BASF SE : BASF launches Center for Building Excellence to North American construction industry

Interdisciplinary expert team offers builders and architects solutions for affordable, sustainable construction

FLORHAM PARK, NJ, January 19, 2012 --BASF today announced the launch of its Center for Building Excellence. This new venture will provide consulting services to the North American construction industry. Staffed by an interdisciplinary team of building science professionals, architects and energy specialists, the BASF Center for Building Excellence is focused on the adoption of beyond-code construction that is sustainable, affordable, and provides value for all stakeholders.

"Through our broad portfolio of products and extensive global network of construction experts, we will work with architects, engineers, and design professionals to helpaccelerate the adoption of needed sustainable and affordable constructionapproaches,"said Beate Ehle,Executive Vice President, BASF Corporation and President, Market and Business Development for BASF in North America.

"The BASF Center for Building Excellence team is creating a dialogue with residential and commercial construction professionals in North America to address the need for structures with smaller footprints and longer lifecycles that require less energy," said Rick Davenport, Director of Sustainable Construction for BASF in North America.

The BASF Center for Building Excellence will offer the following services:

• -Consulting to assist professionals in evaluating building systems and recommending high-performance alternatives;
• -Determining opportunities for cost shifting to achieve affordable solutions;
• -Training and education in building science;
• -Code compliance review and assistance;
• -Consulting services to achieve third-party certifications, such as LEED®;
• -Plan reviews and energy modeling;
• -Access to BASF capabilities and custom solutions.

"The biggest challenge to creating sustainable, high-performance buildings on a broad basis is affordability - offsetting the incremental cost associated with improved performance. Chemistry is the key to balancing that equation, and BASF's Center for Building Excellence will uniquely be able to respond to this growing need within the construction industry," said Davenport.

With more than 600 technologies in 75 construction product categories, BASF, the world's leading chemical company, offers the broadest portfolio of products used on construction sites - or integrated into other products to improve system performance -to increase energy efficiency, job site efficiency, service life and durability.

For more information about the BASF Center for Building Excellence, please contact [e-mail] or call the toll free number [phone].

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,400 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.7 billion in 2010. 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 €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of 2010. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet ator in the Social Media Newsroom at.

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