More than 15 million people worldwide will benefit directly from the lighthouse projects because these improve both the provision of health care and economic and social conditions. In ecological terms too, Bayer’s commitment to sustainability is having measurable effects: The Group is to increase energy efficiency in production by 10 percent through 2013 compared to 2008, corresponding to specific reductions in greenhouse gases of 350,000 metric tons annually. In addition, through a new technology for chlorine production, it will be possible to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by a further 250,000 metric tons through 2020. The marketing of this technology will even generate additional potential for cutting greenhouse gas emissions overall by five million metric tons per year.
Innovations and values as the driver of sustainability
Wenning stressed the importance of aligning corporate management to ethical values and the principles of the Corporate Governance Code and of a responsible human resources policy. Considering the experience gained from the global financial and economic crisis, he remarked: “The first order of business from our viewpoint is for companies to be led with far-sightedness and the requisite commercial prudence so that they are crisis-proof, competitive and successful in the long term.”
The Chairman of the Bayer Board of Management also highlighted the relevance of innovations and investment in the future. “Only through innovation can our company generate the growth that is essential to safeguard its sustained success,” he said, adding: “For us, innovations are the driver of sustainability.” In 2009, Bayer’s R&D budget is around EUR 2.9 billion – this is a new record for the company and the highest research budget in the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
Looking forward to the global climate conference in Copenhagen, Wenning said: “Our goal is to support the politicians in creating an effective and efficient global framework for emissions reduction.” He continued: “We hope these efforts are successful – yet our own activities are not dependent on this success. For as a socially responsible company, we have always felt we have an obligation to contribute to climate protection and to mastering climate change.”
In addition to climate protection, with its global lighthouse projects Bayer is also developing approaches to global megatrends such as health care provision and nutrition for the continuously growing world population. “As a research-based enterprise we are confronting the challenges. We want to take responsibility for the future and for a world that will undergo dramatic change,” stated Dr. Plischke. The Bayer Sustainability Program therefore makes tangible contributions to the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, particularly in terms of improving maternal health, reducing child mortality, empowering women, combating diseases and eradicating poverty and hunger.
Facilitating self-determined family planning and tackling neglected diseases
As world market leader in the field of oral contraception, within the context of health care Bayer is particularly committed to family planning and reproductive health. Over one in three of the total annual number of pregnancies of 210 million is unplanned. 20 percent of pregnancies end in abortion, and more than half a million women die every year of avoidable pregnancy- or delivery-related complications.
Against this background, Bayer HealthCare is taking a two-pronged approach: On the one hand, the company is working with partners such as the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) to improve knowledge of sexuality, health and contraception in developing countries, and on the other it is collaborating with organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to make available hormonal contraceptives free of charge or at a reduced price. In this way, women become empowered to determine their own family planning. Bayer will further strengthen its commitment and double it by 2012 compared to 2008. Consequently, in 2012 more than 110 million cycles of oral contraceptives will be made available, thereby ensuring that eight million women in developing countries have access to a safe method of birth control.
In addition, as part of another lighthouse project, the company maintains similar efforts in the fight against so-called neglected diseases. More than 3.3 billion people – mainly the poorest of the poor – are affected by these. In cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) Bayer provides medicines free of charge to treat African sleeping sickness and Chagas disease. Bayer is also working together with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, or TB Alliance for short, on the clinical development of a new tuberculosis therapy that should reduce the present duration of treatment of six months by a third. Should the studies prove successful, the new drug will be made available at reduced prices, particularly in developing countries where the disease is more prevalent.
High-quality food in emerging countries: Indonesia and India as examples
Alongside improved health care provision, a fundamental focus of the Bayer Sustainability Program is nutrition. Bayer is looking to develop approaches to the increasing demand for high-quality and, at the same time, affordable food in the emerging Asian nations in particular. Consequently, as part of the Sustainability Program, the company has launched two further lighthouse projects to help raise agricultural yields, improve food quality and boost the income situation of farmers.
