Foreword
Greatest possible care
Future-oriented, efficient and safe
We exercise the greatest possible care towards humankind and the environment. The efficient deployment of resources and energy is at the heart of our environmental protection activities in day-to-day production. We also take very seriously any risks emanating from our products and production processes and evaluate them early in order to develop measures to control them or find alternatives. In the area of climate protection, we have set ourselves particularly ambitious targets and have already partly achieved them.
Through the global “Responsible Care” initiative, the chemical industry acknowledged, earlier than other industries, manufacturers’ responsibility for their products. Bayer’s product-integrated environmental protection policy focuses on all the phases of a product’s life cycle, from the use of the raw material, through production and transport, to handling, use and disposal – in other words, “from cradle to grave.”
Chemical safety at Bayer is organized systematically and efficiently, and receives the necessary financial resources. On the other hand, we do not employ any patent solution because each substance has to be viewed differently according to the specific requirements in its particular field of application. From the legislative point of view, too, the authorities impose different demands from those of customers. The furnishing of customers with safety data sheets plays a key role in Bayer’s open and trustful ongoing relationship with customers. Here, Bayer goes well beyond the legal stipulations: We publish safety data sheets not only for products that are classified as hazardous, but for all our products, following the principle of “no safety data sheet, no product.”
Another example of the way we responsibly handle potential risks are the safety appraisals we perform in the context of environmental compatibility. At Bayer CropScience, they are an integral part of product development. For example, an examination is made of the effects of crop protection products on representative non-target organisms in the water, soil and air. Laboratory conditions do not necessarily yield definitive information on the variety of possible effects, which is why a comprehensive evaluation of product safety also covers field trials examining the effects of crop protection products. In addition, our global product stewardship measures ensure that our products are used responsibly.
In 2000, to optimize the products that Bayer takes to market, we developed the so-called “Bayer Eco-Check.” This system helps us assess the environmental impact of a product at all stages of its life cycle, and thus enables us to point development in the right direction early on in the life of a new product. Changes to the company’s product portfolio and the experience gained with the Eco-Check over the past few years have indicated that there is a need to make some modifications to it. For this reason, the procedure for product assessment is currently undergoing comprehensive revision.
REACH: Our position regarding a new chemicals policy
With our commitment to product stewardship, we also support the goal of the e.u. Chemicals Policy to improve the safety of everyone involved along the product chain and to further enhance consumer safety and environmental protection. We have therefore been constructively involved in the reshaping of the e.u. Chemicals Policy by submitting our own proposals. Environmental protection, consumer protection and competitiveness must be harmonized. Numerous discussions with stakeholders confirm that our view is correct. Emphasis must also be placed on the practicability of reach, so that, with the predicted conclusion of the parliamentary consultations, attention is directed at its implementation: We are calling for support for implementation that is comprehensible for all parties. We are also active within the company itself and have initiated a process to prepare for REACH.
The same applies to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) formulated at the sustainability summit in Johannesburg in 2002 for the period up to 2008. At that time, the benefits were said to be an easing of cross-border trade that would also ensure a high, globally uniform level of safety in the handling of chemicals. Differing interests on the part of the countries involved are, however, threatening to destroy these benefits, which means that the original objective will not be achieved. Bayer wants to create better draft legislation through industry’s involvement.
Genetic engineering: Potential for essential products
Genetic engineering offers enormous potential for vital products and applications in health care, nutrition and environmental protection. Bayer uses this efficient technology in the development of new products and processes in three areas: “white” biotechnology (chemical products, wastewater treatment), “green” biotechnology (useful plants and renewable raw materials) and “red” biotechnology (drug development and production).
We see considerable growth potential for active substances resulting from red, medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology. We are also on course for growth as far as the dynamically developing green biotechnology is concerned, which is opening up completely new opportunities as regards the effective and specific production of renewable raw materials. White biotechnology, on the other hand, offers us alternatives to traditional chemistry. It enables processes to be used for the manufacture of products that are difficult or even impossible to obtain with traditional chemistry – for example, complex molecules such as proteins.
