BASF’s Strategy Faces a Reckoning When It Comes to Emissions

For more than a century, BASF SE has stuck by its strategy of running sprawling, integrated chemical plants, even as rivals including DuPont Co. break up. This degree of industrial might risks being a hindrance when it comes to environmental credentials.

The world’s largest chemical maker obtained a high overall environmental ranking among diversified peers in Bloomberg’s ESG scores. Yet some lower-performing rivals are selling their most carbon-intensive assets, an option BASF doesn’t have under its current strategy.

When periodically quizzed by investors about the future of BASF’s so-called Verbund complexes, a succession of chief executive officers have ...