For example, in Indonesia, Bayer CropScience is implementing an integrated program for sustainable rice cultivation. This combines the new method of direct seeding of pregerminated rice with the efficient use of crop protection agents and fertilizers and also includes training for farmers. This should enable yields to be increased by around 10 percent. In addition, compared to the traditional means of cultivation with transplanted seedlings, the new method reduces emissions of methane gas, which is harmful for the climate, by around 30 percent, at the same time significantly cutting water consumption. Bayer has been involved in developing the requisite sowing machinery, which is being made available to farmers free of charge.
In India, one of the main focuses is on vegetables. Consumers, the processing industry and the export trade are making increasingly high demands on food in terms of its quality. To enable farmers to meet these requirements, Bayer brings them together with the other key players in the food chain as part of its Food Chain Partnership program so that all together can develop joint solutions. By 2011, in 125 Food Chain Partnership projects, company experts will help a total of 65,000 farmers grow a range of vegetables – including tomatoes, chilies, okra, eggplant and potatoes – using methods that are profitable and sustainable.
Energy efficiency as a lever for greenhouse gas reduction: Approaches for construction and chemical production
Another cornerstone of the Bayer Sustainability Program is climate protection. Energy consumption in buildings is responsible for almost 20 percent of greenhouse emissions worldwide. Bayer MaterialScience has further developed the “EcoCommercial Building” initiative originally launched two years ago as part of the Bayer Climate Program into a comprehensive program in itself. A central element of this sustainability lighthouse project is the partnership network that the company has built up with suppliers, construction companies, architects and property developers. Bayer contributes its expertise and high-tech products and arranges for the involvement of suitable partners to facilitate tailored solutions for the construction of energy-optimized commercial and public buildings ranging from low-energy and passive constructions to zero-emission buildings.
The first zero-emission building of this kind is the company child care center Bayer has recently built and inaugurated at its site in Monheim, Germany. A company office building that will also have an emission-neutral energy balance over the course of one year is being currently constructed near New Delhi in India. This EcoCommercial Building is being adapted to the climatic conditions of the subtropics. The company also opened a new office building in Diegem, Belgium, in May 2009. Consuming just half the energy of comparable structures built using conventional methods, this building won the Belgian award for architecture and energy in 2009. Bayer also plans to increasingly market the EcoCommercial Building program within the new partnership network.
Another area in which larger-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are possible is the electricity-intensive production of chlorine, a basic chemical in the manufacture of plastics and drugs. Bayer devotes itself to this issue with a further lighthouse project. Thanks to the use of oxygen depolarized cathode technology developed by Bayer and its partners, which functions according to the fuel cell principle, electricity consumption and thus CO2 emissions in chlorine production can be cut by 30 percent. Bayer has already introduced the technology for acid-based chlorine production on an industrial scale at its sites in Caojing near Shanghai in China and in Brunsbüttel in Germany.
Bayer research scientists have now developed an application of the technology for salt-based chlorine production. A first industrial-scale facility is scheduled to go on stream in Germany by 2011. Were 15 percent of chlorine manufacturing facilities owned by all market players to be converted to this technology, it would be theoretically possible to cut global CO2 emissions in chlorine production by five million metric tons per year. This is three times the volume of carbon dioxide saved each year in Germany by newly registered cars that fulfill the EU standard for CO2 emissions. Bayer is to offer this innovative technology to other companies in the chemical industry all over the world.
Optimization of energy and resource efficiency
Alongside these two projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bayer is driving forward the use of the Bayer Climate Check developed by Bayer Technology Services as part of its Sustainability Program and introducing the new STRUCTese® management system from Bayer MaterialScience to systematically optimize energy efficiency. In addition, with a resource efficiency check similar to the Climate Check, Bayer is increasingly subjecting the use of all relevant resources – including water and raw materials – to a comprehensive examination and assessment. The goal is to make production processes as resource-efficient as possible. These two lighthouse projects concentrating on energy and resource efficiency round off the Bayer Sustainability Program.
