Leverkusen, June 1, 2010 – Bayer is systematically implementing its Sustainability Program. The recently published Sustainable Development Report 2009 documents the progress made in projects focusing on global health care, nutrition for a growing world population and climate protection. The 116-page publication, the eleventh of its kind by the company, vividly illustrates which strategies and programs Bayer is implementing to make specific contributions to meet these central global challenges of sustainable development. The report also provides detailed information on sustainability management and further achievements in the field of sustainability. “For us, sustainability essentially means ensuring future viability. It is therefore firmly established in our core business. This has proven its worth in the global financial and economic crisis. We are aiming for sustainability in everything we do,” says Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, in the foreword.
The majority of the report, which is published in German, English and Spanish, has been certified by corporate auditors Ernst & Young. It is aligned to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the internationally recognized standard for sustainable development reporting, and received an “A+” from the GRI – the highest possible rating.

In implementing the eight lighthouse projects of the Sustainability Program launched at the end of 2009, the company is concentrating on its innovative capabilities. In 2010, Bayer has allocated a record budget of EUR 2.9 billion to research and development expenditures – the biggest R&D budget of any chemical and pharmaceutical company in Germany. “Innovation is the driving force in our sustainability-focused corporate strategy,” states Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, who is the member of the Bayer AG Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment.

Health care: Extension of cooperation with USAID

To give women in developing countries access to safe contraceptives at affordable prices, the company is extending its cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), turning it into a partnership between a government development organization and a manufacturer that is unique in this field. Bayer has applied for the first marketing authorization in Ethiopia. 10 further African countries will follow in the upcoming three years, with the next ones being Tanzania and Uganda.

Working with its partners, Bayer is also committed to tackling neglected diseases, especially Chagas, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness.

Nutrition: Systematic expansion of Food Chain Partnerships

In the field of nutrition, the company is working with farmers and other players in the food industry to raise agricultural yields, increase food quality and improve the income situation of farmers. Food Chain Partnerships exist in 40 countries. In India, for example, the focus is on vegetables. By 2011, the program should comprise 125 projects involving 65,000 farmers with a total cultivation area of around 50,000 hectares.

In Indonesia meanwhile, Bayer is implementing an integrated program for sustainable rice cultivation.

Climate protection: Investment to the tune of EUR 1 billion

In spite of the effects of the global financial and economic crisis, Bayer has held firm to its objective of investing EUR 1 billion in climate-relevant research and development and associated projects between 2008 and 2010.

As part of the EcoCommercial Building (ECB) program – a central element of the Bayer Climate Program – the company established a partnership network with suppliers, construction firms and architects to generate tailored solutions for energy-efficient commercial and public buildings. Bayer has already used the ECB program for its own purposes, e.g. to build an emissions-neutral children’s daycare center at the Monheim site in Germany and a low-energy office building in Diegem in Belgium, and for two further model projects in India and the United States. In addition, another EcoCommercial Building is planned for the climate-neutral city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as a partnership project.

Bayer is devoting another sustainability project to the introduction of a new technology designed to reduce the energy requirement, and thus also the level of greenhouse gas emissions, by at least 30 percent in the electricity-intensive manufacture of chlorine, a basic material for the chemical industry. The first industrial-scale facility, with an annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons, is due to be commissioned at the German site of Krefeld-Uerdingen in the first half of 2011.

The Sustainability Program is rounded off by two projects for the systematic improvement and control of energy and resource efficiency.

Transparent data on relevant sustainability indicators

The Sustainable Development Report also supplies detailed qualitative and quantitative information on relevant sustainability parameters. One of the Group’s objectives is to reduce the global lost time injury frequency rate to less than 2.0 injuries per million working hours by the end of 2010. Bayer has implemented extensive safety programs and training and almost achieved this target in 2009 already. Furthermore, as a result of the reduced production volume compared with the previous year, both water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions fell for example. In 2009, 7.5 percent less water was used than in the previous year: 1.11 million cubic meters per day in 2009 compared to 1.20 million cubic meters per day in 2008. Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions declined by 6.5 percent in absolute terms compared to the previous year, namely from 8.66 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents in 2008 to 8.10 million metric tons in the reporting year 2009.

Diversity of the workforce and social commitment

Employee programs and corporate social responsibility also play an important part in Bayer’s sustainability strategy. For example, Bayer considers workforce diversity to be an important value that the company wants to promote further. The percentage of women in senior management positions has thus continuously increased. The company continues to invest in targeted support programs. Diversity also means having an international profile: the top management level at Bayer is comprised of employees from 22 different nationalities. Varied cultural backgrounds provide a resource for creative solutions and are a key factor in facilitating successful operations in an international context.

Bayer continues to focus intensively on social needs as well. Within the context of its corporate social responsibility, the Bayer Group invested some EUR 45 million in 2009 in the promotion of education and research, the meeting of basic social and health needs, environmental protection and support for sports and culture. Bayer views these activities, too, as an important contribution to safeguarding society’s ability to thrive in the future.

Note to editors:
The Bayer Sustainable Development Report 2009 can be ordered by phone at +49 214 30-57546, by fax at +49 214 30-57547 or by e-mail at serviceline@bayer-ag.de.

Online and download versions of the report containing additional information can be found at: www.sustainability.bayer.com

For social media users:

Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/Bayer_SD

Visit us on facebook at: www.facebook.com/BayerSustainability