Motivation

Accepting responsibility – Taking the initiative

Bayer is committed to the concept of sustainable development: with economy, ecology and social commitment being accorded equal importance in all of our activities. To quote our Group mission statement, “we acknowledge and accept our role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen and are committed to the principles of sustainable development”. Consequently, respect for people and nature and the sustainability of our actions are among our key corporate values.

We are convinced that innovation is the key to the sustained success of the company. Our technical and commercial expertise is based on this and, as another part of our Group mission statement explicitly states, entails the belief that we have “a duty to work for the good of all humankind, to demonstrate social commitment, and to make a lasting and positive contribution to sustainable and environmentally compatible development” – in keeping with our corporate slogan “ Bayer: Science For A Better Life”.

Our corporate social responsibility is demonstrated by our involvement in around 300 projects worldwide. Annually we spent some EUR 50 million on these projects. They focus on the areas of education and research, environment and nature, health and social needs, and sports and culture.

The Bayer Sustainable Development Policy outlines what the principles of sustainable development mean for our global activities. Central elements of sustainability management at Bayer include focusing on our goals, regular and transparent reporting and Group-wide policies. Similarly, the “Program for Legal Compliance and Corporate Responsibility at Bayer” provides a mandatory framework for our worldwide activities.

Through national and international networks we play an active role in fostering sustainable development, for example, through the econsense Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the United Nations’ Global Compact, of which Bayer is a founding member. Since 1994 we have also played an active role in the global Responsible Care initiative set up by the chemical industry, which endeavors to continuously improve the safety of employees and local communities and the level of health and environment protection – and whose standards often exceed the legal requirements.