EUR 45 million per year for worldwide social commitment
As part of its extensive social commitment, Bayer is investing in the future sustainability of society: The company makes available approximately EUR 45 million in funding for 300 or so social projects every year. These focus mainly on the promotion of scientific education and environmental expertise among young people. For example, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation invests around EUR 500,000 annually in innovative school projects in the areas surrounding Bayer’s sites in Germany. In addition, the Group’s own school laboratories known as “Baylabs” offer first-class conditions for experiment-based tuition, and, as a partner to the "Jugend forscht" competition for schoolchildren, Bayer also supports talented young scientists.
Through the international Making Science Make Sense program, Bayer volunteers regularly help to shape science tuition at elementary schools in 11 participating countries. Together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Bayer organizes around a dozen environmental projects for children and young people on all continents every year. In 2009, some 2.5 million young people participated in these projects in the fields of education and the environment alone.
Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2008, Bayer employed 108,600 people and had sales of EUR 32.9 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.0 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 2.7 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
“The visit gives the young people a wide range of options for expanding their environmental knowledge and making contacts with like-minded contemporaries from all over the world,” said Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, the member of Bayer AG’s Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, when welcoming the program participants. “We are delighted that in the years since its foundation the program has led to the formation of a network of young environmental protection activists who look to tackle global environmental challenges armed with sound expert knowledge.” So far, some 9,500 young people have applied for a place on the program and around 450 have been invited to visit Germany.
“It is encouraging how young people are committed to environmental and climate protection”, says Satinder Bindra, UNEP's Director of Communications and Public Information. “They, tomorrow's leaders, can inspire today's world leaders – especially in the run up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit. After all, combating climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind today. It requires a sense of responsibility, dedication and action shown by all the Bayer Young Environmental Envoys.”
The Young Environmental Envoy Program, launched in Asia in 1998, is one of the key elements in an alliance between Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) centering on environmental education programs for young people. The program focuses primarily on the world’s fast-growing emerging economies. Originally introduced in Thailand, the concept was subsequently extended to India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Poland, Turkey, Kenya and South Africa. This year for the first time, the Environmental Envoys include young people from Chile.
The study trip gives young people from around the world an opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the principles and application of modern environmental protection in Germany. The Young Environmental Envoys thus visit various Bayer sites and talk there to experts on the environment. The program also includes excursions to the North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection and to AVEA, a waste processing and disposal facility in Leverkusen. The aim is to give young people a fuller understanding of how industry, authorities and private households interact in the field of environmental protection. Discussion sessions and an international exchange of ideas round off the program.
Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2008, Bayer employed 108,600 people and had sales of EUR 32.9 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.0 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 2.7 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Note to editors:
Up-to-date photographic material can be found on the "Baynews International" server at www.press.bayer.com
For more information on the partnership between Bayer and UNEP, go to www.unep.bayer.com
Forward-looking statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports, which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
The Bayer CropScience Business Operations unit Environmental Science will be presenting a wide range of highly effective products and innovative solutions at the 5th Pan-African Malaria Conference (PAMC) in Nairobi, November 2-6, 2009. The company will showcase its commitment to working together with the public sector to combat mosquito resistance to pyrethroid class insecticides. A symposium on Insecticide Resistance Management sponsored by Environmental Science, to be held on November 4, will bring together leading experts in this field. Discussions will focus on what needs to be done to promote further research into this important subject surrounding malaria elimination and vector control projects worldwide.
Bayer CropScience offers a full portfolio of vector control applications, including products for indoor protection against harmful insects (IRS), specialty products such as larvicides, and various technologies for the industrial manufacturer of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs). As part of the conference exhibition, experts will present the full range of Bayer CropScience activities in the field of vector-borne diseases and will be available for in-depth discussions. Malaria researchers and experts in the field of vector control from all over the world will be taking part in this year’s conference. They will include representatives of governments, health authorities, international organizations, private foundations, universities, research institutes and industry.
