Environment

Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, at the core of which is ecological integrity. We actively support efforts in environmental and animal protection, especially among youth. We believe that in encouraging young people, we are building positive leadership for our world of tomorrow.

Bayer Young Environmental Envoy (BYEE)

Bayer is the world's first private company that collaborated with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to launch environmental protection project for youth. In 2003, Bayer initiated its regional -- which then expanded to global -- "Bayer Young Environmental Envoy (BYEE)" program, which aims to increase environmental awareness among youth and to help improve environmental conditions. The program in China works closely with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and its regional affiliates such as the Shanghai Environmental Promotion and Education Centre (SEEC) and the Beijing Environmental Promotion and Education Centre, and is now in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Jinan and Tianjin.

BYEE aims to foster environmental leaders for China's tomorrow, and is an integral part of Bayer China's commitment to Corporate Social Innovation. This program is an example of how Bayer innovatively approaches our objective of environmental-friendly development – via public–private partnerships with organizations such as SEPA and SEEC - which provides not only to us as a company but to the general public overall with opportunities to learn, to develop and eventually to benefit.

Bayer Young Environmental Envoys visit Bayer's headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany.

Bayer Environmental Awards for Media (BEAM)

Bayer Environmental Awards for Media (BEAM) is an Asia-Pacific regionwide program that recognizes annually young journalists for their outstanding writing in the environmental field, thereby encouraging the public and the media to focus more on environmental protection issues. In China, Bayer partnered with the China Forum for Environmental Journalists (CFEJ) to create this award in 2003. The Program is now in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Chongqing. BEAM runs each year alongside the Bayer Young Environmental Envoys (BYEE) program, which is a global collaboration with UNEP to promote youth environmental leadership.

BEAM was launched as an effort to recognize and reward superior journalism that has highlighted sustainability issues, to encourage young journalists to take an active role in changing current mindsets on environmental concerns as well as to spurt the spread of environmental awareness in the general public. The award aims to encourage journalists to responsibly and conscientiously educate people about sustainability and promote high standards in reporting environmental issues.

China GreenCamp for University students (GreenCamp)

China GreenCamp for University students (GreenCamp) was founded in 1996. By organizing summer ecological investigation trips, GreenCamp has been dedicated to cultivating the emerging political, economic and social green leaders for the next generation of China. Through various successful conservation movements for more than a decade, GreenCamp is well recognized as one of the flagship organization among student environmental NGOs in China.

GreenCamp celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2006. Bayer's support has helped to integrate the environmental efforts of GreenCamp and BYEE, and has brought practical environmental education to over 20 universities around China. These activities include the month-long Baima Mountain Ecological Investigation Trip, the China Environmental Youth Conference, the book "Ten Years of Green Camp" and the Nationwide Photo Exhibition and Lecture Series Roadshow. Beginning 2007, Green Camp introduced to its environmental education efforts a cascade training program on nature appreciation, further spreading awareness for the beauty of environment into the larger population.

Green Generation: Environmental Education Center

In support of the national appeal for "Green Olympics," Bayer promised 3 million RMB over a period of 6 years and work closely with our partners Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and Jane Goodall Institute China (JGI) to transform a polluted manmade lake in WAB into protected wetlands and to establish an outdoor environmental education center around the wetlands. "Green Generation" is another of Bayer's active efforts in the fields of environmental protection and youth education. This will be an innovative environmental solution that can become a model for other waterway challenges across China and potentially around the world.

The Green Generation site will serve as a natural youth environmental education base that will offer opportunities to youth to experience the impact of environmental changes on the ecosystem, to be closer to nature, and to increase their knowledge about environmental protection, on topics such as understanding the benefits of large-scale recycling and reusing, the preservation of water resources, as well as the protection of the natural wetland ecological environment and species of wildlife.

Michael Koenig (back), the President of the Bayer Group in Greater China, with teachers and students of Western Academy of Beijing at the excavation ceremony.

Moon Bears

Since 2004, Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division has been helping Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) in a rescue program for the Asiatic black bear, also known as the moon bear. Animal Health China regularly supplies the Moon Bear Rescue Center in Chengdu with the antibiotic Baytril® and Drontal Plus® worm control tablets. The team's continued supported of AAF's efforts in Chengdu have encouraged Animal Health Vietnam to also join the cause by supporting similarly the work of AAF in a new center in Tam Dao National Park in Northern Vietnam beginning early 2008.

The animals are rescued from farms where they are confined to a life of misery in small cages. By early 2008, AAF had rescued 219 moon bears from farms where their bile is extracted and used in traditional medicine. The latest batch of medicine from Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division arrived at AAF's bear sanctuary in China and Vietnam in November 2007 and February 2008 respectively.