On October 19, BASF launched “Sustainability Covalence”, an alliance of 14 founding partners to promote sustainable growth by taking joint actions in areas of low-carbon development, circular economy and societal engagement across the value chain of key industries. 

“Covalence”, a chemical word meaning valence (the degree of the combining power of a certain element) characterized by sharing of electrons, stands for the member partners’ shared vision to jointly promote sustainable growth for China and to contribute to the country’s objectives in carbon neutrality and green development. 

The founding members are from various industries along the chemical value chain, including: BASF, COMIY, Hongbaoli, Huaheng Biotech, INOV, Landsea, Red Avenue, Rokin Logistics, SCIP SITA, Sino Trans, Snow Breweries, Techstorm, Xiangfeng and Xilong Scientific. 

“At BASF, sustainability is deeply rooted in our business operations. We firmly believe that through our joint efforts across  the entire value chain, we can generate greater social, economic and environmental impact ,” said Dr. Zheng Daqing, BASF's Senior Vice President, Business and Market Development Greater China, at the launch ceremony, attended by executives from the founding companies, representative of The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), as well as representatives from China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation led by Vice Chairman Fu Xiangsheng who recognized BASF’s efforts in teaming up with the value chain partners for sustainable development. 

“Together in the ‘Sustainability Covalence’, we will share best practices, form strong collaborations and actively contribute to China’s objecitves for sustainable development,” Zheng added. 

The initial joint initiatives under the ‘Sustainability Covalence’ focus on carbon emission reduction, in which BASF’s know-how and expertise will be leveraged. Each partner will co-create with BASF on a carbon reduction project, ranging from energy efficient housing, safe and durable plastic applications, low-carbon transportation to sustainable packaging solutions for food and beverages.