Better Health for All
20
Bayer's core business demonstrates a significant positive health impact, with a strategic focus on health-positive offerings, including essential medicines, cancer care, and consumer health innovations. The company shows strong commitment to price accessibility, implementing equitable pricing approaches and Patient Affordability Programs to reach an additional 150,000 patients in low- and middle-income countries.
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Bayer has extensive programs to reach vulnerable populations, impacting over 19 million people in 2022 through its Nutrient Gap Initiative, aiming for 50 million by 2030.
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Other initiatives include expanding cancer care to 100,000 individuals in rural India and sub-Saharan Africa, and providing one million meals in rural America.
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The company also supports research to reduce racial disparities in prostate cancer treatment with $600,000 in awards.
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Operations generate significant positive health externalities, notably through the Nutrient Gap Initiative and providing meals in rural communities. Bayer implements comprehensive health equity programs, including the Nutrient Gap Initiative and efforts to expand cancer care and address racial disparities in prostate cancer treatment. The company supports healthcare workforce capacity by sponsoring 50 Nurse Scholars for rural communities.
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Bayer invests in health literacy and public health education, addressing self-care access and providing digital tools to help consumers make informed health decisions.
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Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
0
Bayer AG is a life science company with core competencies in health care and agriculture, not a financial institution. The value 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' primarily evaluates how financial institutions democratize access to fair financial services. Based on the provided articles, Bayer does not offer consumer credit products, manage customer financial data, or operate financial service access points. Therefore, KPIs related to these activities are scored 0, as per the rubric's 'not applicable' tiers. For other KPIs, while Bayer engages in initiatives that support underserved communities and enhance livelihoods, the articles do not provide the specific quantitative data (e.g., percentages of customers or users, share of loan book, percentage of profit reinvested) required by the rubric's thresholds to assign a score.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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Bayer Australia reported a 3% average pay gap in 2023, meaning women earned 97% of men's pay.
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In the same year, Bayer plc's report indicated a gender pay gap of 5.7%, reflecting that women earned 94.3% of men's pay.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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Bayer reported no known cases of child labour, human trafficking, or modern slavery in 2024 within its operations or supply chain.
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No incidents of forced or child labor were explicitly mentioned for 2023.
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The company adheres to international standards, including the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the UN Global Compact, and maintains a Supplier Code of Conduct.
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For ethical clause coverage, Bayer's standard supply contracts include a clause authorizing the verification of suppliers’ compliance with sustainability requirements.
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This clause is integrated into central contracting and purchase order systems, ensuring its application in all relevant contracts renewed in 2023 and thereafter.
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Honest & Fair Business
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Bayer incurred $46.9 million in ethics-related regulatory fines within the last three years.
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This includes a $6.9 million settlement with New York State in June 2023 for misleading advertising claims about the safety of Roundup, and a $40 million payment in September 2022 to resolve allegations of using kickbacks to hospitals and physicians, promoting off-label uses, and minimizing safety risks related to several drugs.
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The company has a Code of Conduct
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and a Corporate Compliance Policy
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that commit to anti-corruption and adherence to regulations.
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Kind to Animals
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Bayer actively develops and implements non-animal testing methods (NAMs), including human tissue, cell lines, and computer models.
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They routinely use validated methods to replace animal studies
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and were involved in developing an OECD-validated phototoxicity test in 2003.
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Their Crop Science division co-authored publications that led to the removal of the one-year dog study requirement for agrochemicals in Europe, USA, Canada, and Australia, based on data showing 99% redundancy.
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Approximately 90% of Bayer's animal studies are legally required,
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and they adhere to the "3R" principles (Reduce, Refine, Replace),
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complying with EU Directive 2010/63
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and the German Animal Welfare Act,
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often exceeding legal requirements for animal husbandry.
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A Senior Vice President outlined steps to phase out animal testing.
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Bayer collaborates with other companies and universities to advance NAMs.
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They cooperate with animal welfare authorities, regulatory bodies, and international associations (e.g., CAAT) to develop alternative methods
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and advocate for policy issues, including lobbying for biodiversity and participating in international negotiations (COP15, CBD).
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Bayer partners with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) at 39 certified sites in North America,
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supports growers in creating habitats,
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and invests in research on insect and pollinator decline.
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They aim to reduce the environmental impact of crop protection by 30% by 2030,
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having achieved a 12% reduction between 2018-2022,
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and have been recognized for pollinator conservation efforts.
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No War, No Weapons
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Bayer has a historical involvement in the development and manufacture of dual-use technologies with military applications. During World War I, the company produced chemical weapons such as chlorine gas and mustard gas.
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As part of IG Farben in World War II, it developed toxic organophosphate compounds for chemical warfare.
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In 1989, it was revealed that Bayer held a patent for a compound chemically identical to VX gas, which it claimed was developed as a pesticide.
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The discovery of the pesticide parathion also originated from chemical weapons research at Bayer.
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The company acknowledges its past involvement in wartime activities, including chemical weapons production.
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Bayer was fined $200,000 for exporting glucose and other reagents to seven destinations without obtaining required validated export licenses, despite glucose having potential uses in chemical and biological weapons.
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In terms of human rights, Bayer is a founding member of the UN Global Compact
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and states its human rights due diligence approach is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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Its Human Rights Policy, approved by the Board of Management, is publicly available and was updated in April 2024.
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A Human Rights Officer position was introduced in October 2022.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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In 2024, 0% of Bayer's capital expenditure was aligned with the EU Sustainable Taxonomy, despite EUR 549 million (16.7% of total capex) being identified as taxonomy-eligible.
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Bayer is committed to implementing TCFD recommendations and publishes annual TCFD reports, aligning its sustainability reporting with the framework.
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The company's biodiversity efforts include 39 Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC)-certified sites out of 553 total sites, representing approximately 7.05% of its operational land.
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In 2023, 39.5% of Bayer's purchased electricity came from renewable sources, an increase from 32.6% in 2022, with a goal to reach 100% by 2029.
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Bayer's science-based targets, revalidated by SBTi in 2024, are aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, aiming for a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2029 from a 2019 baseline, and a 25% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2029.
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Bayer has a formal zero-deforestation policy and has certified zero illegal deforestation in its Brazilian soybean seed production, also assuring deforestation-free traceability for four million bags of soy in 2023.
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However, an OECD complaint was filed in April 2024 alleging environmental damages including deforestation related to its agricultural model in South America.
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The company conducts comprehensive climate scenario analysis using dual pathways consistent with the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, including SSP1-1.9 (~1.6°C warming) and SSP3-7.0 (~2.1°C to 3.6°C warming).
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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Bayer has 8 formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, including the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food in Canada
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, the Australian Red Cross 'Baby Hub' Program
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, and six partnerships related to historical remembrance and Jewish communities (Auschwitz Memorial, World Jewish Congress, Pears Jewish Campus, Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation, ART+COM Studios, and the German “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ) Foundation).
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No cultural appropriation incidents are reported. No formal cultural impact assessment protocol is explicitly mentioned, despite operating in culturally sensitive areas and facing allegations of human rights violations in South America.
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Bayer's formal Grievance Resolution Procedure aims to resolve community grievances within 30 days after sending receipt confirmation
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, with receipt confirmation itself taking up to 30 days
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, leading to a potential total resolution time of up to 60 days. The company actively protects cultural sites, having played a role in preserving the Honouliuli Internment Camp in Hawaii
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, inaugurating a memorial for victims of forced labor at I.G. Farben's Lower Rhine sites
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, and supporting the Pears Jewish Campus in Berlin.
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No incidents of disruption are reported. The grievance procedure is designed to address community concerns in a culturally appropriate manner
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, including mediation or court referral if needed
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, and public summary of unresolved grievances.
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Safe & Smart Tech
0
Bayer has established an external Bioethics Council to advise on bioethical questions relating to emerging Life Science technologies, including AI, and evaluates progress on bioethics strategies and guidelines.
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The company is committed to the ethical and responsible use of AI, outlining principles for healthcare focusing on transparency, responsibility, and individual wellbeing.
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Bayer states it does not use personal data to train or improve AI models and does not rely on fully automated decision-making that produces legal effects or similarly significant consequences for individuals without human oversight.
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Bayer has a global and Group-wide campaign to raise collective security awareness among employees.
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The company maintains a Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) Policy
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and a "Hall of Fame" to credit over 70 researchers who have reported vulnerabilities since 2021, acknowledging receipt of reports within 3 business days.
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The CVD Policy applies to all commercially available and corporate Bayer devices, services, and applications.
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Bayer adheres to 'privacy by default' and 'data minimization' principles, ensuring only necessary personal data is processed and collected.
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However, data retention periods vary, with emails, documents, and group chats generally stored for 4 years, and stakeholder data for 7 years.
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Clinical trial master files are archived for 25 years due to legal requirements.
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Bayer processes personal data in accordance with data privacy laws, including GDPR and HIPAA, and adheres to local and international legislation and industry regulations.
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Individuals have rights to request information, correction, deletion, restriction, and transfer of their data, object to processing, withdraw consent, and file a complaint with a data protection authority.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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Bayer diverts over 70% of its waste from landfill.
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The company has implemented numerous waste reduction initiatives, including a visual waste audit, a waste generation data tracking system, employee education, improved recycling signage, and various recycling programs, which have resulted in over $500,000 in savings on garbage bills.
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Bayer demonstrates a decrease in hazardous waste
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and tracks its generation rates, with all production sites obliged to prevent, reduce, and safely dispose of waste.
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Bayer has set ambitious waste reduction targets, aiming for net-zero waste across its entire value chain by 2050
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, and for 100% of its Consumer Health packaging to be recyclable or reusable with an average of 50% recycled content by 2030.
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The company integrates circular design principles, evidenced by a new packaging design for Xofigo that saves 38 tons of lead per year
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, and a partnership to develop biodegradable seed coatings.
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Bayer provides disposal information for product containers on labels and Material Safety Data Sheets.
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