Through the global “Responsible Care” initiative, the chemical industry acknowledged, earlier than other industries, manufacturers’ responsibility for their products. Bayer’s product-integrated environmental protection policy focuses on all the phases of a product’s life cycle, from the use of the raw material, through production and transport, to handling, use and disposal – in other words, “from cradle to grave.”
Chemical safety at Bayer is organized systematically and efficiently, and receives the necessary financial resources. On the other hand, we do not employ any patent solution because each substance has to be viewed differently according to the specific requirements in its particular field of application. From the legislative point of view, too, the authorities impose different demands from those of customers. The furnishing of customers with safety data sheets plays a key role in Bayer’s open and trustful ongoing relationship with customers. Here, Bayer goes well beyond the legal stipulations: We publish safety data sheets not only for products that are classified as hazardous, but for all our products, following the principle of “no safety data sheet, no product.”
Another example of the way we responsibly handle potential risks are the safety appraisals we perform in the context of environmental compatibility. At Bayer CropScience, they are an integral part of product development. For example, an examination is made of the effects of crop protection products on representative non-target organisms in the water, soil and air. Laboratory conditions do not necessarily yield definitive information on the variety of possible effects, which is why a comprehensive evaluation of product safety also covers field trials examining the effects of crop protection products. In addition, our global product stewardship measures ensure that our products are used responsibly.
In 2000, to optimize the products that Bayer takes to market, we developed the so-called “Bayer Eco-Check.” This system helps us assess the environmental impact of a product at all stages of its life cycle, and thus enables us to point development in the right direction early on in the life of a new product. Changes to the company’s product portfolio and the experience gained with the Eco-Check over the past few years have indicated that there is a need to make some modifications to it. For this reason, the procedure for product assessment is currently undergoing comprehensive revision.
REACH: Our position regarding a new chemicals policy
With our commitment to product stewardship, we also support the goal of the e.u. Chemicals Policy to improve the safety of everyone involved along the product chain and to further enhance consumer safety and environmental protection. We have therefore been constructively involved in the reshaping of the e.u. Chemicals Policy by submitting our own proposals. Environmental protection, consumer protection and competitiveness must be harmonized. Numerous discussions with stakeholders confirm that our view is correct. Emphasis must also be placed on the practicability of reach, so that, with the predicted conclusion of the parliamentary consultations, attention is directed at its implementation: We are calling for support for implementation that is comprehensible for all parties. We are also active within the company itself and have initiated a process to prepare for REACH.
The same applies to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) formulated at the sustainability summit in Johannesburg in 2002 for the period up to 2008. At that time, the benefits were said to be an easing of cross-border trade that would also ensure a high, globally uniform level of safety in the handling of chemicals. Differing interests on the part of the countries involved are, however, threatening to destroy these benefits, which means that the original objective will not be achieved. Bayer wants to create better draft legislation through industry’s involvement.
Genetic engineering: Potential for essential products
Genetic engineering offers enormous potential for vital products and applications in health care, nutrition and environmental protection. Bayer uses this efficient technology in the development of new products and processes in three areas: “white” biotechnology (chemical products, wastewater treatment), “green” biotechnology (useful plants and renewable raw materials) and “red” biotechnology (drug development and production).
We see considerable growth potential for active substances resulting from red, medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology. We are also on course for growth as far as the dynamically developing green biotechnology is concerned, which is opening up completely new opportunities as regards the effective and specific production of renewable raw materials. White biotechnology, on the other hand, offers us alternatives to traditional chemistry. It enables processes to be used for the manufacture of products that are difficult or even impossible to obtain with traditional chemistry – for example, complex molecules such as proteins.
REACH1 timeline
1 Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals
So that we can use the opportunities it offers and limit or responsibly manage the risks it entails, we attach major importance to the responsible use of genetic engineering. There is a statement in Bayer’s Program for Legal Compliance and Corporate Responsibility on the subject of genetic engineering that states: “Our work in genetic engineering is governed by ethical values, and, in particular, by respect for human life and dignity.” We therefore reject the idea of using genetic engineering to interfere with the human embryo.