Climate change promotes spread of tropical diseases
According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, around 3.3 billion people, representing half the world’s population, are living in malaria endemic areas. As a result of climate change, the incidence of vector-borne tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and leishmaniasis are expected to rise. An increase in average temperatures of 1-2 degrees Celsius could lead to an additional 40-60 million people worldwide being exposed to the risk of malaria infection (transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito), because rising temperatures favor the survival of mosquitoes and parasite development for subsequent transmission. Rising temperatures also favor the migration of tropical vectors to regions to which they were previously not native. Sustainable solutions from Bayer CropScience for effective vector control in developing countries and emerging economies include new long-lasting formulations for indoor residual spraying, functional insecticide treated textiles and rotational use of alternative insecticides for resistance management programs.
Bayer CropScience opens up its substance library for the first time
Besides the burgeoning populations of vectors, the increasing resistance of these vectors to established insecticides is also a major problem worldwide. This is why Bayer CropScience and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) in Liverpool, United Kingdom, are cooperating closely on developing a new insecticide research platform. The researchers’ aim is to find new, resistance-busting active ingredients which, as “Public Health Products” (PHPs), are effective against mosquitoes. This “lighthouse project” is an element of the Bayer Climate Program to which Bayer CropScience brings the experience it has built up over decades in the field of both chemical synthesis and insecticide research. What makes this cooperation special is that, for the first time in its history, the company will open up its substance library, one of the biggest in the world, for a cooperative project. Both partners see research into resistance-busting active ingredients as a major contribution to overcoming the consequences of climate change in the field of vector-borne diseases. The IVCC is a Product Development Partnership focused on developing new insecticides for public health vector control and improved information systems and tools which will enable pesticides to be used more effectively. The IVCC is also represented at this year’s PAMC.
About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6.4 billion (2008), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of more than 18,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.
Find more information at www.bayercropscience.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
"The provision of drugs for treating neglected diseases is an essential component of our social engagement," said Andreas Fibig, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer Schering Pharma AG. "Combination therapy is an important new approach in the fight against African sleeping sickness. The collaboration with the WHO makes sure that this treatment really reaches the people affected."
About African sleeping sickness
According to the World Health Organization, half a million people suffer from this disease in tropical Africa. It claims up to 70,000 lives every year. The pathogens are parasites called trypanosoma. They are transmitted in the saliva of the tsetse fly when it bites humans. The chronic form of the disease is widespread especially in central and west Africa. People who have been infected don't notice it until months or even years later, when the typical symptoms break out: confusion, sensory disturbances, coordination problems, disturbances of the sleep-waking rhythm, and apathy. By this time the cause of the disease has already infected the brain and central nervous system. By contrast, the acute form, which is prevalent mainly in eastern and southern Africa, develops much more quickly. The first symptoms already appear within a few weeks: fever attacks, headaches, pains in the joints, swelling of the lymph nodes, and itching. Both forms of the disease are lethal if left untreated.
Bayer Schering Pharma has already been collaborating with the WHO since 2002 by supplying a drug with the active ingredient suramin for the monotherapy of an earlier stage of sleeping sickness.
About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Bayer Schering Pharma, Consumer Care and Medical Care divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.
Bayer Schering Pharma is a worldwide leading specialty pharmaceutical company. Its research and business activities are focused on the following areas: Diagnostic Imaging, General Medicine, Specialty Medicine and Women's Healthcare. With innovative products, Bayer Schering Pharma aims for leading positions in specialized markets worldwide. Using new ideas, Bayer Schering Pharma aims to make a contribution to medical progress and strives to improve the quality of life. Find more information at www.bayerscheringpharma.de.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
With its renewed inclusion, Bayer is the only European company in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry to be included for the fifth time in succession in the world’s first global climate index. The CDP investors represent a total investment volume of USD 55 trillion, and are guided by the Leadership Index when making key investment decisions.
“Companies listed in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index are rewarded for high quality responses to CDP, which demonstrate a good understanding of how climate change is and will continue to impact their business,” comments Paul Dickinson, CDP Chief Executive. “Companies which control their risks today, manage their emissions and seize the opportunities to produce low carbon goods and services, will be the best placed to prosper in a low carbon economy of the future.”
"We are absolutely delighted to have achieved first place in this prestigious climate index. This is very high praise for Bayer – and our strategic alignment,” says Bayer CEO Werner Wenning. “Our top position reinforces our commitment to continue developing our activities in the field of climate protection in the future as well." Bayer has also been recently included once again in the “Dow Jones Sustainability World Index” which is another major index focusing on sustainability with a special focus on climate protection.
