Responsibility for steering and monitoring health, safety and environmental protection (HSE) across the Group lies with the enabling function of the same name. It establishes targets, key performance indicators and framework conditions in the form of corporate policies – such as "HSE Management and HSE Key Requirements" - and other measures. HSE management systems are integrated into business processes across the Bayer Group. Operational implementation is effected in the divisions. The continuous review and revision of corporate policies by the HSE enabling function and regular mandatory internal audits and external certification processes ensure that the systems at all sites meet the requirements in each case. more

The energy needs of our production operations depend on the production processes and the depth of our value chain. Our raw material extraction activities, including treatment and downstream processing, for the manufacture of crop protection intermediates are especially energy-intensive. In the area of Pharmaceuticals, the production of innovative active ingredients is also energy-intensive.

Compared to 2018, Bayer’s total energy consumption rose by 34.0% to 38.7 petajoules in 2019. This is due to the first full-year inclusion of energy consumption at the sites of the acquired agriculture business. As the production volume rises, the primary and secondary energy consumption required for production processes also increases.

Energy efficiency reported as the ratio of energy used to external sales deteriorated from 218.51 kWh/€ thousand to 247.15 kWh/€ thousand.

Energy management systems such as ISO 50001 help to identify potential energy savings in existing production processes, in the development of new production processes and in the conversion of existing production processes. We describe energy savings projects that were implemented at various sites in our report to CDP. more

We consider climate protection and the related reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be a top priority and have therefore set ourselves ambitious targets in this area. Our further developed sustainable development strategy contains a comprehensive package of measures in the area of climate protection. We are endeavoring to achieve carbon-neutral production by 2030 and will apply several strategic levers to reach this goal. More information is available in the Sustainability Report and the key topic of climate protection.more

Bayer acted on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD), the initiative on the corporate reporting of Climate-related financial opportunities and risks. The table below shows, where we publish the required information and is divided into the four TCFD key areas: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

At Bayer, Greenhouse gas emissions are primarily caused by the combustion of primary energy sources such as gas an oil. These are used to generate electricity, steam and auxiliary energy (such as for heating and cooling) for the production of our products. Emissions are also generated through our vehicle fleet and in the extraction and processing of raw materials .

In reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we take into account the recommendations of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. In line with the increase in energy use, our total greenhouse gas emissions calculated according to the market-based method rose from 2.88 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalents in 2018 to 3.71 million tons in 2019. Specific greenhouse gas emissions rose from 78.31 (kg CO₂/€ thousand of external sales) in 2018 to 85.2 in 2019. more 

Responsible water usage is a cornerstone of our commitment to sustainable development. Clean water in sufficient quantities is essential for the health of people, animals and plants. In our Water Position, we commit to complying with international, national and local legislation to protect water resources, using them as sparingly as possible and further reducing emissions into water. 95% of our sites that are located in water-scarce areas or in areas identified as being threatened by water scarcity already have a water management system.

In our water stewardship strategy, we address a variety of factors connected with water, from operational water use and innovative products such as seeds with a reduced water requirement to our commitment in the value chain and cooperation with partners. In our annual response to the CDP Water Disclosure, we report in detail on our water usage and the company-specific water footprint. In recent years, we have repeatedly been included in the CDP Water A List (leadership status). more

We want to minimize material consumption and disposal volumes through systematic waste management. Safe disposal channels with separation according to the type of waste and economically expedient recycling processes serve this purpose. In accordance with Bayer’s corporate policies, all production sites are obliged to prevent, recycle and reduce waste and to dispose of it safely. Production fluctuations, building refurbishment and land remediation work also influence waste volumes and recycling paths.

Legislation prohibits the recycling and processing / treatment of a large proportion of our materials, especially pharmaceuticals and crop protection products. In our divisions, we make use of the opportunities for recycling within the framework of legal regulations. Production-specific and substance-specific recycling is carried out in compliance with the individual requirements of a given production site. more

There were three environmental incidents – i.e. incidents that resulted in the release of substances into the environment – in 2019 (2018: two). A container ship whose consignment included crop protection products from Bayer sank on the way from Antwerp to Argentina, and two truck accidents in Brazil led to a product leakage of part of the load. Factors that determine whether there is a reporting obligation include, in particular, the nature and quantity of the substance, the amount of damage caused and any consequences for nearby residents. In accordance with our internal voluntary commitment, we report any leakage of substances with a high hazard potential from a quantity of 100 kilograms upward. All three environmental incidents were also transport incidents.

The table below shows a list of transport and environmental incidents in 2019.

Bayer aims to use natural resources responsibly in all its activities. This includes respecting and protecting ecosystem, species and genetic biodiversity. We are explicitly committed to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity and the associated Nagoya Protocol, and published a supplementary corporate policy on this issue in 2019 that defines principles on how to manage access to and the use and transfer of genetic resources and / or traditional knowledge throughout the company.

We benefit from biodiversity in numerous ways: through active ingredients for pharmaceutical development, but also through agriculture in particular. We are aware that our business operations are highly dependent on biodiversity and functioning ecosystems, and that they mutually influence each other. That’s why we undertake to account for the interests of biodiversity as comprehensively as possible in our core business and our research and development activities.

We have spelled out this stance both in our corporate policy on human rights and in our Position on the Protection and Enhancement of Biodiversity, which we updated in 2019. In the coming year, we want to further consolidate and strategically align our activities to protect biodiversity so that we can take effective measures in this regard, especially in the area of agriculture.

More about biodiversity can be found in the 2019 Sustainability Report and on our Crop-Science-Website.