Thanks to new developments, today’s crop protection products have also attained a very high level of efficacy. Some time ago, because these products represent absolutely no risk either to man or the environment – provided they are properly used – we initiated, as part of our consulting services, training for local farmers, especially in threshold and developing countries. In the 2004/2005 reporting period, Bayer CropScience extended this service and launched seminars for small farmers in the People’s Republic of China, India and Ban-gladesh. Through such training Bayer CropScience complies – as it does in its day-to-day work – with the “International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides” issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2002.
Animal experiments: Protecting man and the environment
To ensure the safe development of new active substances and products, experiments on animals (predominantly rats and mice) will continue to be unavoidable in the future. This is a highly emotional topic that affects all three Bayer subgroups. In connection with plans for European legislation (reach, e.u. Plant Protection Directive), Bayer is therefore intensively involved, together with other representatives of the chemical industry, in the debate on the effect these regulations will have on the number of animal experiments. A broad industry coalition in favor of the “3 R” concept (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has already declared its willingness to cooperate with the European Commission. This concept aims to improve the existing methods as regards careful treatment of the animals and a reduction in the overall number of animals per experiment.
The development of alternative methods is also being pursued. Validation of these tests is nevertheless proving to be a major challenge. For one thing, the results are not comparable in all areas – for example, with regard to the long-term effects and the determination of dose/effect relationships. For this reason, we regard animal experiments as necessary for the future protection of man and the environment. It will be impossible to find a full replacement within the foreseeable future.
We are already proving that the “3 R” concept is a very promising approach, as we have reduced the number of experiments in all departments to an absolute minimum. The number of animal experiments during the period covered by this Report has fallen again – from 112,000 animals in 2003 to 95,000 in 2005. This means we have been able to reduce the number of animals used in experiments by 78 percent since 1990. More than 90 percent of the animal experiments carried out by Bayer are required by law. Among other things, they assure the high standard of drug safety and basically ensure that we can all trust today’s drugs. There are other animal experiments that are not legally required but are important because they involve basic research. They try to find answers to questions such as: How do certain processes actually take place in the organism? What factors play a decisive role in this? In such cases, animal experiments help to provide the basic knowledge that is needed to develop new forms of therapy.
Thanks to new developments, today’s crop protection products have also attained a very high level of efficacy. Some time ago, because these products represent absolutely no risk either to man or the environment – provided they are properly used – we initiated, as part of our consulting services, training for local farmers, especially in threshold and developing countries. In the 2004/2005 reporting period, Bayer CropScience extended this service and launched seminars for small farmers in the People’s Republic of China, India and Ban-gladesh. Through such training Bayer CropScience complies – as it does in its day-to-day work – with the “International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides” issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2002.
Animal experiments: Protecting man and the environment
To ensure the safe development of new active substances and products, experiments on animals (predominantly rats and mice) will continue to be unavoidable in the future. This is a highly emotional topic that affects all three Bayer subgroups. In connection with plans for European legislation (reach, e.u. Plant Protection Directive), Bayer is therefore intensively involved, together with other representatives of the chemical industry, in the debate on the effect these regulations will have on the number of animal experiments. A broad industry coalition in favor of the “3 R” concept (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has already declared its willingness to cooperate with the European Commission. This concept aims to improve the existing methods as regards careful treatment of the animals and a reduction in the overall number of animals per experiment.
The development of alternative methods is also being pursued. Validation of these tests is nevertheless proving to be a major challenge. For one thing, the results are not comparable in all areas – for example, with regard to the long-term effects and the determination of dose/effect relationships. For this reason, we regard animal experiments as necessary for the future protection of man and the environment. It will be impossible to find a full replacement within the foreseeable future.
We are already proving that the “3 R” concept is a very promising approach, as we have reduced the number of experiments in all departments to an absolute minimum. The number of animal experiments during the period covered by this Report has fallen again – from 112,000 animals in 2003 to 95,000 in 2005. This means we have been able to reduce the number of animals used in experiments by 78 percent since 1990. More than 90 percent of the animal experiments carried out by Bayer are required by law. Among other things, they assure the high standard of drug safety and basically ensure that we can all trust today’s drugs. There are other animal experiments that are not legally required but are important because they involve basic research. They try to find answers to questions such as: How do certain processes actually take place in the organism? What factors play a decisive role in this? In such cases, animal experiments help to provide the basic knowledge that is needed to develop new forms of therapy.
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