BASF today announced that its SELECT™ (Sustainability, Eco-Labeling and Environmental Certification Tracking) Eco-Label Manager has nearly tripled in size to 270 programs; such as, environmental certifications, eco-labels and databases, up from 100 programs the previous year. The SELECT Eco-Label Manager is a database that manages the abundance of eco-labels, environmental claims, directories and ratings systems strategically by allowing users to search, analyze and compare these programs in a structured and consistent format.

The database is available online, and is free to registered participants, including BASF customers. There are currently more than 480 registered users of SELECT from 30 different countries.

"The SELECT Eco-Label Manager is one of the most comprehensive one-stop shops available to review and research the requirements for dozens of eco-labels," said Mike Werner, Senior Sustainability Engineer, HAWORTH, INC. of Holland, Michigan.

Eco-labels are often used to demonstrate that a product meets a certain level of environmental performance. Currently, there are more than 400 eco-label programs globally, making it difficult to not only keep track of them, but to understand their requirements. Many businesses are spending considerable time and resources trying to understand and manage these classifications.

"BASF has done an excellent job bringing clarity to the ever changing world of environmentally preferable market requirements. The Eco-Label Manager tool  covers environmental requirements beyond BASF's materials core and is a great resource for a broad array of businesses," said Dan Fitzgerald, Regulatory Engineer, Stanley Black Decker of New Britain, Connecticut.

Nearly 300 programs are categorized into different market sectors. Building and Construction (B&C) is the largest sector with 94 programs represented in SELECT.BASF has a strong B&C product portfolio that provides customers with energy efficiency, heat management and concrete technologies with reduced environmental footprints.

Cleaning products is the next big category with 47 programs posted. This is a common type of environmental label because certified cleaning products can support the achievement of green building ratings. One example is BASF's Trilon^® M chelate, which has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) certification program, and is designed to improve the overall formulation performance of products while reducing environmental risks. Trilon M is the first product to meet the DfE criteria for chelating and sequestering agents.

Additional market sectors include: Automotive, Electrical and Electronics, Furniture, Packaging, Paper, Personal Care, Textiles, Transportation, and Universal. Examples of programs included in SELECT are: Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design^® (LEED), ENERGY STAR; and Rainforest Alliance™.

"BASF has shown real leadership by developing its Eco Label tool and by making it widely available. These are the type of things that can make a real difference in bringing more sustainable products to market," said Al Iannuzzi, author of the book: "Greener Products, the Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands."

The SELECT Eco-Label tool is continuing to add programs from all regions of the world. Programs included are based in the following countries: United States, Canada, Brazil, Austria, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium, Japan, and Switzerland.

Future changes to SELECT include the addition of fields for: Land Use - Biodiversity Requirements, Toxicity Potential, Water Use, Supply Chain Criteria (Traceability, and Hot Spot Analysis), and Social Performance Criteria (Corporate Level Performance, Product Level Performance). BASF is also working to implement an individual profile that registrants can complete to get email updates when individual programs are changed or updated, or when programs are changed, updated, or added to a particular market sector, geography, or type in which they are interested.

Currently, the tool is available to all BASF employees, BASF customers and stakeholders; such as, suppliers, environmental NGOs, government officials, and trade associations. For more information about the SELECT Eco-Label Manager, please visit www.selectecolabels.com.

LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a trademark of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

Forest Stewardship Council is a registered trademark of Forest Stewardship Council,A.C.

ENERGY STAR is a registered trademark of the U.S. Government.

Rainforest Alliance is a trademark of Rainforest Alliance, Inc.

Trilon is a registered trademark and SELECT is a trademark of BASF SE.

About BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20 billion in 2011. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us. BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

BASF Corporation 100 Park Avenue Florham Park, New Jersey 07932

BASF Corporation

BASF Corporation

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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