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Global Commitment to Sustainability

Social responsibility and sustainability are integral to Bayer’s corporate policy. This commitment is also evidenced by the company’s participation in numerous initiatives and projects around the world.

Bayer has long practiced the concept of Responsible Care and was one of the first companies to sign the new Responsible Care Global Charter in 2006. A member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development since 1997, Bayer is also among the founding members of German industry’s sustainable development forum “econsense.”

Bayer is represented in major sustainability indices and investment funds that focus on companies pursuing responsible and sustainable corporate strategies. For example, Bayer is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World, the FTSE4Good index series, the Storebrand Principal Funds and the Advanced Sustainable Performance Indices (ASPI) Eurozone. Our sustainability reporting is based on the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, which Bayer supports as an organizational stakeholder.

The company places maximum importance on climate protection. For example, in 2008 Bayer was again included in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index published by the Carbon Disclosure Project, run on behalf of institutional investors and other organizations. Bayer is also one of the 17 founding members of the climate protection initiative “3C: Combat Climate Change.”

Bayer is a founding member of the Global Compact initiative of the United Nations, actively promoting its principles through numerous projects. In Brazil, for example, Bayer supports the Abrinq Foundation in its efforts to combat child labor and cooperates with the non-governmental organization Agência Mandalla in the fight against hunger and poverty. Bayer’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has set new standards in public-private partnerships. One of the joint activities is the “Bayer Young Environmental Envoy” program, which has now been extended to 18 countries on four continents.

Bayer set up the Global Exploration Fund together with National Geographic, the world’s largest non-profit scientific organization. Further progress was made in 2008 with nine research projects aimed at safeguarding global drinking water supplies.

For years, Bayer has also been an active member of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is committed to the fight against these three epidemic diseases. For example, the company is cooperating with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, a U.S. non-profit organization, to develop a new tuberculosis drug that could reduce treatment times.