Bayer’s climate strategy and climate program
As part of its climate program, Bayer aims to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own production facilities and develop new solutions for protecting the climate and dealing with the consequences of climate change. Among the measures that have already been initiated are a company-wide program to improve energy efficiency and the research, development and marketing of climate-friendly technologies and products. For example, the Group is carrying out research on increasing the resistance of plants to heat and drought – phenomena that are becoming even more serious as a consequence of climate change.
Cooperating with various partners, Bayer has also developed a concept it calls the "EcoCommercial Building", which involves the construction of zero-emission buildings. The first project of this kind is a company office building in India, and another project is a company child care center being built in Germany. In the future, this concept, which can be implemented anywhere in the world, will make an important contribution to climate protection in the construction sector because, with effective insulation based on high-grade Bayer raw materials and with the building's own generation of renewable energy, an "EcoCommercial Building" has a zero-emission energy balance over the course of a year. Energy consumption in buildings causes nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are also sending a message to the governments who will be negotiating a new global climate protection agreement at the end of the year in Copenhagen: We are making a valuable contribution to solving the problem and want to meet our responsibilities as a company,” says Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, who is the member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment.
Evaluation criteria and data collection
The criteria for the CDP ranking include the level and quality of their disclosure of climate change strategic data and reporting on a long-term climate strategy as well as on ambitious targets and concrete successes in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. A special role in the assessment is played by whether companies also see the challenges of climate change as a business opportunity and as a chance for tapping markets of the future. In addition, companies should analyze the potential risks connected with climate change with regard to their business activities and production sites. Furthermore, the information provided by the companies must be transparent and fully comprehensible. The questionnaires are published on the Internet by the CDP.
The mounting importance of a company's climate strategy for institutional investors and analysts led to the establishment of the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index by the CDP in 2004. The CDP is an independent, nonprofitmaking organization in which, at the last count, 475 financial service providers – last year, the figure was 385 – link up to create greater transparency for the financial market in climate matters via the Leadership Index and detailed studies. The CDP has the world's largest database for corporate climate-related information. Apart from the companies listed in the FTSE Global 500 Index, 3,200 other major companies around the world this year received the standardized detailed questionnaire, which was completed by 2,500 corporations.
Note to editors:
For social media users an interactive information kit including an audio podcast is available at 12.30 CEST at: www.socialmedia.climate.bayer.com
More information on the CDP ranking can be found on the Internet at www.cdproject.net
Detailed information on the Bayer climate program can be found at www.climate.bayer.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
Awards will be given for support and consultation services that provide effective help for people, demonstrate verifiably successful management of a project, and pursue new ideas and approaches. The overall winner will receive EUR 15,000 of the total EUR 30,000 prize money, the runner-up EUR 10,000 and third place winner EUR 5,000. Organizations and initiatives themselves can enter and the award is also actively aimed at members of the public. The overall winner’s prize money will be increased by five euros (up to a maximum of EUR 5,000) for each entry from a project sponsor that is based on an idea from the public. In addition, anyone can assess entries in an online voting procedure. Pharmacists throughout Germany are involved in the competition, using brochures and posters to promote the “Aspirin Social Award”.
“We have three objectives with the ‘Aspirin Social Award’. Firstly, we support specific projects; secondly, we reward the major importance to the community that social work has in the health sector and seek to enhance public awareness of this; and thirdly, we are looking to support innovations in this area,” explains Dr. Richard Pott, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG responsible for Strategy and Human Resources and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bayer foundation.
In Germany, over 100,000 non-profit organizations and initiatives are active in the social sector. Yet demand for social services continues, particularly in the health sector. The institutions involved are tasked with looking for new, effective approaches in their project work.
“Aspirin has provided effective, reliable help for 110 years. With the slogan ‘Support that works’, we are establishing an award designed to enhance these benefits, which are of such importance to society today,” said Urs Hartmann, head of the Consumer Care Division at Bayer Vital GmbH, explaining the name of the award.
