Bayer Sustainable Development Report 2005 Ecological indicators

Ecological indicators


Energy use	Water
Direct greenhouse gas emissions	Wastewater
Emissions of volatile organic compounds	Waste
Ozone-depleting emissions	Major environmental incidents
Other air emissions	Transportation incidents

When interpreting the progression over time it should be borne in mind that the development is depen-dent on various different influences. In addition to technical measures to reduce emissions, waste levels and consumption of resources, as well as fluctuating production volumes, structural changes also come into play. These include the purchase and sale of sites in full or in part and also the outsourcing of upstream services, as was the case in 2002, for example, with the construction of a gas turbine with waste heat boiler by the third-party operator Electrabel in Antwerp, Belgium.

The production volume of our continuing operations rose slightly in 2005 compared with 2004. Nevertheless, many of the indicators reported below for continuing operations have decreased. This indicates that in those instances, the specific emission or specific use of resources was further reduced.

Volume of sold products (in million t/a)

Our aim is to achieve an appropriate and consistent level of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) management throughout the Group. With this in mind, our established HSEQ management systems were further improved in 2005. These systems are subject to regular review as set out in a Group-wide Audit Directive, with the external certification of our management systems supplementing these internal audits.

Where it makes sense on location, we will also in future arrange for certification in accordance with the environmental management standard ISO 14001. The equivalent standard for health and safety management is OHSAS 18001 issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI). Some Bayer sites have already had their management systems certified in accordance with this standard.

Bayer	2004*		2005
RO = Reporting Object	No. of ROs	No. of ROs as a proportion of production sites	No. of ROs	No. of ROs as a proportion of production sites
Sites with a management system certified to ISO 14001	55	33%	58	35%
Sites with an environmental management system based on external standards**	63	38%	65	39%
Sites with a management system certified to OHSAS 18001	3	2%	8	5%

*    Bayer excluding Lanxess sites
**   “based on external standards” includes:
•    Management systems certified to iso 14001 or EMAS
•    Systems and certifications based on national standards e.g. “Industria Limpia” [Clean Industry] in Mexico

Energy use

Despite the fact that production volumes remained almost constant, energy use by the Bayer Group fell by 16 percent between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 a reduction of approximately ten percent on the previous year was recorded – the share attributable to Lanxess has already been excluded from this figure. In terms of primary energy, natural gas and coal were the main sources, accounting for 71 and 24 percent respectively.

Energy use (in petajoule/a)

Energy balance sheet (in terajoule/a)

The total energy use of the Bayer Group of 87 petajoules (= 87,000 terajoules) is calculated from the sum of primary energy use, electricity procured and waste heat minus the amount of steam and refrigeration energy sold on balance.

Direct greenhouse gas emissions

Direct emissions of greenhouse gases were seven percent lower than in the previous year across the Group as a whole (2004: 4.2 million metric tons, 2005: 3.9 million metric tons). This fall is primarily due to reduced energy consumption. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrogen monoxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆). Using substance-specific equivalence factors, these emissions are converted to CO₂ equivalents. On this basis, 98.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 related to CO₂, 1.4 percent to N₂O and 0.1 percent to all other greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gas emissions are composed of emissions from power stations and from production and waste incineration plants in which the Bayer Group holds a participating interest of at least 51 percent.

Emissions of greenhouse gases (in million t CO₂ equivalents/a)

As well as aiming to minimize absolute CO₂ emissions, Bayer is also striving to achieve an ongoing reduction in specific greenhouse gas emissions in relation to production volumes, since these specific indicators relate to our reduction potential from improved efficiencies and technical innovations. The graph shows a continuous fall in specific emissions until the spin-off of Lanxess in January 2005. The departure of Lanxess led to a major reduction in production volumes and thus to a slight increase in the specific emissions of greenhouse gases.

Specific greenhouse gas emissions/product volume (total for Bayer Group)

Emissions of volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are organic chemicals with a particular vapor pressure that contribute to the formation of smog and ground-level ozone.

Due to the acquisition of Aventis CropScience, there was a rise in voc emissions by the Bayer Group from 9,100 metric tons in 2000 to 11,400 metric tons in 2002, after which time they fell consistently, reaching 9,900 metric tons in 2004. The 20 percent reduction for continuing operations compared with 2004 can be attributed to successful measures to improve waste air purification at the Vapi site in India. These are the first results of a comprehensive action plan to reduce VOC emissions, with further reductions set to follow.

VOC emissions (in 1,000 t/a)

Ozone-depleting emissions

To be able to compare the damaging effect of substances on the ozone layer, each substance is assigned an ozone depletion potential and is expressed as a relative value (equivalent) in relation to the potential of the guide substance trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11). The total for all substances with the potential to harm the ozone layer is then stated as the total of all CFC-11 equivalents. In 2005 this figure was ten percent lower than during the previous year.

Emissions with ozone depletion potential (in t CFC-11 equivalents)

Other air emissions

Other emissions primarily include sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_X), most of which originate from incineration processes. SO₂ and NO_X are also emitted during some production processes. Particulates are released both from the combustion plants used for energy generation and during some production processes. Fluctuations in these emissions over time are due to such factors as changes in energy consumption.

Other air emissions (in 1,000 t/a)

	2000	2002	2003	2004			2005
				Bayer Group	Bayer Group excluding Lanxess	Lanxess
CO	3.8	3.0	-	2.3	1.9	0.4	1.9
NO_X	11.2	9.4	6.7	6.3	4.3	2.0	4.5
SO₂	6.6	7.4	5.9	5.6	4.2	1.4	4.5
Particulates	1.9	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.5	0.3	0.3

Water

Compared with the previous year, there was only a slight reduction in water use by the Bayer Group in 2005. Accounting for 0.8 million cubic meters (m³) per day, cooling water fed into production accounted for the highest share. Since this water is merely heated up and not affected in any other way when used in the Group, it can be discharged again without any further treatment. The sites take more than half of the water that they need from surface water, with around one third being drawn from underground sources (generally groundwater).

