Bayer Sustainable Development Report 2005 Klaus Liedtke

Klaus Liedtke

Cooperation with Bayer on the supply of drinking water

Klaus Liedtke, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Germany

While the global population is constantly growing, the supply of drinking water – our most precious resource – is becoming constantly scarcer. Conflicts are brewing. The UN has therefore declared this decade “The Water for Life Decade” and aims to halve the number of people with no access to clean drinking water. At the same time, it wants to make people more aware generally of the need to conserve our water supplies and use the resources on a sustainable basis.

In a unique cooperation project, the National Geographic Society and Bayer AG decided to back this initiative by supporting scientists who carry out research on this topic. Nearly 100 project applications were submitted, nine of which have been selected for sponsorship following intensive evaluation. I am delighted about this response to our Global Exploration Fund and very happy that it brings together two globally operating enterprises to help solve one of mankind‘s most urgent problems.

Bayer AG is, after all, affected not only as a technology-producing company, but also, in many different ways, as a user of the raw material water. In collaborative projects such as this, Bayer also displays a responsibility to society. This commitment and its confession of faith to sustainable management create a direct bridge to the goals of the National Geographic Society, the largest non-profitmaking scientific organization in the world, which sees itself as a guardian of the cultural heritage and the natural resources of our planet.