Judging and public voting
Projects will be selected in a two-stage process. All valid proposals submitted in the entry period will be profiled at www.aspirin-sozialpreis.de. Nine projects will be preselected with support from specialist project consultant Dieter Brübach, Chairman of the Deutsche Spendenparlament [German Donation Parliament] initiative. A further candidate will be selected from a public vote, with everyone able to personally assess entries on the Internet from December 1 to 31. The winner of this public vote will be sure of a place on the overall shortlist of 10 candidates.
The final judging and selection of the top three winners will be performed by an independent scientific committee from the “Bayer Cares Foundation”, made up of experts in social commitment and from the health sector. It will be chaired by Professor André Habisch, Professor for Christian Social Ethics and Society at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bayer Cares Foundation.
Bayer Cares Foundation
The Bayer Cares Foundation launched by Bayer AG in 2007 supports social initiatives. As well as the recently established “Aspirin Social Award”, it supports social projects involving employees and citizens working in and around Bayer sites on a voluntary basis. The foundation also promotes long-term reconstruction projects and provides immediate aid for people who suddenly find themselves in acute hardship due to natural disasters.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports, which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
sustainability indices confirms Bayer’s position as one of the international sustainability leaders in its sector. Bayer is one of the few German companies that have been included in the DJSI World continuously since its establishment in 1999.
“We are delighted about the renewed inclusion in the DJSI World. It is an acknowledgement of Bayer’s continuous and systematic focus on a corporate value that has attracted greater public attention in the wake of the economic crisis: successful and sustainable business management,” comments Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, member of the Bayer Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment. “In all our business activities, our aim is to balance commercial success with the needs of our employees and society and with environmental protection.” Bayer is working on specific, innovative solutions to the central challenges of sustainable development – from climate protection and protecting drinking water to securing the food supply for the growing world population and global health care.
Sustainable investment is gaining in significance because more and more institutional investors are making their investment decisions dependent on whether a company’s strategy is focused on sustainable success. According to the index provider Dow Jones, portfolio managers in 16 countries currently use the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for equity investment decisions for assets totaling over USD 8 billion.
Inclusion in the DJSI World is based on an analysis of corporate sustainability performance by the independent Swiss asset management company SAM (Sustainable Asset Management). The analysts awarded Bayer consistently very good scores for environmental criteria, which include its contribution to climate protection and transparent sustainability reporting. Moreover, Bayer scored more highly than in the previous year on anti-corruption and corporate governance activities.
Companies are selected for inclusion in the index using a best-in-class approach: rather than listing all companies that meet specific economic, ecological and social criteria, only the top performers from each sector are included. The best ten percent of companies in each sector from the 2,500 corporations listed on the Dow Jones Global Index qualify for inclusion in the DJSI World.
Further information: www.sustainability-indexes.com
For additional information on Bayer and its sustainability rankings visit: www.bayer.com/en/ratings-ranking-awards.aspx
Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2008, Bayer employed 108,600 people and had sales of EUR 32.9 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.0 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 2.7 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
At a ceremony in Daejeon, Korea, on August 20, Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, Friedrich Gause, Senior Bayer Representative for Korea, and representatives of other project partners also presented prizes to Eesha Chavan (13) from India, who took second place in the global competition, and to six regional winners: Patricia Isabel Jesus Santos (14), Portugal (Europe), Alice Fuzi Wang (12), United States (North America), Renzo Marsino (13), Chile (Latin America and the Caribbean), Ramy Gamal Abd El Hamed Abd El Razik (13), Egypt (Africa), Ryan D’almeida (13), Bahrain (western Asia) and Li Pik Hei (14), China (Asia Pacific). The official award ceremony took place during the Tunza International Children and Youth Conference and was attended by the Korean Environment Minister Maanee Lee.
The theme of the competition, “Climate Change: Our Challenge”, generated a huge response everywhere, especially in China, where participation grew significantly owing to the support of a local partner. In total, a record 2.4 million entries were received from children from 89 countries.
The nine-year-old winner from Russia impressed the jury with her message, which can be interpreted as an exhortation to the community of states to reach a workable agreement on climate protection when they meet in Copenhagen at the end of this year for the UN Climate Change Conference. “What we see in these paintings is that children are aware of the challenges facing the planet,” said UNEP head Steiner. “Given the opportunity, they can contribute to solutions. We can all learn a great deal from the insight children have about our world and our responsibility.”
Michael Schade, head of Corporate Communications at Bayer, is delighted at the steadily increasing number of children’s pictures submitted from around the globe. “The painting competition is a central project in our partnership with UNEP. The pictures are painted messages that have already been helping to fix the need for increased climate protection firmly in the minds of people all over the world for some years.” The motto for next year’s competition shifts the focus to an issue which can also be directly affected by climate change – Biodiversity. Entries can be submitted to the UNEP regional offices up to April 15, 2010.
In addition to the trip to Korea with chaperone, the global and regional winners also received a sum of money and other prizes. The ceremony was attended by numerous politicians, representatives of international environment organizations and by the 350 or so children aged between six and 14 from over 100 countries who were in Daejeon from August 17 to 20 to develop ideas for global climate protection. The children’s conference is followed by the youth environment conference on August 20-23, when some 250 young people aged 15 to 24 will come to Korea from all over the world. In view of the importance of climate protection on the international agenda, UNEP decided, with Bayer’s support, to stage both the children’s and the youth conference this year. The first Tunza International Youth Conference to be held in western and central Europe was hosted by Bayer in Leverkusen in 2007.
An exhibition of high-quality prints of 60 or so selected paintings is being premiered in Daejeon and will then go on a tour of the globe during the coming months.
For further information on the painting competition and the Bayer/UNEP partnership go to www.unep.bayer.com.
Children aged between six and 14 can submit entries for next year’s competition to:
UNEP/Regional Office for Europe
International Environment House
11-13 Chemin des Anémones
1219 Châtelaine – Geneva
Switzerland
6th Floor A & B Blocks
Find more information at www.bayer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
Berzelius tested and optimized the process in a pilot application on-site. Its robustness, quality and cost benefits were the deciding factors in awarding the contract for the planning, delivery and construction of the first large-scale plant based on the BAYQIK® process. The facility has a total capacity of 450 metric tons of sulfuric acid per day. As the BAYQIK® process is operated on a peripheral basis, the existing sulfuric acid plant was refitted cost-effectively with only a few days’ downtime.
Sulfuric acid is one of the most important basic chemicals in the chemical and metal processing industry. It is used in the production of fertilizers, for breaking down ores in the extraction of metals and in metal recycling. Bayer developed the double contact process over 40 years ago and this method is still used worldwide to produce sulfuric acid.
Bayer Technology Services GmbH offers fully-integrated solutions along the life cycle of chemical and pharmaceutical plants – from development through engineering and construction to process optimization for existing plants. The Bayer subsidiary employs nearly 2,600 experts worldwide at its headquarters in Leverkusen and other German locations, as well as in regional offices in Belgium, India, Mexico, the United States, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the People's Republic of China. 2008 sales totaled approximately EUR 420 million.
Additional information about Bayer Technology Services is available at www.bayertechnology.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those described in Bayer’s published reports, which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>
The Bayer Science & Education Foundation is thus launching the third round of the Bayer Fellowship Program through which it specifically supports the international exchange of scientific knowledge. The scholarship programs of various Bayer foundations were combined when the foundation was set up in 2007. The new program follows the tradition of the first scholarships awarded by Carl Duisberg back in 1923. It is aimed at students with a high level of motivation, above-average grades and social commitment who are planning special study projects abroad lasting a maximum of one year and require financial support to do so. The selection is made by an independent scientific committee.
The first two funding rounds allowed a total of 44 students to participate in the new Bayer scholarship program.
Alongside the application forms, further information on the Bayer Fellowship Program and the Bayer Science & Education Foundation can also be found at www.bayer-foundations.com
Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and improved earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2007, Bayer employed 106,200 people and had sales of EUR 32.4 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 1.9 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 2.6 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.]]>