Ratings, Rankings and Awards

Selected ratings, rankings and awards for Bayer’s sustainability performance

Bayer’s sustainability performance is reflected, among other things, in the ratings and rankings awarded by external stakeholders. These are an acknowledgement of our corporate and sustainability strategies, which recognize sustainable development aligned to society’s needs and objectives as the basis for our business. They are also an incentive to steadily drive forward our sustainability management.

Bayer is included in the most important sustainability indices and in investment funds that focus on companies with a policy of responsible management geared to sustainable development.

Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World)
Bayer has again been included in one of the most important sustainability indexes, the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), for 2009/20010 for the eleventh consecutive period. Bayer is one of the few German companies that have been listed in the DJSI World continuously since its establishment in 1999.

This index is based on a Corporate Sustainability Assessment by the well-known Swiss rating agency SAM (Sustainable Asset Management). SAM identifies the world's sustainability leaders on the basis of economic, ecological and social criteria. The analysts awarded Bayer consistently good scores for environmental criteria, which include its contribution to climate protection and transparent sustainability reporting. Moreover, Bayer once again scored better 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 sustainability criteria, only the top performers from each sector are included. The best ten percent of companies in each sector from the 2,500 major corporations listed on the Dow Jones Global Index are included in the DJSI World.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) was launched in September 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmark. It is published and licensed by SAM in collaboration with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Limited. The DJSI family is based on the experience of the established stock index providers Dow Jones and STOXX and SAM’s long-standing sustainability expertise. A rising number of asset managers use the indexes as an objective and professional benchmark for sustainability investments.

FTSE4Good
Bayer stock has also been included in the FTSE4Good indices, a benchmark index series published by the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange which was launched in 2001. FTSE, an independent company established in 1995 by the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s leading providers of bond and equity indices.

Following the half-yearly review in April 2009, Bayer remains in the benchmark FTSE4Good Europe and FTSE4Good Global indices. These Both indices only list companies with a particularly good performance in environmental protection, human rights and social standards. In 2007, Bayer was additionally included in the newly established FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index, which lists European companies with optimal environmental management. This lists the 40 largest companies in terms of market capitalization who fulfill the FTSE4Good’s environmental protection criteria.

Best in Class - environmental and social performance

Storebrand Principle Fund
The analysts of the Storebrand Principle Funds once again rated Bayer among the top companies in its sector at the start of 2007, awarding it the accolade Best in Class - Environmental and Social Performance. The company's shares are therefore eligible for inclusion in the Storebrand Principle Funds. The Storebrand Principle Funds invest in companies ranked among the top 30 percent in terms of environmental and social performance.
Storebrand introduced its first SRI (socially responsible investment) product in 1995. This was replaced by the Storebrand Principle Fund in 1997. Its analytical methods have been steadily reviewed and developed over the years and now include negative screening, a best-class-analysis and active dialogue with companies.

Advanced Sustainable Performance Indices (ASPI) Eurozone
Bayer has been included in the Advanced Sustainable Performance Indices (ASPI) Eurozone since 2001.
For this index, the French rating Agency Vigeo and Stoxx Ltd. regularly rate the sustainability performance of the companies listed on the DJ EURO STOXX index and the top 120 are included in the ASPI.
Vigeo’s sustainability analysis covers corporate governance, human resources and human rights, the relationship to customers and suppliers, health, safety and the environment and corporate social responsibility.

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) - Climate Disclosure Leadership Index
In September 2009 Bayer was acknowledged as world-wide Best Corporation in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI), the first world-wide climate protection index. The company received an excellent assessment due to its detailed and transparent reporting on climate strategies and greenhouse gas emissions. This recognition represents Bayer as the top enterprise among the 50 of the biggest global stock-market-listed companies included in the CDLI. 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 CDLI. The evaluation for the renowned climate ranking was carried out by independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The objective of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is to provide a basis for comparing the investment risks and opportunities represented by various companies und therefore to create greater transparency for the financial market in climate matters. CDP represents 475 international financial service providers worldwide with a managed investment volume totaling in excess of USD 55 trillion (April 2009). CDP is an independent not-for-profit organization established in 2000. Since 2004, CDP has listed the companies with the best climate protection performance in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).

The ranking assesses each company's strategy on climate protection and addressing climate change, its targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and its achievements in this field. Key factors include the extent to which the company regards the challenges of climate protection as an opportunity for its business and seeks to minimize the climate change.

