Sustainability & Commitment

Sustainable development

In the debate about progress in society as a whole, the concept of sustainability plays a central role. The basis of sustainable development is to keep a balance between economic, ecological and social considerations. For Bayer, this entails in specific terms a commitment to safeguard the long-term commercial success of the company through innovative products, conserve resources, treat the environment responsibly and make a global contribution to maintaining a humane society. For this reason, we have developed special management structures and strategies, set ourselves objectives against which we allow ourselves to be judged and endeavor to report transparently. In our annual Sustainable Development Report we inform, for example, on how we put into practice our commitment to the ten principles of the Global Compact. In so doing, we align ourselves to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the OECD.
In addition, we pursue dialogue with our stakeholders, i.e. Bayer engages in a continuous and intensive exchange of views with the interest groups of the company: stockholders, business partners, staff, the media, non-governmental organizations, suppliers and authorities.

Strategy and management

Bayer is committed to the concept of sustainable development: Economic, ecological and social matters are goals of equal rank in our corporate policy. To implement this balance worldwide, we have developed effective steering mechanisms and defined specific goals by which we measure ourselves. Our sustainability management is based on long-term values and clear policy guidelines that are valid for all parts of the company.
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Focus issues

With population figures on the rise, the world is facing a number of major challenges. Climate protection, world health and safeguarding food supplies are becoming ever more pressing issues. True to the spirit of its mission statement “Bayer: Science For A Better Life,” the Group is making an important contribution to identifying effective solutions for dealing with these challanges. These also form the basis of our sustainability reporting – this year, climate protection, health care, water and food are focus issues of our current Sustainable Development Report. » more

Performance report

In the Performance Report, we render a detailed account of our sustainability performance in the year under review 2008 on the basis of clearly defined objectives and performance indicators. In this way we want to provide the reader with transparent and rapid access to all essential data and information on sustainability in the Bayer Group. The report is divided up into different sections dealing with economics, employees, human rights, corporate social responsibility, ecology and product stewardship and makes detailed statements on the level of achievement of the objectives. “Governance through objectives and indicators is an essential component of sustainability management at Bayer – and this is based on transparency and measurability,” says Dr. Wolfgang Große Entrup, Head of Environment & Sustainability at Bayer AG. » more