospital and 4,600 Lifebuoy Total hygienic hand gels to the staff of the National Ambulance Service.

“Although Unilever’s important businesses such as ice creams and professional catering products have been negatively affected by the pandemic restrictions, we felt it was our duty to continue to support and acknowledge the work of those fighting in the frontline,” said Unilever Hungary CEO Alberto Di Leo.

The company wanted to thank the employees of the Honvéd Hospital for their commitment by donating 1000 gift packages to the employees of the hospital. The donation, worth around 5 million HUF in total, was handed over on 23 April 2021 with the assistance of Waberers, their partner in logistics.

Earlier this month, the company contributed to the safety of colleagues of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) with a donation of around 4.5 million HUF, consisting of the recently re-launched Lifebuoy products.

The Lifebuoy Total Hygienic Hand Gel products donated to the NAS are formulated with antibacterial ingredients, alcohol and vitamins E and B3 to help remove bacteria and protect hands from drying out. The hand gel comes in a handy travel pack: easy to use anywhere, anytime, without water.

“The comrades of the National Ambulance Service make tremendous efforts every day, so it is especially gratifying to see the cooperation and support from companies and civilians,” said Pál Győrfi, spokesman of the National Ambulance Service.

Our newest member is the National Mobile Payment Plc., which was founded in 2012. The number one leader of the company is Mihály Veres, their sales revenue in 2019 was almost 27 billion HUF, with 58 employees. Their core activities include providing mobile payment methods for public parking, vignette and tolls of the hungarian highways and roads, local and long-distance public transportation and for cultural facilities.

Their environmental responsibility is shown in the IT support of measures aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, such as the development of digital transport mobile tickets and the development of systems supporting the operation of the circular economy. In connection with their products, they have made calculations regarding their efforts on CO2 reduction, which they try to use for educational purposes. The organization respects the human rights of its employees. Their processes, measures and regulations (eg.: code of ethics, equal opportunities plan, data protection regulations) serve to eliminate negative impacts and risks affecting human rights. Particular attention is paid to individuals or groups who are more exposed to negative human rights violations due to their vulnerability or marginalized position. They prohibit discrimination and are committed to safe and healthy working conditions and the dignity of the individual. Transparent operation is ensured by the reporting system, the provision of data to their owner and the ministry and the display of public data.

By joining BCSDH, they would like to get into the mainstream of the mutual thinking about sustainability and use their developments to support domestic or even international sustainability efforts made by companies and institutions.

The company does not differentiate between employee salary packages based on gender. It is leading by example; disclosing salary information by gender for the most common employee roles, to meet their previous commitments.

SPAR Hungary is joining Amnesty International Hungary’s equal pay campaign and calls on other members of the Hungarian business community, especially those in the small business sector to follow their lead.  The civil rights organisation’s #EgyLépésselKözelebb (#OneStepCloser) campaign aims to achieve transparency over the salaries of both genders to help close the pay gap. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage as many companies as possible to take steps to close the gender pay gap by making their salary information publicly available on International Women’s Day this year.

“The power of the SPAR community and the business achievements would not have been possible without our female colleagues. One of the two managing directors, and 12 of the 25 members of the management team are female. The ratio of women to men working at our headquarters is 60:40, 82:18 in supermarkets, and 48:52 in the food production department which is typically more physically demanding work. In the logistics department, the ratio is 18:82. With these numbers in mind, what is more important is that salaries are not determined based on gender. Male cashiers make 0.4% less than their female colleagues, while there is zero difference in pay between men and women working in specialised shop assistant roles. This year we decided to join Amnesty International’s fight for equal pay for women. On International Women’s Day this year we are fulfilling the commitment we made in 2020 and are leading by example to reach workplace gender equality,” said Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR.