An independent Sustainability Council will advise the Board of Management of Bayer AG and other functions within the company in all sustainability matters. The Council is a major part of the greater commitment to sustainability that Bayer announced last year.



“I would like to welcome the first nine internationally recognized experts to our new Sustainability Council, and look forward to working together with them,” says Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Sustainability Officer at Bayer. “Their great expertise will help us to systematically develop sustainability as a cornerstone of our strategic alignment, and enable us to respect our planet’s boundaries, reach out to those who are in need and foster partnerships and alliances.”



The Sustainability Council will help Bayer further develop the sustainability elements of its business strategy and provide guidance on the contribution that Bayer can make with its research and development. It will independently examine the progress made by Bayer in the implementation of its sustainability targets and oversee the advancement of social innovations by the Bayer foundations. The Council shall also promote cooperation with networks in the areas of society, education, industry and politics.



“Last year we set ourselves ambitious quantitative sustainability targets to be achieved by 2030, focused especially on environmental aspects as well as on women, smallholder farmers, and people in underserved regions. I am very proud that we were able to gain the services of such recognized experts for our Council, with tremendous knowledge and experience concerning precisely these objectives,” says Matthias Berninger, head of Public Affairs and Sustainability.



In order to perform their work, the members of the Sustainability Council will receive access to relevant documents and experts within the company. The Sustainability Council will be familiarized with its tasks and the company in the coming months and will meet twice yearly. These meetings will also be attended by Werner Baumann and other members of the Board of Management. Furthermore, the members of the Council will individually support Bayer in specific matters. The Council will comprise between ten and 12 members in the long term and will report annually on the progress of its work.



Ambitious targets through 2030



In accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, Bayer has set itself ambitious targets that it aims to achieve by 2030. Few companies are as well placed as Bayer to make a contribution to both improving human health and feeding the growing global population, in line with the company’s vision: “health for all, hunger for none.” Bayer believes its economic success can go hand in hand with the welfare of increasing numbers of people in all the world’s regions while at the same time preserving ecological resources.



Bayer aims to:

- support 100 million small-holder farmers by giving them access to innovations, knowledge and partnerships;

- enable responsible family planning for 100 million women in low- and medium-income countries;

- give 100 million people in underserved communities improved access to everyday health care products;

- help reduce both the greenhouse gas emissions in large agricultural markets and the environmental impact of crop protection by 30 percent;

- become climate-neutral and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the value chain.

The company pursues and reports on its sustainability targets with the same vigor and dedication as it devotes to achieving its financial targets.