Access to Medicine Index
The independent charity “Access to Medicine Foundation” in the Netherlands was established in 2005 to improve access to sustainable health care, especially in developing countries.

In 2008 it established the Access to Medicine Index (ATM index) with support from the New York investment consultancy Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
The ATM index measures and ranks pharmaceutical companies' activities to facilitate access to health care and especially to affordable and effective medication.
Investors are highlighting the increasing significance of environmental, social and corporate governance factors on the financial performance of the companies in which they invest. The way in which the pharmaceuticals industry responds to demands for access to medicines could have a major long-term impact on their value.
The index ranks the world’s top 20 pharmaceuticals companies to give stakeholders a stable and objective tool to measure and compare companies' endeavors to tackle the problem of access to medicines. At the same time, it aims to place the overall debate on this issue on a better footing. Bayer’s strategy and performance gained it 9th place out of the 20 companies analyzed.
For further information see http://www.atmindex.org/

Environmental and sustainability reporting has a long tradition in the Bayer Group and is continually being developed. The goal is to give our stakeholders full and open information on Bayer's main strategies and activities in the area of sustainable development. Bayer’s Sustainable Development Report has received a number of awards and positive accolades. These show us that our efforts to provide business partners, stockholders, analysts, staff and the general public with clear and comprehensive information about sustainability are appreciated.

Report by the Roberts Environmental Center at McKenna College, United States: Bayer’s Sustainable Development Report is the best in the world in its sector

That was the finding of a study recently published by the prestigious Roberts Environmental Center at McKenna College in Claremont (CA), United States, which looked at sustainability reports from a total of 29 chemical companies, including the world's ten biggest. The report is based on the Pacific Sustainability Index (PSI), which the institute uses to evaluate companies’ environmental and sustainability on the basis of six categories.
Bayer’s Sustainable Development Report 2006 and its website are the best in the world according to the Roberts Environmental Center, one of the world leaders in the analysis of corporate sustainability reporting.
The report reflects how the Bayer Group is able to harmonize ecological and economic requirements and corporate social responsibility. It highlights that Bayer has prioritized sustainability in its activities for many years. The study reports that the company is continuing its efforts to combine ecological efficiency with market interests. The latest example of Bayer’s commitment to sustainable development is the “Bayer Climate Program”, which was introduced at the end of 2007.
Further information: http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/

CorporateRegister.com Reporting Award 2007 for Bayer’s report: accolade based on readers’ assessments

Bayer was honored with the 2007 award from the Internet platform CorporateRegister.com in the category “Transparency and Credibility”. In an international online poll of more than 20,000 people, Bayer’s Sustainable Development Report was rated as having the highest credibility among 156 sustainability reports by global companies. This was announced by online service-provider CorporateRegister.com, the organizer of the poll, which is the first independent global survey of its kind. This Internet platform manages the world’s largest directory of sustainability reports, currently containing in excess of 16,000 reports by more than 4,000 companies from 105 countries. You can find further information about the CorporateRegister.com ranking on the Internet at: www.corporateregister.com/crra

IÖW ranking of sustainability reports

The Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and the corporate association future e.V. has been assessing the content and communications quality of corporate reporting by Germany’s 150 largest companies since 1994.
The basis is a specially developed set of 48 social, ecological, business and communications criteria. Bayer's Sustainable Development Report 2006 was awarded seventh place in the 2007 ranking.

Bayer the Most Successful Company at the "Econ Awards for Corporate Communications 2008"

At the Econ Awards in November 2008 Bayer was the only company to be honored in the "Strategic Corporate Communications" category and received the Gold Award. The Group was in fact the most successful company at the ceremony. The jury of experts was also impressed by the film Bayer entitled "Solutions to Climate Change" which has already received many awards. The film took silver in the “Film/Interactive Media” category. In addition, the 2007 Sustainable Development Report won a bronze medal. The jury commended the comprehensive and transparent way that Bayer describes the ambitious targets it has set for itself and how it intends to implement them. The Bayer Sustainable Development Report is an impressive example of the credible communication of ecological and social commitment. The issues of sustainability and climate protection are at the very top of the agenda for Bayer. The awards were presented by the Econ publishing house and the "Handelsblatt" financial journal to honor special achievements in corporate communications. Some 120 companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland submitted just under 300 entries to the competition that was judged by an independent jury. A total of 23 examples of creative and efficient communications projects were ultimately rewarded – including the three from Bayer. All of these are featured in the “Corporate Communications Handbook 2008.“