Water use (in million m3/d)

Water sources

Bayer Group (excluding Lanxess)	2004	2005
Water use in million m3/d	1.3	1.2
of which from surface waters	60.0%	54.0%
of which from bore holes/springs	32.6%	34.5%
of which from public drinking water supply	4.9%	2.6%
of which from other sources (e.g. rainwater)	2.4%	8.8%

Wastewater

The most important parameters used to record water pollution caused by Bayer are the total loads of phosphorus, nitrogen and organic compounds. The discharge of phosphates remained more or less constant for continuing operations in 2004 and 2005. The nitrogen load (nitrates and ammonium nitrogen), however, was 18 percent lower in 2005 than in the previous year.

Because it is easier to determine the level of organic compounds in wastewater as total organic carbon (TOC), since 2003 we have been using toc as an indicator instead of chemical oxygen demand (COD). Last year, there was a renewed fall in the emission of organic compounds into wastewater. Similarly, there was a drop in wastewater pollution caused by heavy metals and inorganic salts.

TOC emissions (in 1,000 t/a total organic carbon)

Other emissions into water

	2000	2002	2003	2004			2005
				Bayer Group	Bayer Group excluding Lanxess	Lanxess
Phosphorus, 1,000 t/a	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.83	0.76	0.07	0.75
Nitrogen, 1,000 t/a	3.4	3.4	3.2	2.8	0.9	1.9	0.7
Heavy metals, t/a	42.0	30.0	29.0	28.2	14.5	13.7	12.0
Inorganic salts, million t/a	2.0	1.5	1.6	-	1.0	(not recorded)	0.8

Waste

Through its ongoing work on the further development of its production processes and by using alternative raw materials, Bayer was able to substantially reduce the volume of waste produced in the 1990s. Data from the last few years appear to indicate that this potential has been almost fully tapped. The rise in the volume of waste produced in continuing operations in 2005 compared with 2004 can be attributed to closures and reconstruction work (building rubble and excavated soil).

Total waste produced (in million t/a)

We have been recording the amount of “hazardous waste,” the definition of which varies from one country to another, since 2003. The data used for the Group in the Bayer balance sheet are calculated in line with the national definitions. In Germany, hazardous waste comprises items such as sludge from the company’s own wastewater treatment processes, and distillation and solvent residues. The rise from 2004 to 2005 can again be attributed to closures and reconstruction work.

Generation of hazardous waste (in 1,000 t/a)

More than half of the hazardous waste was transferred to landfill sites in 2005, with the rest being repro-cessed or incinerated. The rise on the previous year is due to the higher volume of waste from closures and reconstruction work.

Bayer Group	2004**	2005
Total volume of waste disposed of*	680,000 t	950,000 t
of which sent to landfill	49%	54%
of which incinerated	29%	25%
of which recycled	21%	19%
of which not allocated to a form of disposal***	1%	2%

*    The volume of waste that is disposed of may deviate from the volume of waste generated due to differences in the
      recording periods for the occurrence and disposal of waste and differing water content in the case of sewage sludge.
**   Bayer Group excluding Lanxess
*** The form of disposal used for this waste could not be recorded in the data collected. Proper disposal is, however,
     safeguarded for this waste.

Landfilling of hazardous waste (in 1,000 t/a)

Major environmental incidents

Up to and including the 2002 reporting year we reported on those incidents at production sites that needed to be reported to the authorities in accordance with local regulations. In 2002, for example, there were 53 such “reportable environmental incidents” and four cases of “incidents causing damage.” Since the 2003 reporting year we have categorized environmental incidents and incidents causing damage in line with their degree of severity as “major environmental incidents.” Due to the different definitions, comparisons with earlier years can only be made to a limited extent.

In 2005 the number of incidents included under this definition was down on the previous year – falling from six to two.

On June 23, 2005 a small amount of chlorine was released from the Leverkusen site. The grounds of the Landesgartenschau, the regional garden show bordering the Leverkusen site, were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
In Norwich (United Kingdom) polluted wastewater was released into the subsoil on September 9, 2005 due to a leak in a collecting tank. Ground monitoring has been established in order to determine the remediation necessary.

Major environmental incidents

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004*	2005
Reportable environmental incidents	69	47	53	-	-	-
Incidents causing damage	7	1	4	-	-	-
Major environmental incidents	-	-	-	21	6	2

* Bayer Group excluding Lanxess sites

Transportation incidents

Since the 2003 reporting year we have been recording transportation incidents on a Group-wide basis, including at warehouse sites. While it was previously the case that all incidents in which we were in possession of the transported goods were counted, the counting method was changed in 2005. The key factor now is whether Bayer has assumed financial responsibility for the transportation concerned. Given that, in the United States in particular, ownership of the sold goods generally passes to the customer as soon as the goods leave the Bayer site, the old definition, which focused upon possession of goods being transported, no longer appeared appropriate.
Additional criteria are the volume and risk potential of chemicals possibly released into the environment. Due to this new definition, the 2005 figures can only be compared against earlier figures to a very limited extent.

Transportation incidents

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004*	2005
Road	26	16	23	28	10	2
Rail	2	0	2	0	0	1
Internal waterway	2	1	0	0	0	0
Sea	2	0	0	0	0	0
Air	1	0	0	0	1	0
Pipeline	0	1	1	-	-	0
Total	33	18	26	28	11	3

* Bayer Group excluding Lanxess sites